The Child and Family Agency was established on 1st January 2014 and is responsible for a range of statutory functions including provision of child protection, alternative care, specified regulatory services and a range of family support services.  The Agency has commenced a major improvement programme with significant focus on Practice, Culture and Structure.

The Agency currently has responsibility for a budget of circa €1.2billion and delivers its services through over 5,500 people in 259 locations across the Country.

The Child and Family Agency has responsibility for the following range of services:

• Child Protection and Welfare
• Parenting, Family Support and Early Help Services
• Alternative Care
• Birth Information & Tracing and Adoption
• Tusla Education Support Services (TESS)
• Children’s Service Regulation
• Counselling and Therapeutic Supports

Further information is available on www.tusla.ie.

The team for Separated Children Seeking International Protection has the responsibility for providing a service to children and young people who are newly arrived in Ireland seeking international protection and who are separated from their parents or their guardian. The team provides valuable support to these most vulnerable children/young people from various countries who come to Ireland for safety, refuge, and better quality of life and as applicants for International Protection.  The aim is to assist the young people in achieving their full potential through education and integration, to participate fully in Irish life and make a meaningful contribution to Irish Society through self-sufficiency and independence. To be supported with reunification where immediate family members join them in Ireland, escaping persecution, war and marginalisation in their country of origin.

The service is multifaceted with operational responsibility for Intake, Duty and Initial Assessment of children and young people notified to Tusla by the IPO under the International Protection Act (IPA) 2015; for the intake eligibility assessment of such referred young people to determine their eligibility for service under the Child Care Act, for the placement of the young person.

The service also manages teams for Children in Care and beneficiaries of temporary protection fleeing war in Ukraine and Subject to Placements under Section 5 of the 1991 Child Care Act; the provision of alternative care placements to Unaccompanied minors in Foster Care, Residential Care, Supported Lodgings and After Care Services.

The team is expanding and involved in extensive service review and development. It is a multicultural team with a strong team ethos committed to meeting the needs of all service users.

Purpose of the role

The Area Manager will:

• be primarily accountable for the delivery of integrated services that are provided by the Child and Family Agency in Separated Children Seeking International Protection;
• along with the regional chief officer and the regional management team, lead on practice, structural and cultural developments as part of Tusla’s reform programme;
• deliver these services in line with national and regional performance targets and standards;
• manage resources to ensure optimum quality service delivery in line with Tusla’s business and corporate plan;
• be required to manage regional and national services or projects, as may be assigned, from time to time, by the relevant Regional Chief Officer;
• proactively manage delegated authority, as may be assigned from time to time, by the relevant Regional Chief Officer;
• contribute to regional and national working groups and policy formation as appropriate, for example at Area Manager Meetings, project groups, policy implementation;
• Promote integration with services including Residential Care, SCSIP, TESS, DSGBV and Adoption.  DSGBV and Commissioning to ensure that clients have access to the comprehensive range of Tusla services and those most appropriate to their particular circumstances.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Governance

• Establish and maintain services committed to delivering services in accordance with legislation, Financial and service standards and regulations.
• Be ever vigilant in the protection of high standards in all aspects of practice and services delivered to children and families, the working environment and the wider organisation.
• Ensure staff are supported to understand the importance of governance. Assist staff to develop attitudes and practices supportive of good governance so that it becomes hallmark of the area e.g. accurate and comprehensive record keeping.
• Be focussed in always seeking opportunities to continuously improve the services provided to children and families.
• Establish staffing and decision-making structures and practices in line with the practice of good governance, for example, clarity regarding decision-making protocols / authorities.
• Adopt an organisation-wide approach to highlighting and challenging examples of poor governance, where the principles of Openness, Integrity and Accountability are compromised.

Staff Management & Leadership

• Lead staff/teams in planning and implementing actions to respond to service needs in a complex operating environment, ensuring good communication at all levels across the agency on the changes and actions required.
• Manage the designated staff resources, ensuring that staff levels and skill mix are appropriate and within agreed resources allocation.
• Participate in the recruitment, selection and appointment of staff in conjunction with the appropriate personnel and procedures.
• Be responsible for identifying training and development needs of staff and ensure the implementation of appropriate training in conjunction with the national training office.
• Lead staff by example, holding oneself accountable to the highest standards of excellence in service delivery, expected by Tusla’s clients.
• Support staff to deliver to the highest standards of excellence in all aspects of their work, providing support to staff when required and challenging underperformance in a manner that is fair to all.
• Lead by example in the development and maintenance of an organisation culture in line with Tusla values and characterised by creativity, innovation, collaboration and candour.
• Provide leadership in promoting values and standards of professional practice, including relevant National Standards, and provide a clear statement of expectation of staff.

Culture & Vision

• Demonstrate a critical understanding of Tusla values and professional ethics.
• Promote Tusla values across the agency and with service partners.
• Promote and model the Agency’s values to staff.
• Advocate for the most vulnerable in the community.
• Demonstrate the ability to deal with complex ethical and professional issues.
• Anticipate and prepare for the future, dealing with complex issues, sometimes in the absence of complete data.
• Demonstrate critical awareness of the national context of children & family services.
• Collaborate effectively with partners towards a shared vision, focussed on the needs of children and families.
• Ensure that a culture is created that allows staff and people who use services to take risks appropriately.
• Demonstrate confidence and self-belief in respect of the vision.

Change Management

• Actively support the implementation of Change Programmes (for e.g. TCM, GDPR Programme) ensuring all actions required to introduce, embed, and maintain, the change is taken by relevant staff.
• Retain a focus on people who use services and their carers during the change process and in seeking their views/feedback on how changes impact on the services we provide.

Risk Management

• Demonstrate a clear knowledge of the framework within which risk is managed.
• Support the development of a culture which manages risk wisely and proportionately, involving the Agency’s partners, and children, families and communities as appropriate. 
• Demonstrate the ability to deal with complex ethical issues and make informed judgements.
• Support the development and maintenance of a risk register.
• Ensure learning and service improvements are identified and implemented from incidences.

Communication

• Clearly articulate and communicate the Agency’s vision in a range of contexts.
• Ensure that awareness of the Agency’s vision is promoted both within the relevant Area / Services and with partner organisations.
• Demonstrate leadership in building support for the vision.
• Personally maintain, and require designated staff to act in accordance with, the highest standards of professionalism, efficiency and accuracy in all communications, internally and externally.
• Ensure high quality written communication relating to Tusla services and activities.

Resource Management

• Be responsible for the use of resources, including staff, to achieve the best outcomes for children and families, in line with the Agency’s Corporate and Business plans.
• Demonstrate the effective use of influencing skills in respect of resources not directly controlled.
• Support all relevant internal processes related to the provision of resources within the Area e.g. Recruitment.

Integrity

• Demonstrate the ability to uphold personal and professional ethics and values.
• Demonstrate the upholding of Tusla values, the respecting and promotion of equality and diversity.
• Demonstrate an appropriate use of authority.
• Demonstrate the courage and ability to take appropriate action if ethics and values are compromised.

Continuing Professional Development

• Pursue / access CPD opportunities relevant to the role and ongoing development.
• Support staff to pursue / access relevant CPD opportunities.
• Demonstrate the ability to apply learning into practice.

Developing networks / partnerships

• Demonstrate the ability to identify opportunities for collaboration and co-operation across organisational and functional boundaries.
• Demonstrate a clear sense of role within partnership arrangements.
• Promote self-determination and autonomy for people who use services, and for their carers.

Building Capacity

• Take responsibility for the provision of encouragement and opportunity for people who use services, carers and communities to engage in partnerships.
• Demonstrate the ability to create a culture of collaboration and co-operation.

Financial Management

• Hold budgetary responsibility and be accountable for ensuring that services operate within the agreed budgetary levels in the area.
• Ensure that expenditure is controlled within agreed limits and in compliance with approved procedures within the Child and Family Agency.
• Ensure that appropriate financial information is provided to the relevant management team.
• Maintain such financial records as required by the Child and Family Agency.
• Prepare Service Level Agreement within child care service providers in the Region.
• Implement Service Level Agreements with child care providers in the Region and within the agreed national framework.
• Assume management responsibility for the distribution, utilisation, monitoring and control of resources so as to deliver efficient and cost-effective Child and Family Agency services.

Health & Safety

• Comply with and contribute to the development of policies, procedures, guidelines and safe professional practice and adhere to relevant legislation, regulations and standards.
• Have a working knowledge of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards as they apply to the service for example National Standards for Child Protection and Care and comply with associated Tusla – Child and Family Agency protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role.
• To support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service.

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Applicants must by the closing date of application have the following:

• Relevant 3rd level qualification.
• Have a minimum of 3 years’ experience at senior management level relevant to the role.

Health

A candidate for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.

Character

Each candidate for and any person holding the office must be of good character.