The troubled children's services department at has a new executive director - left the post
Alastair Gibbons, who will report directly to strategic director for people Peter Hay, is charged with driving through the authority's improvement agenda and ensuring proper oversight of a substantial change programme agreed by Birmingham's children's commissioner Lord Warner.
Mr Gibbons has 30 years of experience in local authority social services since completing his social work qualification at the University of Birmingham.
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He has worked in a number of different roles in both children's and adult services, mainly in Leicestershire, Milton Keynes and Essex.
Mr Gibbons was assistant director for children's social care in Milton Keynes for five years before moving to Essex in 2012 to be part of a new senior management team which helped Essex move from 'inadequate' to 'good' through a focus on relationship-based social work with families.
He said: "I am very honoured to be offered this key post to lead Birmingham children's social care.
"This will be a challenge and an opportunity to build more effective social work services that will meet the needs of children and support their families.
"I am very much looking forward to that challenge and opportunity, working with and building on the progress social work staff have made over the past year."
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The interim leadership at Birmingham over the summer will continue prior to Mr Gibbons starting his role in February, which includes Eleni Ioannides , a director of children's services and social care director.
Councillor Brigid Jones, cabinet member for children and family services, said: "I am pleased to be welcoming Alastair back to Birmingham as we move forward in our improvement journey.
"He has done excellent work improving children's social care in Essex and he is ideally suited to the job here in Birmingham."