Fostering Team Manager

Compass Fostering; Whitstable; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car Allowance

Wellbeing

Bonuses

Medical Platform

Awards

Life Assurance

Increased Holiday

Career Development

Job summary

Compass Fostering in Whitstable is recruiting a Fostering Team Manager to lead supervising social workers, driving excellence in practice and safeguarding for children in care. The role involves regional travel, collaboration with the Head of Fostering, and ensuring high-quality service delivery across the team.

You will oversee operational performance, recruitment and retention of carers, and keep regulatory standards at the forefront, while building strong relationships with local authorities

Qualifications

• Professional qualification in social work and registration with Social Care England (or equivalent).
• Experience leading supervising social workers or similar teams.
• Strong commitment to safeguarding and child welfare.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the Fostering Service and deliver the overarching strategic plan for Compass Fostering.
• Lead, motivate and guide a team of social care practitioners to deliver outstanding care and safeguarding.
• Ensure high quality, reflective practice is documented, evidenced and quality assured.
• Work to regulatory standards and ensure practice is consistently high and compliant.
• Achieve regional targets for placement growth and carer recruitment/retention.
• Provide day-to-day operational support to Supervising Social Workers and develop a skilled, motivated team.
• Liaise with Ofsted on Schedule 6/7 matters when delegated and monitor safeguarding processes.
• Develop and strengthen relationships with LA customers and other stakeholders.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Communication

Regulatory understanding

Education

Social work qualification

Job description

About The Role

Are you a Life Changer? Do you want to lean in and transform the life of a child?

Compass Community puts children first through our therapeutic, innovative approach.Integrity, Courage and Care shape how we work. We listen deeply, challenge each other and fixing what needs fixing, together.

This is the work. And we’d like you to be part of it.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and passionate Fostering Team Manager to join our experienced and successful team who are responsible for leading an experienced team of Supervising Social Workers whom are reflective and creative in practice. Working collaboratively with all stakeholders, you will strive to ensure that the children and young people in our care reach their full potential.

You will be based at our Whitstable office, though regional travel is part of the role to support your team and national travel will be required to visit other Compass offices. A car and a valid driving licence are essential to the role.

In this role you will:

• Contribute to the Fostering Service in delivering the overarching strategic plan for Compass.
• Work with the Head of Fostering in delivering operational excellence, continuous improvement and financial performance of the business whilst safeguarding children and young people.
• Lead, motivate and guide a team of social care practitioners in ensuring that we provide outstanding care and the best possible outcomes for our children and child protection and safeguarding principles are embedded in practice.
• Work within Compass Fostering Policy and legal and regulatory standards and requirements and ensure that the team’s practice is of a consistent high quality, reflective, evidence based, documented and quality assured.
• Achieve regional targets and KPI’s for placement growth and carer recruitment and retention whilst ensuring that the needs of the children and young people and the carers are met when making placements.
• Demonstrate a positive and dynamic leadership and management style, responsible for providing day to day operational support to your team of Supervising Social Workers, creating a highly skilled, trained and motivated team.
• Safeguard the children and young people in our care, including support to the Registered Manager within the monitoring of Schedule 6/7 matters and when appropriate, to have delegated responsibility for liaising with Ofsted on these matters.
• Demonstrate excellent communication and engagement skills in developing, managing and strengthening the customer relationship with key LA customers.
• Have a relevant professional qualification in social work and be Social Care England (or equivalent) registered.

Benefits of Joining Compass Fostering

• Career Development – We offer many career paths, recognising hard work & supporting your professional progression.
• Competitive Salary – using structured pay grades based on your training and experience.
• Car Allowance – £100 p/m car allowance to allow you to work flexibly from different locations.
• Wellbeing – Access to therapeutic wellbeing sessions with our Therapeutic Services team.
• Bonuses – Receive £200 (2 years), £400 (5 years) and £600 (10 years) serviceawards, plus up to £500 special recognition award for outstanding practice.
• Medical Platform - Cashback for various medical appointments & treatments including optical and dental with MediCash.
• Awards – Win up to £150 in vouchers every month from our REACH Awards.
• Life Assurance Scheme – 3 x annual salary after successful completion of your probation review.
• Increased Holiday – 25 days annual leave, rising to 28 days within 4 years, plus all bankholidays. Additional 2.5 days each year for your birthday, a health and wellbeing day and a half-day festive shopping day.

Our recruitment process aims to create and maintain a safe workforce and contains robust vetting procedures. The successful applicants will be offered a role subject to satisfactory references and an enhanced DBS check.

Compass is an equal-opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. As we continue to grow, we know that we must have the most talented employees with diverse backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, and experiences to support our children and young people.