Children's Services - Team Manager

at  Southampton City Council

JOB REFERENCE

14931
Job Description

CHILDREN’S SERVICES TEAM MANAGER:- £54,599 - £61,658 (PLUS MARKET SUPPLEMENT, WHERE APPROPRIATE)

Southampton City Council Children’s Services have worked hard over the last 4 years to create a significant shift in culture and performance, becoming an employer of choice for the best social workers, managers and leaders in the South. Our efforts were recognized by OFSTED in our 2023 ILACS grading of “Good with Outstanding Leadership.”
In our continued drive for innovation and improvement we have launched a full service re-design to prepare us for the implementation of a Family Safeguarding/Family Help model of delivery in the City. As a result of this we have created several new leadership positions and are excited to offer an invitation for applicants to come and join us on our journey.
In Southampton our staff are cared for and stretched in equal measure. We all need managers and leaders who listen to us, inspire us, support us, and provide a safe environment for us to practice at our very best. Our Team managers are pivotal to our strong social work family, where practitioners and feel safe to learn from honest mistakes, are supported to develop enduring relationships with children and families and are actively encouraged to share their views about the environment in which they work.
Whether this is your first step into management or you are looking for a change, we would love to hear from you.
Please indicate on your application which team you would prefer.
We welcome applications from all parts of our community and we are especially keen to receive applications from people of Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, and men.

Team Manager posts we are looking to recruit to are:

• Children in care (Pathways through Care)

As a service we care about providing brilliant permanent care for our children in care and care leavers. We want to continually improve and show our children in care and care leavers that we are aspirational for them and what they can achieve in their relationships, communities, education, training, and life’s big adventures. We are looking for a team manager to join our hugely committed team who can demonstrate genuine care for children, young people and carers and who will help us to continue to build a service where acceptance and lasting, trusting relationships matter more than anything else.

• Fostering

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Team Manager to join our fostering service. We are looking for a committed and motivated individual to join our fostering service. In the role of Team Manager you will ensure that the fostering team delivers a high quality service to Southampton Foster Carers. You will provide support, supervision and training for supervising social workers to provide a safe and secure environment for the children and young people of Southampton. This is an excellent opportunity for an enthusiastic, creative and flexible individual with a recognised social work qualification with knowledge and experience of fostering to join us on our improvement journey to continue to build an invigorated, vibrant and creative fostering service.
We are looking for passionate, dynamic leaders who are able to energise others with their vision and drive for delivering excellent services for children.
During our recent Ofsted inspection where we received Good with Outstanding for Leadership and Management Ofsted noted:
“Impressive strategic and operational leadership, aligned with corporate and political commitment, has provided a clear vision, ambition and energy which has garnered the confidence and commitment of key partners. There is a collective momentum to continue to improve services and outcomes for children across the city.”
Systemic practice is our overarching approach. Its principles encourage us to practise in a way that is appreciative, and strengths-based, with a belief in the family’s capacity to create real and sustainable change. A systemic approach invites us to be curious about our own and others’ perspectives, helping people in families to do the same. This can create space for new ideas and possibilities for change to emerge.
We have chosen systemic practice as our overarching approach because we recognise how significant our relationships can be for building trust and having the kind of conversations that can lead to change. Our strong Community-of-Practice reflects this and is one of the many opportunities we offer for you to develop your systemic thinking and ideas.
If this sounds like an opportunity that excites and interests you then we very much look forward to receiving your application.

HOW TO APPLY:

The supporting statement section of the application form must be completed, unless there are specific criteria questions for you to evidence against. Applications are shortlisted against the essential and desirable criteria found within the job description for the post. Please refer to the job description when completing your application form and evidence how you meet the required criteria/questions. A CV on its own will not be considered.

Please refer the Job description for details