Adolescent Early Help Unit Lead

What will you be doing?

Kent County Council is seeking a passionate and experienced Early Help Unit Lead to join our Adolescent Services. This full-time permanent role offers a rewarding opportunity to lead a multidisciplinary team delivering targeted support to vulnerable children, young people and their families across Kent.

This role will specifically cover the districts of Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks and Swanley and will be contractually based at Montague House in Tunbridge Wells.

As the Adolescent Early Help Unit Lead, you will be responsible for managing the work of the team, ensuring the delivery of high-quality assessments and interventions. The focus of the team is to support children and young people who are at risk outside of the home, as well as Youth Justice out of court resolution work, so experience in these areas is welcomed.

You will provide professional supervision and expert guidance to practitioners, fostering a strong team culture that promotes solution-focused approaches and mutual support. Your leadership will be instrumental in reducing the need for statutory interventions and supporting children and young people who have been stepped down from previous statutory support.

You will work collaboratively with Youth Justice teams, Children’s Social Work teams and community partners to implement effective programmes in various settings, including schools, colleges, family homes and Family Hubs. Your role will involve assessing risk and safeguarding young people, while championing evidence-based practice and continuous service improvement. You will also be responsible for ensuring staff are appropriately trained in safeguarding and that relevant policies are in place.

We are looking for someone with excellent leadership and communication skills, capable of developing creative solutions to complex problems. You should be able to interpret data, manage competing priorities, work independently whilst fostering collaboration as part of a team. A sound understanding of Early Help, safeguarding, adolescent development and relevant legislation is crucial, along with a commitment to diversity and equal opportunities. You should have experience in early help, social care, education, youth justice or health, with a strong background in case management, supervision and multi-agency collaboration or relevant experience.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Application to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Interviews will be held on Friday 16th January 2026.

About you

For any further information about this role, please contact ruth.bachrach@kent.gov.uk

About us

Work that works for you and us - let's talk flexibility!

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note - if you are interested, please apply soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.