Workforce Development Manager

*PLEASE NOTE* Cyngor Gwynedd is committed to being an inclusive employer, and to enhancing the diversity of the workforce. Your application form will be assessed anonymously. Your title, name and email address will not be shared with the appointing panel for the purpose of shortlisting. You should carefully consider this when completing the further information section of the application form.

Gwynedd Council offers an attractive employment package, for more information please click on this Information Pack

Gwynedd Council operates internally through the medium of Welsh, and offers all its services bilingually. The applicant will be required to reach the linguistic level noted as one of the essential skills in the Person Specification.

We encourage everyone who applies for a job with Gwynedd Council to submit job applications in Welsh or bilingually.

( Applications submitted in English only or Welsh only will always be treated equally, but we ask applicants to consider carefully what the linguistic requirements of the job in question is and if it would be more appropriate to submit an application in Welsh.)

For further information about this post please contact Gill Paul on 01286 679 032

Interview date - 17/12/2025

Application forms and further details available from Support Service, Gwynedd Council, Council Offices, Caernarfon, LL55 1SH

Tel: 01286 679076

E-Mail: Swyddi@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

CLOSING DATE: 08/12/2025

The Council will request a Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service for the successful candidate.

If you are successful to be short listed for an interview you will be contacted by E-MAIL using the address provided on your application form. You need to ensure that you check your email regularly.

Person Specification

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

ESSENTIAL

• The ability to keep multiple projects moving at a time is essential, as is the ability to move focus quickly and effectively in order to be able to accomplish the various tasks.
• A person who embraces change and new developments with the ability to manage a talented and knowledgeable team, will give a solid direction
• Willing to listen to other comments and ideas.
• Able to plan ahead effectively, seeing the 'big picture' in doing so.
• A person who can see the potential of people and situations and act on that vision.

DESIREABLE
-

QUALIFICATIONS AND RELEVANT TRAINING

ESSENTIAL

• Registered Social Worker - Social Work Qualification

DESIREABLE

• Management Qualification
• Training Qualification
• Social Work Practice Learning Qualification
• PQ
• Assessment Qualification

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL

• Experience in social care and social work
• Experience of managing finances and/or staff
• Experience of sitting on various committees
• Experience in supporting others to develop
• Familiar with different parts of the care sector

DESIREABLE

• Knowledge of or experience of training
• Have experience of representing an agency at a national or regional level

SKILLS AND SPECIALIST INFORMATION

ESSENTIAL

• An understanding of the national background and developments in the training and development of the care sector workforce in general.
• An understanding of the agenda around the regulation and registration of the care workforce.
• Awareness of the changes in social work training and those implications for the authority.
• IT skills.
• Formal and informal presentation skills.

DESIREABLE

• Training needs analysis skills.
• Coaching skills.
• Ability to use and deal with statistics.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

ESSENTIAL

Listening and Speaking -

Higher LevelBe able to follow a conversation or discussion through the medium of Welsh and English at a professional level and discuss general topics on a daily basis in the field in order to present information and express opinions. Be able to provide a pre-prepared presentation and respond to any comments and questions on it through the medium of Welsh and English.

Reading and Understanding

Advanced LevelAble to understand standard, formal and informal Welsh and written English. Be able to gather information from various sources such as letters, reports, articles, through the medium of Welsh and English in order to carry out the job.

Writing

Advanced LevelPresent written information with confidence in the form of a letter, a more detailed and technical report and respond to written requests conveying information, ideas and opinions through the medium of Welsh and English. (It is possible to get help to check the language)

Job Description

Purpose of the Post

• Management of the Workforce Development Unit which provides training and qualifications to care staff to ensure that the Council's services meet the National Standards.
• Manage Academi Gofal Gwynedd which leads on recruitment issues and development pathways
• To ensure the effective operation of the Gwynedd Workforce Development Partnership, so that the entire Social Care sector in Gwynedd has knowledge and opportunities to develop.
• Representing Gwynedd in national and regional forums.
• To guarantee the funding of the Unit through an annual plan.
• To ensure that the people of Gwynedd are central to everything we do.•

Responsibility for Functions

• Manage 10 members of staff.
• Responsible for the Workforce Development budget including a number of grants
• Digital training tools for students and staff, library, and other materials.
• Reporting on budgets administered by Gwynedd on behalf of cross-county programmes

Main Duties

• • Ensure strategic direction to all elements of Workforce Development including consideration of legal, legislative and policy issues.
• Dealing with a constantly changing work programme and the need to continually change priorities at short notice
• Working together with the teams on identifying training issues
• Prepare an annual Workforce Development Plan on behalf of the Workforce Development Partnership in Gwynedd in accordance with the requirements of the Welsh Assembly Government in order to be able to claim an annual Workforce Development grant and work collaboratively with a regional team for the application.
• Managing different grant applications, monitoring and evaluation
• Attend planning and monitoring meetings arising from the above.
• Leadership within the sector in Gwynedd, regional and national on workforce development issues offering expertise in various areas.
• Representing Gwynedd at local, regional and national meetings on a variety of issues at various levels including practice issues to strategic issues of national policy.
• Lead on issues relating to Social Work training, including opportunities to learn practice and work with an agreed partnership with Bangor University and the Open University on social work courses and post-qualification courses.
• Establish, develop and maintain contractual partnerships with external teaching institutions such as universities for specific education provision such as courses (AMHP, Practice Learning etc) to ensure suitable provision for the workforce.
• Managing recruitment issues in the field of care includes managing the work of the Care Academy including developing and managing career pathways in conjunction with health.
• Manager staff working on different areas of development e.g. social work, direct care work, care qualifications and management qualifications, social work and occupational therapy professional courses, digital work including e-learning, post-applied work of professionals, recruitment, management development and workforce planning.
• Ensure that everyone in the team operates within the relevant council legislations and policies and nationally and consistently challenges performance.
• Lead or support opportunities for workforce collaboration and/or integration to improve function and service delivery across health and other agencies.
• Work in innovative and creative ways with national regional partners and other services within Gwynedd Council and other agencies such as health and education to explore solutions to barriers or new ways of working, developing and leading different projects including culture change.
• Lead and manage different projects at local, regional and national level. E.g. community medicine pilot, establishment of a National Social Work Consolidation Programme , Regional Workforce Strategy projects etc
• Leading with fellow council and departments on the workforce planning agenda
• Support with change management with specific projects and schemes within the service.
• Provide guidance to employees and managers with the development needs of teams and individuals.
• Collaborate with an elected member on issues relevant to the field of work.
• Working with services on transformation developments.
• Identify implications for the workforce that result from national changes in legislation, policy and practice across services and that affect the delivery of services or wider advice.
• Chairs and leads local, regional and national groups in a variety of different areas. e.g. qualifications, recruitment, meetings
• Supporting Social Care Wales on specific areas through national groups
• Support and lead on the development and verification of relevant policies e.g. Supervision Policy
• Responsibility for self-development.
• Ensure compliance with Health and Safety at work rules in accordance with the responsibilities set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Council's Health and Safety Policy.
• To act within the Council's policies in relation to equal opportunities and equality.
• Responsibility for managing information in accordance with the Council's information management standards and guidelines. Ensure that personal information is handled in compliance with Data Protection legislation.
• A commitment to reduce the Council's carbon emissions in line with the Carbon Management Plan and to encourage others to take positive action towards reducing the Council's carbon footprint.
• Undertake any other corresponding and reasonable duty that is consistent with the salary level and level of responsibility of the job.
• Responsibility to report concern or suspicion that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused.
• This is an illustrated list only. The post holder will be expected to be involved in managing and monitoring performance in accordance with the requirements of the post and acting on any other duties in accordance with the nature of the post and its scale in accordance with the request of the Head of Service/Manager or Strategic Director.
•

Special Circumstances

• Some travel to all other areas in Wales