Service Manager, Children in Care and Care Leavers

at  South Gloucestershire Council

HOW YOU’LL MAKE A DIFFERENCE

In South Gloucestershire we are ambitious for the children in our care and our care leavers. We are looking for a service manager who can make a difference in helping our staff and young people reach their full potential.
In this broad and challenging role, you will make a significant contribution to the Council’s key priorities: ‘Creating the best start in life for our children and young people’ and ‘Identifying and supporting those most in need and helping people to help themselves’.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU

This is a great opportunity; it’s a big role and a lot to do but it’s a really exciting opportunity to develop your career.

• You will possess a recognised and relevant professional qualification e.g. DipSW, CQSW, CSS. In addition to being registered with Social Work England.
• You will have a clear in-depth understanding of the national issues and legal framework relating to Children and Young People.
• You will be a skilled communicator, able to deal with confidential and highly sensitive issues.
• You will be able to demonstrate relevant experience of leadership and change management.
• You can evidence a proven track record of senior management within Children and Young Peoples Services for both budget and resources.

You will be expected to travel throughout the authority and surrounding area so must have a full valid driving licence with regular access to a vehicle insured for business purposes, or have alternative appropriate means of travel.
Please note that due to the nature of this role it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained for this post.

You will be managing key areas of our Children in Care and and Care Leaver Service , which includes;

• Early Permanence
• Children in Care (Looked After Children)
• Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children
• Children leaving Car

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING?

You will be managing key areas of our Children in Care and and Care Leaver Service , which includes;

• Early Permanence
• Children in Care (Looked After Children)
• Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children
• Children leaving Care

Reporting to the Head of Service for Children’s Corporate Parenting and Locality Services, you will be responsible for direct management of 5 Team Managers and a wider service including 14.4 Full Time Equivalent Social Workers, in additional to our Social Work Assistants, Personal Advisors and wider support functions.
You will be leading operational management oversight and accountable for practice improvement and embedding and sustaining good practice across the service.
We know where we want to be, and you will have a pivotal role in helping us to continue our onward improvements as part of the wider senior leadership team.

This is a great opportunity; it’s a big role and a lot to do but it’s a really exciting opportunity to develop your career.

• You will possess a recognised and relevant professional qualification e.g. DipSW, CQSW, CSS. In addition to being registered with Social Work England.
• You will have a clear in-depth understanding of the national issues and legal framework relating to Children and Young People.
• You will be a skilled communicator, able to deal with confidential and highly sensitive issues.
• You will be able to demonstrate relevant experience of leadership and change management.
• You can evidence a proven track record of senior management within Children and Young Peoples Services for both budget and resources

This is a big role and there is lot to do but it’s a really exciting opportunity to develop your career and we will make sure you get lots of support.

• What’s special here is the strength of the team ethos. We are a relatively small local authority, so managers know staff well. They can plan their services to ensure teams have manageable caseloads and have effective supervision so feel supported to make decisions which are right for the children and young people they work with.
• We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted, and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities