Assistant Team Manager - Support & Safeguarding

ACHIEVING FOR CHILDREN COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY; Thatcham; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS or Teachers Pension

Flexible working

Induction sessions

Learning & development

Employee Assistance Programme

Staff discounts

Hybrid working environment

Job summary

Achieving for Children is seeking an experienced social work professional to join the Support & Safeguarding Pods. You will mentor and develop social workers, supervise newly qualified practitioners, and help build confidence and consistency across the team while protecting children.

You will work with partner agencies to support safeguarding decisions, navigate complex cases and court processes, and maintain high standards of safeguarding practice.

Qualifications

• Recognised social work qualification and active Social Work England registration.
• Experience supervising or managing staff within Children's Services.
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding legislation, child protection and court processes.
• Ability to oversee complex cases, supporting practitioners and developing professional practice.
• Excellent communication, decision-making and partnership-working skills.
• Child-centred, strengths-based approach to safeguarding and improving outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Provide supervision and development support to practitioners.
• Mentor newly qualified social workers.
• Collaborate with partner agencies on safeguarding decisions.
• Support practitioners with complex cases and court processes.
• Drive high-quality safeguarding practice and outcomes.

Skills

Leadership

Safeguarding

Staff supervision

Communication

Decision-making

Partnership working

Child-centred

Education

Registered with Social Work England

Job description

About the role

Working within our Support & Safeguarding Pods, you'll be part of a team dedicated to protecting children and helping families navigate challenging circumstances. You'll have the opportunity to share your expertise, mentor and develop social workers, including newly qualified practitioners, and help build confidence and consistency across the team. The role also involves working closely with partner agencies, contributing to important decisions about children's safety and wellbeing, and helping practitioners navigate complex cases and court processes. It's an opportunity for an experienced social worker who enjoys developing others, tackling challenges and making a meaningful difference to children's lives.

About you

We're looking for a confident and experienced social work professional who can support, motivate and develop practitioners while maintaining high standards of safeguarding practice. You'll bring strong leadership skills, sound professional judgement and a commitment to achieving the best outcomes for children and families.

• Hold a recognised social work qualification and active Social Work England registration.
• Have experience supervising or managing staff within Children's Services.
• Have strong knowledge of safeguarding legislation, child protection and court processes.
• Be confident overseeing complex cases, supporting practitioners and developing professional practice.
• Demonstrate excellent communication, decision-making and partnership-working skills.
• Take a child-centred, strengths-based approach to safeguarding and improving outcomes.
• Share our values of Trust, Empower and Respect, with a commitment to high-quality practice and continuous improvement.

About our benefits

We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:

• 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)
• Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
• Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
• Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
• A range of staff benefits and discounts
• An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway

For our social work offer click here . For our Recruitment Journey, click here.

Important Information

Start dates

Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.

Right to work

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Equality

We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).