Manager, EmPower Contextual Safeguarding

Lancashire County Council; Marshaw; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire County Council is recruiting a Senior Manager for the EmPower Contextual Safeguarding service. You will provide strategic and operational leadership across specialist teams, driving trauma-informed, child-first practice with partners and across Lancashire.

You will manage risk, performance and budgets, influence change, and build relationships across organisations while keeping children and families at the heart of decisions.

Qualifications

• Must be a professionally qualified and registered Social Worker with Social Work England.
• Minimum of four years' management or leadership experience in children's social care.
• Management qualification or significant management training.
• Experience with Contextual Safeguarding and leading teams through change.
• Strong partnership and stakeholder engagement skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across specialist teams.
• Drive performance, quality and continuous improvement.
• Oversee risk management, safeguarding and budgets.
• Foster partnership working with professionals and agencies.
• Champion child-first practice and keep children at heart of decisions.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Contextual safeguarding

Stakeholder engagement

People management

Risk management

Education

Qualified Social Worker

Job description

About the Role

As Senior Manager within Lancashire EmPower Contextual Safeguarding, you'll lead services supporting children and young people at critical points in their lives, shaping how we deliver child-first, trauma-informed practice across Lancashire.

You’ll inspire teams, influence partners and help create a service that gives young people the opportunity to move forward and achieve their potential.

This is senior leadership where your impact really matters.

You'll provide strategic and operational leadership across specialist teams, working closely with the Head of Service to drive performance, quality and continuous improvement.

You'll lead high-quality practice, ensure risk and safeguarding are managed effectively and oversee performance, resources and budgets. Partnership working will be central to your role, bringing together professionals and agencies around children and young people while ensuring their voices and those of their families shape the services they receive.

It's a significant leadership opportunity to influence the future of youth justice across Lancashire.

You're an experienced children's social care leader with a strong understanding of Contextual Safeguarding, and a track record of leading high-performing teams through change and improvement.

You'll be confident making complex decisions, managing risk and performance and building strong relationships across organisational boundaries. Most importantly, you'll be a leader who can bring people with you while keeping children and young people at the heart of your decisions.

You’ll need a minimum of four years' management or leadership experience within children's social care and must be a professionally qualified and registered Social Worker, meeting Social Work England professional standards. You'll also hold a management qualification or have undertaken significant management training.

We’re looking for a leader who can bring people with them, champion child-first practice and help shape the future of youth justice across Lancashire.

Closing Date: Sunday 1st November

Interviews: TBC

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). If successful you will be required to apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for a 'disclosure'. Further information can be found on the 'Our Recruitment Process' tab.

You will be required to provide a car for use in connection with the duties of this post and must be insured for business use. However, we may consider you if you cannot drive because of a disability.

Local Government Reorganisation

The Government has confirmed that local government across Lancashire will be reorganised, with the current 15 councils being replaced by four new unitary councils covering North, South, East and West Lancashire from April 2028.

If you are successful in your application, you will initially join Lancashire County Council. However, as part of the planned transition, your employment will transfer to one of the new unitary councils from April 2028, subject to the implementation of the reorganisation and relevant employment legislation.

Throughout this period, our focus remains on delivering excellent services to our communities. By joining us now, you'll play an important role in shaping the future of local government and helping to build a strong new organisation that will serve residents for years to come.

We want our leaders to have the support and flexibility they need to perform at their best. You'll join an organisation where trusted leadership, wellbeing and collaboration are central to how we work.

Development that grows with you

You'll have the opportunity to influence a critical area of Children's Services, working alongside senior leaders and partners while helping shape future services, practice and workforce development across Lancashire.

A culture grounded in inclusivity

Our values are supportive, innovative, respectful and collaborative. We want leaders who create inclusive teams, listen to children and families and empower people to deliver their best work.