Best Start in Life Team Leader

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8RA Salary: £43,860 - £47,829 per annum (pro-rata for part time) (pay award pending)  Working Hours: 37 hours per week  Contract Type: Fixed term for (until 31st March 2029) OR Secondment for (until 31st March 2029) - please gain your managers approval prior to applying for secondment. Closing Date: 19th July 2026 Interview Date(s): 4th August 2026   About the Role Due to expansion of our Best Start in Life Team we now require another Team Leader. The successful candidate will manage our Best Start inclusion Practitioners, supporting them with the delivery of groups, such as Fabulous Two’s, PEEP Learning Together Programme, one of workshops, community outreach work and working closing with our partnership agencies. It is essential that you have an Early Years qualification along with experience of supporting children and their families who may have emerging SEND needs. You will also need a good understanding of the Best Start in Life Strategy,  The 1001 Critical Days, current knowledge of issues effecting a child’s good level of development and experience of working in partnership with local agencies who also support early years children and their families.  Your workers will be based across the county and therefore driving and use of a vehicle is essential. An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post. For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement [https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-04/recruitment-of-ex-offenders-policy-statement.pdf].   About You To apply for this post, you must be able to evidence in your application how you meet the following criteria: * Level 4 qualification in a relevant subject, e.g. NVQ4 childcare, teaching qualification, child nursing qualification or Significant and demonstrable, relevant knowledge and experience of working within children and family services in a multi-agency environment.  * To work with the Team and Partnership Manager (line manager) to implement changes in response to local, regional and national drivers, and statutory responsibility where required. * Experience of supporting staff and teams to maintain, develop and improve outcomes for children and families. * Significant experience of working with families with a range of difficulties and levels of need. * Knowledge of child development and the needs of early years children and their families  . * To engage in opportunities for services to collaborate and deliver innovative ways of working and engaging with children, young people and families. * To work to achieve key performance outcomes at a local and national level as identified within the Quality Assurance Plan.   In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values [https://eism.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/lcc/pages/1004] and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents.  You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process. Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer [https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/disability-confident-campaign].   Interested in Flexible Working? We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below. For more information or an informal discussion, please contact: Louise Pettitt - Team and Partnership Manager (Family Hubs) Telephone: 01163057879 Email: louise.pettitt@leics.gov.uk [louise.pettitt@leics.gov.uk]    How to Apply At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally. If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply [https://eism.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/lcc/pages/1001] section on our career site. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.  If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support [https://emss.org.uk/support].  By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions [https://eism.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/lcc/pages/1006]. About Leicestershire County Council At Leicestershire County Council, we're committed to making a real difference in people's lives. Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone.  Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire. Whether you're starting your career or looking for your next challenge, you'll find a place with us where your ideas are valued, and your work has purpose. For further information on what it’s like to work for us and the benefits we offer, please refer to the following: Our Recruitment Process [https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/jobs-and-volunteering/working-for-the-council/the-application-process] Our Organisational Values [https://eism.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX/pages/1004] Our Employee Benefits [https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/jobs-and-volunteering/working-for-the-council/employee-benefits] Working for Us [https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/jobs-and-volunteering/working-for-the-council/an-inclusive-workplace]