Suzanne Taylor
Summary
Experienced strategic leader across the statutory and charity sector built up over the last 20+ years specialising in service development, safeguarding, transformational change, operational and strategic leadership in services to support children and their families.
Passionate about better outcomes for children with a focus on their voice and participation, evaluation and impact, and evidence based practice.
Experienced in working collaboratively across organizations and in partnership to influence wide scale systemic change both nationally and locally. A compassionate and values driven leader who wants to lead others well, collaborate, develop high quality services and to influence change.
Served on several national advisory boards and external reference groups alongside frequently presenting to varied audiences and is the current chair of a Special Interest Group on Youth Justice.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work history
Practice Development Advisor
the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse
National
08.2024 - Current
- Strategic level consultancy. Focussed on safeguarding partnerships, schools and voluntary sector to identify and respond to child sexual abuse and exploitation
- Advising on change programmes including set up, governance, embedding and impact monitoring
- Developing resources based on victim/survivors' voice
- Representing the CSA Centre at local and national events
- Networking to find opportunities to collaborate
- Influencing policy and practice at a national level
Assistant Director
Barnardo's
National
09.2021 - 08.2024
- Led the strategic formulation and implementation of one of Barnardo's three strategic programs
- Directed specialist team of National Programme Development Managers to set up and lead multiyear place-based system change programmes focused on coproducing long term change for children and families
- Managed a complex budget and regular reporting to the charity board, corporate leadership team and local partnerships
- Fostered strong internal and external connections to influence change across regions and nations
- Specialised in service development, research insights and strategic advice for policy and fundraising
- Served as safeguarding lead and adviser to national inspection framework
- Achievements include: Feedback from Barnardo's senior leader ‘Suzanne has brought strategic focus and clarity' since taking over 2 years ago. Other testimonials can be found on my LinkedIn profile. Selected to attend various events on behalf of the charity including House of Commons Summer Reception and Buckingham Palace events. Regularly presenting at national conferences and attending around tables events. Please see achievements section for other achievements.
Service Lead - Youth Justice & Prevention
Oldham & Greater Manchester
07.2013 - 09.2021
- Leadership of the strategic and operational delivery across the Youth Justice Service, ensuring budget management and policy adherence
- Oversaw data and performance reporting to board and national body, including service improvement journey and inspection readiness
- Oversaw complex portfolio of youth projects, including successful missing from home return home interview service
- Served on Safeguarding Partnership and Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel amongst others
- Held an additional role as Greater Manchester Resettlement Coordinator (job share) 2020-21. To re-establish and maintain this alliance across Greater Manchester, working collaboratively to improve outcomes for children
- Achievements: on Inspection rated good, with elements of outstanding. I led our inspection improvement including a restructure, improving policies, standards, training, use of data and managing performance though significant cultural change. Trauma, improved equality and diversity and participation were central to this. We reduced the number of children in prison, improved outcomes for children and reoffending had reduced year on year over 4 years whilst the satisfaction of our children, victims and families remained high.
- Our missing from home interviews were consistently completed within timescales running between 90-96% within the 72 hours.
Youth Justice Deputy Manager
Trafford Youth Offending Service
01.2009 - 07.2013
- Managed the post court team and specialist group work programs
- Chaired high-risk meetings related to young people and held professionals to account
- Successfully implemented Spotlight partnership with Police across the borough to improve partnership working.
- Delivered well-received sentencing recommendations praised by Magistrates and Judges
- Specialized in assessment of and intervention work with children who had committed violent and sexual offenses and their families
Education
CMI Strategic Leadership - Level 7 -
Certificate in Transformational Coaching - Catalyst 14 -
ILM Management & Leadership - Level 5 - undefined
Post Graduate Diploma, Youth & Community work - undefined
BA (Hons), Sociology (2:1) - undefined
Skills
- Strategic leadership
- Communication
- National programme management
- Working in Partnership
- Relationship building
- Evaluation & Impact
- Influencing
- Voice & participation
Accomplishments
- A selection of my teams achievements can be found here (page 49/50) The CII Innovation Collective 2024 - Coram Group : Coram Group
- Our excellent Year 1 evaluation of one of programmes can be found here Voices Mean Choices Year One Evaluation Report.pdf (eastriding.org.uk) We were also shortlisted for the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) award 2024 in the children's services category
- Our collaboratively developed language guide based on young people and parents/carers lived experiences of services has been cited by other national charities and endorsed by adult services. This can be viewed here Barnardo's Language Matters.pdf (barnardos.org.uk)
Voluntary work
Chair - Special Interest Group Youth Justice – Association of Child Protection Professionals (AoCPP) (2024 -current)
Local Assessor - HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) 2015 - 2016
Independent Monitoring Board Member - Northwest and Midlands Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) 2013 – 2015
National Advisory Roles
- Association of Child Protection Professionals – Chair Special Interest Group (current)
- Keeping children safe expert group - Alliance for Youth Justice current (current)
- Youth Justice Board Workforce Development Council – Member (current)
- Child Sexual Abuse Centre of Expertise - Advisory Board member (previous)
- The Children’s Society Disrupting Exploitation National - Advisory Group (previous)
References
- Ian Dean, Director, Centre of expertise child sexual abuse, Ian.dean@csecentre.org.uk
- Jon Brown, Director Strategic Partnerships & National Projects, Barnardo's, Jon.Brown@barnardos.org.uk
Timeline
Practice Development Advisor
the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse
08.2024 - Current
Assistant Director
Barnardo's
09.2021 - 08.2024
Service Lead - Youth Justice & Prevention
Oldham & Greater Manchester
07.2013 - 09.2021
Youth Justice Deputy Manager
Trafford Youth Offending Service
01.2009 - 07.2013
ILM Management & Leadership - Level 5 - undefined
Post Graduate Diploma, Youth & Community work - undefined
BA (Hons), Sociology (2:1) - undefined
CMI Strategic Leadership - Level 7 -
Certificate in Transformational Coaching - Catalyst 14 -
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