Strong Strategic and Operational Manager and Leader with 20 years experience of Children’s Services with the last five years working at Head of Service level.  Julie is Industrious, energetic and determined with a commitment to improving the lives of vulnerable children. Self motivated, flexible, clear and concise, organised and creative with 20 years operational experience in Children’s social care at all levels.  Key achievements and experience includes:

  Responsibility for over 300 staff across the full range of children’s services in an area of high levels of economic deprivation including frontline children in need, child protection and looked after children teams, leaving care, fostering, adoption and disability services, Youth Offending and a Secure Children’s Home provision.

Management of a budget of £20m including implementation of spend to save strategies.

Management of a systems review of frontline services, leading to organisational change with new record keeping systems, integrated school based frontline teams, social work contribution to a police hub and a homelessness 16plus social worker.

Leadership of several service reviews, including, a speech and language review, a review of emotional, health and wellbeing services and the development of a short break residential provision. Use of Programme and Project management methodologies.

Leadership and preparation for successful Disability inspection (2006) and Joint Review 2007/2008 and annual regulatory inspections.

Taking forward the multi agency agenda including the development of the local Safeguarding Children Board, achieving a joint budget from the early stages of development. Raising the profile of related issues, such as service development needs, the introduction of Corporate Parenting initiatives and profiling common partnership priorities such as parental substance and alcohol misuse.

Media Management for a range of service issues, in particular the pro-active management of the media to a high profile Serious Case Review.

Leading 2 major and other smaller organisational changes, with good staff satisfaction.

Development of outcome measures including involvement in early stages of national development (Wales) of a new outcome focussed data set.

Management and agency decision making of high performing fostering and adoption services.

Experienced Business Planner including use of performance evaluation, utilising all levels of service to contribute to the process and consultation with stakeholders, e.g. partners and service users.

Contribution to national policy development and implementation, e.g. related to the Wales ASD strategy, the development a new outcome focussed data set, the post qualification social work framework.

Leadership and line management of the only Secure Children’s Home in Wales requiring ongoing negotiations with the YJB and Government departments relating to the development of the Youth Justice agenda in Wales.

This interim professional is experienced at all aspects of running a children’s services department and can hit the ground running with either strategic/operational leadership and/or programme and project development.