Director for Early Help and School Readiness

Posting date:	20 January 2026
Salary:	Not specified
Additional salary information:	Competitive
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	19 February 2026
Location:	Salford, M275DA
Company:	inploi
Job type:	Permanent
Job reference:	75779920

Summary

There has never been a more exciting time to join Salford, a proud city with a strong sense of identity, clear purpose, and a commitment to putting people first.

Salford has a long-standing track record of innovation and partnership working, and we are proud that our Children’s Services are rated Good by Ofsted. We are also ambitious in our goal to become a truly Child Friendly City, which means listening to children and young people, embedding their voices in our decision-making, and ensuring that services, neighbourhoods, and opportunities are shaped around their rights, wellbeing, and future aspirations.

We are now seeking an ambitious and values-driven Director of Early Help and School Readiness to provide strategic leadership across early years, early help, and prevention services.

This role is central to driving integrated, place-based approaches that support families earlier and promote school readiness. You will lead Salford’s family hubs, local authority nurseries, and early help offer, working closely with partners across the council and beyond to deliver meaningful, system-wide change.

This is a rare opportunity to take on a high profile, city-shaping leadership role, working with committed colleagues and partners to make a lasting difference for children, young people, and families across Salford.

To learn more about leading in Salford.

https://www.leadersinsalford.info/

To apply for the role, visit the Starfish website below.

https://statics.teams.cdn.office.net/evergreen-assets/safelinks/2/atp-safelinks.html

Please be aware that this post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

If you have lived or worked abroad for 3 months or more in the last 5 years or 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the last 10 years whilst aged 18 or over, please refer to the link below for details for how to obtain your Certificates of Good Character.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

Want to know more about Salford?

As an authority we are dedicated to improving the lives of our residents, and as an employer we are passionate about helping individuals to thrive in their work. We are committed to developing a diverse and inclusive culture and are proud of our professional accreditations which champion this.

Find out about our city as a place to live, work & grow, and learn more about the amazing work we are doing. You’ll also find out about the wealth of benefits we have to offer you here!

Continuous Service commitment

New employees can keep their service related benefits when moving between a whole host of public sector organisations within Greater Manchester, which include: Councils, NHS, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, Transport for Greater Manchester, as well as many others under this scheme. Find out if this applies to you here.

Guaranteed Assessment Schemes

We have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel by way of a Guaranteed Assessment Scheme. Our application forms ask you to indicate if you meet any of the criteria within this scheme, and so to find out more and if you qualify please click here.

Privacy Statement and Data Protection

Our core data protection obligations and commitments are set out in the council’s primary Recruitment and Employment Privacy Notice which can be found at https://www.salford.gov.uk/gdpr .

Supporting Documents

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