Assistant director

Assistant directors oversee the strategic development, management, and delivery of services that support and protect children and families.

Leaders

Assistant directors are also referred to as deputy directors.

As an assistant director you’ll:

provide strategic leadership to deliver high quality services
work with senior managers to plan and deliver services that meet the needs of children and families
make strategic decisions in areas such as resource allocation, legal action and child placements
develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure effective service delivery
oversee the performance of social work teams and ensure positive outcomes for children and families
use performance data to predict potential future issues and pre-empt them
engage with national organisations such as the Department for Education and Home Office
participate in safeguarding partnership boards with external partners
model high-quality supervision and promote it within your organisation

You'll need:

leadership and management skills to provide strategic direction and manage resources
strategic thinking to drive service improvements for children and families
an understanding of the local and national political environment when developing policies
in-depth knowledge of social work practice including legislation, policies and trends in the field
communication and interpersonal skills to engage with diverse partners
knowledge of budgeting, resource allocation and financial management
the ability to evaluate performance to ensure quality service provision
data analysis and reporting skills to analyse complex data, interpret findings and prepare reports

To become an assistant director, you must:

be qualified and registered as a social worker with Social Work England
have extensive experience in child and family social work practice
have experience of working at management level in a multi-agency environment
be committed to ongoing professional development of your knowledge and leadership skills

With experience you could:

become a Director of Children’s Services
move into a senior leadership position in a social work organisation such as chief executive officer or chief operating officer
move into research and teaching
complete the DCS Leadership programme for aspirant directors to help prepare you to progress to a director of children’s services role.

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Next page: Director of Children's Services

These resources have been developed by Department for Education.
Published: 18 September 2023
Last updated: 21 November 2025