Adult Social Care Financial Services Lead

Lead vital adult social care financial services that protect vulnerable residents and uphold fairness across our communities As our Adult Social Care Client Financial Services Lead, you’ll oversee the essential financial services that safeguard our most vulnerable residents. It’s a role with genuine, community-wide impact – a chance to lead dedicated specialist teams, champion fair practice and make sure vital support is delivered with compassion and integrity right across the borough. Lead vital adult social care financial services that protect vulnerable residents and uphold fairness across our communities As our Adult Social Care Client Financial Services Lead, you’ll oversee the essential financial services that safeguard our most vulnerable residents. It’s a role with genuine, community-wide impact – a chance to lead dedicated specialist teams, champion fair practice and make sure vital support is delivered with compassion and integrity right across the borough. What you’ll be doing Your focus will be providing clear, professional and operational leadership across our client financial functions, ensuring our work is fair, accurate and fully compliant with statutory standards. Managing a team of specialist service managers and satff, you’ll oversee financial assessments, direct payments, client affairs, care and protection, supplier payments and public health funerals, making sure these vital services run smoothly and consistently every day. A key part of your role will involve acting as our trusted subject-matter expert and primary liaison between Adult Social Care, Finance, Legal and external partners such as the Court of Protection, the Office of the Public Guardian and the Department for Work and Pensions. You’ll interpret complex legislation and statutory guidance, turning intricate policies into clear, practical guidance and robust operational standards for your teams. When sensitive, high-risk or contentious cases arise, you’ll step in with sound professional judgement and delegated authority to resolve escalations carrying significant financial, safeguarding or legal implications. Beyond day-to-day operations, you’ll champion continuous service improvement and strong financial governance. You’ll lead on implementing audit recommendations, embedding quality assurance frameworks across our work and supporting corporate transformation programmes locally. Working across organisational boundaries, you’ll manage operational budgets, build service resilience and collaborate closely with senior colleagues across two councils to achieve positive, resident-focused outcomes. For further details, please review the Job Description and Person Specification What you’ll bring You’ll bring substantial subject-matter expertise across Adult Social Care client financial services, gained within a local authority, social care setting or similar public-sector environment. You possess an in-depth understanding of care charging, financial assessments, deputyship, appointeeship, direct payments, supplier payments and public health funerals, alongside the statutory and technical knowledge needed to lead these services confidently from day one. You’re an experienced, supportive leader who knows how to guide, motivate and develop specialist teams through operational managers. Your analytical skills enable you to exercise sound, objective judgement when resolving contentious casework involving complex legal, safeguarding or financial risks. You’re also an exceptional communicator – someone who can translate complex statutory requirements into transparent procedures and build constructive, collaborative relationships across multidisciplinary teams and partner organisations. Most importantly, you’re someone who puts communities first. You approach every situation with empathy, respect and integrity, bringing the resilience needed to balance competing operational priorities while keeping the dignity and financial wellbeing of residents at the cen