EYCC Children's Community Development Lead

About the role

EYCC Children's Community Development Lead

Fixed Term / Secondment (12 months), Part Time (29.6 hours per week)

£42,761 to £50,307 per annum FTE

Location: Colchester*

Closing Date: 26th February 2026

*This is a hybrid-working role contractually based in Colchester. You will work from our Colchester office at least 1 day per week and across our operational area on other days, depending on business need. This could be discussed further at interview.

Please note that this a maternity leave cover opportunity. The role will be offered as a secondment or fixed-term contract for a duration of 12 months, working part-time 0.8 FTE (4 days/29.6 hours per week, to include Thursdays). The pro rata salary range is £34,208.80 to £40,245.60 per annum.

Are you passionate about improving outcomes for children and ensuring every family has access to the right support at the right time? We are seeking an experienced and motivated Children’s Community Development Lead to join our Early Years and Childcare Sufficiency and Sustainability team in Essex.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to Essex’s Best Start in Life programme, supporting the transformation of Family Hubs and ensuring children and families receive high quality, accessible early support across the county.

As a Children’s Community Development Lead, you will:

Lead childcare sufficiency planning across North Essex to ensure there are adequate Early Years and Childcare places
Strengthen partnerships with local councils, health partners, voluntary organisations, childcare providers and families
Play a key role in delivering the Best Start in Life agenda, ensuring Family Hub services reflect community needs and insight
Build community capacity and support partners to deliver sustainable, high quality early years and childcare services
Use data, planning tools and strategic analysis to identify unmet needs and develop effective, inclusive solutions
Ensure vulnerable children and families—especially those in disadvantaged communities—can access the services they need to thrive

We are looking for someone with:

Degree level education or equivalent experience in early years, childcare, community development or partnership working
Strong influencing skills and the ability to build trusted relationships across diverse stakeholders
Experience leading community capacity building or partnership initiatives
Knowledge of national Early Years & Childcare policy and the government’s Family Hub and Best Start programmes
Strong analytical skills and experience using data led planning tools
A collaborative, problem solving mindset and commitment to continuous improvement

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in partnership driven environments, enjoys working with communities and wants to make a tangible difference to children’s lives across Essex. This is your chance to:

Contribute to a high profile, nationally recognised transformation programme
Help shape the future of Early Years and Family Hub services in Essex
Work within a supportive, multidisciplinary team committed to innovation, equity and high quality outcomes
Ensure every child in Essex gets the Best Start in Life

Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

To read more about us please visit: Education - Working for Essex

Why Essex? Essex County Council has a location to be proud of. Our 1,300 square miles stretch from Constable Country to the Thames Estuary, from the dynamic M11 corridor to the traditional seaside resorts of Clacton and Walton. England’s oldest town, Colchester, and two of its newest – Basildon and Harlow – are right here. Along with the City of Chelmsford, the county town, they form our major population centres. It means real choice and makes Essex the ideal place for your career. Read more about us here.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.

We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community here.

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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EYCC Children’s Community Development Lead