Team Manager - Children's Social Work

Job Introduction

An exciting opportunity has arisen for the role of Team Manager in the Lichfield Assessment and Staying Together team. This role is based in Lichfield. 

About the Service

Our aim is to create an environment where families are supported to stay together safely and live well in their communities by building on their strengths.

This is the right thing to do. Families tell us they do not want to be in services and evidence says that lives are better when needs can be met early within the family or community.

Working in this way is also more sustainable. We can support more families to live better lives if we focus on addressing needs as early as we can. This report details the changes we have already made across the children and families system.

Main Responsibility

You will:

• Lead on the delivery of the statutory responsibilities of the Authority relating to children’s safeguarding (in the broadest sense) under the Children and Families Act 2017 and it’s contextual framework through Working Together 2015 and other relevant legislation e.g. Education Act 1996, Children Act 1989, Adoption & Children Act 2006 etc.
• Provide the highest level of professional leadership, motivation and direction to a team of qualified Social Workers, family practitioners and others to ensure that the service provided is effective and meets the needs of children, young people and their families.
• Lead a team of practitioners and manage the day to day practice and the safe allocation of work and to ensure these are progressed in accordance with the statutory frameworks (as applicable).
• Ensure that effective professional practice and supervision is delivered throughout the team following the principles of the knowledge and skills statements for Social Workers and in adherence with Children and Social Work Act 2017.
• Identify and embed service improvements through audits, quality assurance, identifying training, benchmarking and the interpretation and dissemination of legislation.

The Ideal Candidate

You will have:

• Professional Social Work qualification.
• Additional professional qualification in a related area or evidence which can demonstrate skills, knowledge and ability e.g. Practice Educator.
• Experience of working at a senior level within a local authority.
• Knowledge of managing Social Workers and others within a single or multi-professional team.

About Staffordshire County Council

We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too. 

Our benefits:

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance. 

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

Our recruitment process:

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post. 

As you’ll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.