Head of Best Start & Early Help Services

Overview

We’re looking for an ambitious, inspiring senior leader to drive one of Buckinghamshire’s most exciting and high‑impact programmes. As our Head of Best Start & Early Help Services, you will be at the forefront of shaping how families are supported from pregnancy to age five, leading the work that ensures every child in Buckinghamshire has the very best start in life.

This is a rare opportunity to shape whole‑system early help transformation across health, education, early years, SEND and the voluntary, community and faith sector. You’ll bring partners together, build momentum, and strengthen our integrated early help offer to deliver meaningful and lasting impact for children and families.

This is a fixed term/secondment role until March 2028.

Salary up to up to £89,303 per annum.

About us

Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK and yet it is incredibly well connected– only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.

We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey. You will be entitled to a range of different benefits to make sure you are happy both at work and at home.

About the role

In this strategic leadership role, you’ll be at the heart of shaping how families in Buckinghamshire are supported in the earliest years. You will lead the development and delivery of the Best Start in Life programme and oversee the county’s early help offer across our Family Hubs, creating a system that is seamless, proactive and firmly rooted in prevention.

You will:

• Lead and champion the Best Start in Life programme, setting strategic direction, driving delivery and ensuring high‑quality, evidence‑based practice across the early years system.
• Strengthen our Family Hub network, ensuring families experience timely, connected and relational support wherever they first ask for help.
• Bring partners together across health, education, early years, SEND, safeguarding and the VCFS to embed integrated, multi‑agency practice from pregnancy to age five.
• Oversee a significant budget (c. £2m) and lead a skilled team of practitioners, enabling them to deliver with confidence, clarity and ambition.
• Drive a bold strategic review of early help and youth services, creating a connected and seamless offer that reaches children, young people and families early and drives better outcomes.

You’ll also represent Buckinghamshire on regional and national platforms, helping to shape emerging thinking on early help and the early years at a system level.

About you

You’ll be a collaborative, energising leader who brings people together around a shared purpose. You’ll lead with authenticity, compassion and clarity, inspiring partners, colleagues and communities and turning collective ambition into meaningful action for children and families.

You will bring:

• Proven leadership experience in early help, social care, education or a related public sector field, with a track record of shaping and delivering change through others.
• A highly collaborative, relationship‑driven style - someone who connects people, builds trust quickly and brings partners together behind a shared vision.
• Strong programme leadership, financial oversight and change management skills, with the ability to navigate complexity, maintain momentum and keep a whole‑system view.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, able to engage persuasively with partners, stakeholders, elected Members and communities to build commitment and collective ownership.
• A passion for early help and prevention, and a belief in the power of integrated, seamless support to improve outcomes for children, young people and families.
• A motivating leadership style that inspires high performance and reflects our values of being Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

Degree‑level education (or equivalent) is essential, and a project/programme management qualification is desirable. A full driving licence and ability to communicate clearly with members of the public are also required.

If you’re driven to make a lasting impact for children and families, and ready to lead at scale, we’d love to hear from you.

Other information

If you would like to find out more about this role, please contact Mark Green at [email protected]

Closing date: Midnight on Thursday 2nd April

Interview date: Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th April

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/