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Cambridgeshire social services department's reputation goes before it. Think Cambridgeshire, think a damning Social Services Inspectorate report into its child protection service following the Rikki Neave case; the jailing of former employee Keith Laverack for abusing children; and claims of management bullying.

A disastrous year in 1997 culminated in a final blow from junior health minister Paul Boateng in October when he threatened to take over the running of the department.

Few would envy the successful applicant to the buck-stops-here post of social services director. But Liz Railton, who takes over from acting social services director Brian Waller in February, seems surprisingly undaunted.

The sense of a new start will be heightened in April when Cambridgeshire loses Peterborough, which becomes a unitary authority.

Railton has no illusions about the scale of her task, and feels that raising staff morale could be the hardest part.

'I'm very much one for looking at what has gone on. The SSI report identifies what needs to be done and there's a lot of work going on there to put things right. But a lot of confidence restoration needs to be done and that's sometimes harder than the tasks.'

Railton's appointment makes her the first female chief officer in Cambridgeshire - in sharp contrast to her experiences in the early 1980s when she believes she was turned down for a couple of jobs because she was a woman.

Despite improvements, it would be foolish to say there are no problems now. 'The number of female directors is completely disproportionate to the number of females working in the field,' she says.

Her time at Oxford University studying for a history degree had no direct relevance to her eventual career, but, after starting 'on the shop floor' as a social work assistant, she returned to Oxford to do her CQSW and an MSc in applied social studies.

Railton has spent the last year seconded from her post as assistant director (children and families) for Hertfordshire social services department, working with the SSI and Audit Commission on joint reviews.

This has given her a different perspective. 'It's certainly been a tremendous opportunity to realise the benefits of listening to what users are trying to say about their service and what front-line staff say about delivering services.'

As a senior manager in Hertfordshire since 1991, Railton felt she needed to take a step back from management. She always knew she would return to the management fold though, because 'I'm very much somebody who wants to be in there dealing with issues and facing the daily challenges'.

By Natalie Valios