Camden Council is moving forward with the selection process for a new Director of Adult Social Care Operations, a role critical to ensuring the well-being and independence of adults with care and support needs in the borough. A shortlist of candidates has been agreed upon following a recent review.

The Audit and Corporate Governance (Appointment Panel) Sub-Committee convened on Friday 24 October 2025 to assess applications and officer feedback. Their task was to determine which candidates would advance to the next phase of the selection process.

The sub-committee considered the job details and progress made, provided feedback on the shortlist recommendations, and approved the final shortlist.

According to the agenda for the meeting, the public reports pack indicates that the role was advertised with a closing date of 5 October 2025. Longlisting took place on 9 October 2025, followed by technical interviews on 13 and 14 October 2025. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 19 November 2025, where confirmation of the final interview date will be given.

The Director of Adult Social Care Operations - shortlisting panel report highlights that the post-holder will deputise for the Executive Director Adults and Health, who also serves as the statutory Director of Adult Social Services (DASS). Beyond deputizing, the new director will play a crucial role in several key areas:

  • Ensuring adults with care and support needs are safe from harm.
  • Supporting people to live healthy and independent lives.
  • Maximizing the impact on improving outcomes for people who draw on care and support.
  • Ensuring the division, directorate, and Council continue to 'shift the balance' to prevention and delivery of earlier interventions and to embed relational practice in all areas of work.
  • Working with colleagues to tackle inequalities and improve access to services for all, with a particular focus on those with the highest levels of need, including an integrated service to residents with learning and physical disabilities.
  • Working with colleagues to tackle inequalities within the social care workforce to ensure that our staff teams, provider workforce, and social care leadership are truly representative of Camden's communities.
  • Ensuring a culture of research, evidence collection, and evaluation to inform innovation and the necessary culture change to give people greater choice and control over services.
  • Providing strategic leadership to partners and providers in ensuring high quality of integrated care provision in the light of changing demographics.

Camden Council sought candidates with a specific set of experiences and qualifications, including:

  • Successful leadership of adult social care services for a large, diverse population in a complex environment.
  • Successful delivery of operational services.
  • Proven ability to work across the children's and adults services to ensure a whole family focus.
  • Leadership of a safeguarding system.
  • Whole system leadership including demonstrable achievements in partnership / integrated working in particular with health.
  • Experience of driving high performance and quality services, including through innovations.
  • High level of understanding and awareness of the legislative, policy and best practice context relevant to adult social care.
  • Experience of significant innovation and challenge to conventional management logic.
  • Significant organisational achievements and understanding of culture within organisations.
  • A good understanding of the political, social, and economic context and challenges in local government in Camden and across London.
  • A collaborative personal style, highly effective interpersonal skills including strong emotional intelligence; and highly effective presentational skills.
  • A coaching / developmental leadership style that fits our sense of shared leadership responsibility and empowered organisational culture.
  • Excellent analytical skills and an aptitude for complex problem solving.
  • The ability to champion the pursuit of diversity and inclusion and demonstrate a record of accomplishment of this.
  • Proven leadership of high-performing teams and complex portfolios, with an ability to navigate risk, ensure compliance, and deliver transformational change.
  • Strong political acumen, with a track record of working credibly with elected members, central government, regulators, and community stakeholders.
  • Commitment to service user voice and co-production, with a belief in equity, dignity and shared responsibility as the foundation for public service.

According to the Job Profile - Director Adult Social Care Operations, Camden is looking for a strategic collaborator who can build trusted relationships and work seamlessly with colleagues, elected members, and partners to make a decisive, lasting impact. The new director will also need to address key challenges within Camden's Adult Social Care Operations, including ensuring the safety of adults with care needs, tackling inequalities in service access and within the social care workforce, and fostering a culture of research and innovation.

The post-holder will also be expected to ensure that the division, directorate and Council continue to 'shift the balance' to prevention and delivery of earlier interventions and to embed relational practice in all areas of work. The specific details of the strategy are not provided in the meeting information.

Due to the confidential nature of the information discussed, the public and press were excluded from the part of the meeting concerning the shortlisting panel. The discussion involved information relating to individuals, potentially revealing their identities, which is protected under the Local Government Act 1972.