Sara Storey, Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Integration

Job Title: Assistant Director Adult Social Care

Salary: £81,174 – £89,956 plus relocation support and pay award pending from 1st April 2025

Contract: Permanent

Location: York/Hybrid

Employer: City of York Council

The purpose of the role is to develop and implement an approach to adult social care that prevents reduces and delays health and care needs and enables adults to enjoy the best possible health and wellbeing. When required to provide services as part of an integrated system that enables York residents to exercise choice and control over how their needs are met.

You will lead a number of service transformation programmes that includes integrated hospital discharges, integrated community health services, access to social care through customers service front door provision, prevention programmes, independent living and supported living programmes, payments and review team services. Many of these are driven through our One City for All review programmes. This role will elevate your profile externally with partners and internally with the Council’s senior leadership and executive members.

We have started an exciting transformation programme that includes a service review and restructure.  As part of the directorate senior leadership team,  you will be instrumental shaping future service structures of the wider adult social care service, working closely with your colleagues. We are progressing this transformation at a sensible pace; to engage fully, take people and partners with us, whilst progressing our improvement programmes. It is an exciting time to join us.

This role has the following key responsibilities:

• Deliver the councils statutory requirements for Adult Social Care.
• Develop a community led support approach to adult social care (including the transition to adulthood), that intervenes early, delivers high quality information advice and guidance, and uses strength-based practice to help people access the assets of their communities, build resilience, and remain as independent as possible.
• Deliver the councils duties to protect adults with care and support needs from abuse, neglect and from becoming drawn into terrorist activity, through providing leadership to the multi-agency safeguarding system,
• Be accountable for the standards, development, and quality assurance of social work through the management of the Principal Social Worker (Adults).
• Ensure the provision of 24-hour services to those with serious mental health issues requiring the use of the Mental Health Act (1983) through the Approved Mental Health Professional Service.
• Deliver services using the Mental Capacity Act 2015 to support and protect those lacking mental capacity including ensuring safeguards are in place where people may be deprived of their liberty.
• Deliver and transform in-house social care provision including older people’s residential care, domiciliary care, accommodation with support, daytime support, and supported employment services, ensuring they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.
• Deliver the national and local integration programmes through providing strategic leadership into the health and care system, forging relationships and structures that deliver integrated pathways and provision between adult social, other council services, the NHS and the community, voluntary sector, and independent sectors.
• Act as the Caldicott Guardian for Adult Social Care
• The role is part of the Directorate management team, and the job holder contributes to the strategic and operational management to ensure achievement of both directorate and corporate aims and objectives.
• The job holder deputises for Corporate Director as required.

To be successful in this role you will have a strong background and experience of delivering Adult Social Care services and be knowledgeable regarding the Care Act 2014, most importantly you will have match our values, drive positive behaviours and exercise strong moral purpose to do the right thing for the residents of our City.

York is a compact city, we have lean, effective service teams to meet an ever increasing and more complex demand for social care. This provides a platform to progress your career; we will provide coaching and mentoring support to enhance your performance and future prospects.

About City of York Council

Now is an ideal time to join the City of York Council.

We are focused on four core principles at the centre of everything we do: Equalities, Affordability, Climate and Health and Wellbeing.

Our One City, for all, the City of York Council’s Council Plan (2023-2027), sets a strong ambition to increase opportunities for everyone living in York to live healthy and fulfilling lives, and supports our 10 year plan.

Our 10-year plan sets a clear vision for the city - by 2032 we will be a city that is vibrant, prosperous, welcoming and sustainable, where everyone can share and take pride in its success.  You can join us and help take part in this journey.

We are ambitious and celebrate and champion the diversity of our population and encourage everyone to play an active role in the city, so that our vibrant economy and rich communities can make York the acclaimed city it is.

We are made up of passionate and determined problem solvers working together for the benefit of York. We invest heavily in our staff, providing them with an environment in which they can flourish.

Being a people-centred organisation means investing in the talent and wellbeing of our staff and there are many different ways in which we make this happen, including:

• Providing work which gives you the chance to make a difference to the lives of residents and colleagues;
• Supportive management, who enable you to thrive and fulfil your potential;
• Recognition for your hard work, through talent management and recognition;
• Support through the changing environment we are all living in;
• Flexible working practices; and
• A reward package which recognises your contribution.

As an organisation we promote professional development, hybrid working, employer supported volunteering and healthy working environments. We also offer a generous benefits package which includes 30 days annual leave increasing to 35 days upon completion of 5 years local government service, access to the Local Government Pension Scheme together with high street discounts and salary sacrifice schemes.

About York 

York boasts a strong economy, with high employment, wages above average, productivity among the highest in the North, with the most skilled workforce and a great education system. Being at the centre of globally significant clusters in both rail and biotechnology, we are leading the way in the green economy. York has a reputation as a great place to live, visit and do business and we were the first Good Business Charter city, encouraging all businesses to join.

We are proud of York’s status as one of the safest and best cities to live in the UK, engaging our 202,000 residents and 8m visitors to live healthier, happier independent lives.

We are a vibrant, digital city at the heart of Yorkshire - the best of tradition and the modern. With excellent connectivity by road and rail, the neighbouring towns and cities of Leeds, Hull and Harrogate are in easy reach. National Parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty are on our doorstep, with their quaint villages and market towns, whilst the Yorkshire coast provides a retreat ideal for sunny days.

We are known for our considerable assets – we have our internationally important heritage, with strong creative industries and a significant cultural offering. We have strengths as a science city, and our digital infrastructure recognises us as the UK’s first Gigabit City. We have a young and highly skilled workforce, and lay claim to world-leading universities and some of the highest performing schools and colleges in the country.

A city of Sanctuary and Human Rights, our community is truly multicultural and diverse. We are the first city in the North of England to set the aspiration to make our city an anti-racist and inclusive one. We are committed to tackling discrimination and improving customer experience in all aspects of services that the Council delivers, including public health, in order to have an impact and bring about positive change to our residents.

Our thriving retail and visitor economy welcomes millions of visitors every year. We have been recognised as the ‘foodie centre of the universe’ and our Christmas market is the best in the UK. Our many awards include Sunday Times best place to live, Conde Nast city of best architecture, recently 240m booking.com reviewers voted us the 6th most welcoming place on the planet (and the only place in UK in the top ten!) and in 2018 YouGov found that we are the nation’s favourite city. We are friendly, community-spirited, festive and summer-friendly – what’s not to like?

In summary, York has a wealth of assets and our aim is that all York offers a fair, thriving, green city for all, a place where we can live safely, where we can thrive lead healthy lives.

If you are relocating to the area to take up the post, subject to the business case being reviewed, we will provide relocation support, see further details below.

Key Documents

Please see links to the following documents below:

• Job description/Person Specification
• Staff benefits [pdf. 255KB]
• Relocation Policy 2023. (Doc)
• The Council Plan – City of York Council
• Ten Year strategies
• Health and Wellbeing Board – City of York Council
• Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
• Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy
• Director of Public Health Annual Report
• Working in social care – City of York Council