Senior Manager - Support and Protect, EDT, MA Children's Hub

Westmorland and Furness Council; England; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Westmorland and Furness Council seeks an exceptional Senior Manager – Support and Protect and Multi-Agency Children\'s Hub (MACH) to provide strategic leadership across safeguarding and child protection services. You will oversee Support and Protect Services, MACH and Emergency Duty Team, ensuring timely and proportionate responses to safeguarding concerns.

You will lead on pre-proceedings and court-related practice, champion high-performance social work, and drive improvement with a strong

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in children’s services and safeguarding.
• Experience guiding cross-agency collaboration and system-wide improvement.
• Proven ability to lead large teams and manage substantial budgets.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for Support and Protect Services, MACH, and Emergency Duty Team.
• Drive continuous improvement and regulatory readiness across safeguarding services.
• Lead pre-proceedings and court-related practice with visible workforce leadership.
• Collaborate with partners across health, police, education and other agencies to keep children at the centre of decisions.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Budget management

Partnership working

Communication

Public sector leadership

Education

Social Work degree (or equivalent)

Registration with Social Work England

Job description

Are you an experienced and inspirational children's services leader ready to make a real difference for children, young people and families?

Westmorland and Furness Council is seeking an exceptional Senior Manager – Support and Protect and Multi-Agency Children's Hub (MACH) to provide strategic leadership across our safeguarding and child protection services. This is a key senior leadership role within Children's and Families, responsible for leading high-quality services that support and protect vulnerable children and ensure that statutory responsibilities are delivered effectively and consistently.

You will oversee Support and Protect Services, the Multi-Agency Children's Hub (MACH) and Emergency Duty Team, ensuring that children and families receive timely, effective and proportionate responses to safeguarding concerns. Working closely with partners across health, police, education and the wider safeguarding system, you will champion a culture where children's needs are at the centre of decision-making.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to shape strategic direction, drive continuous improvement, lead inspection readiness and embed excellent social work practice across services. You will also lead on pre-proceedings and court-related practice while providing visible leadership and support to a workforce.

Who we are looking for…

We are looking for a highly skilled and experienced senior leader who is passionate about achieving the best possible outcomes for children and families.

You will bring:

• A recognised Social Work qualification at degree level (or equivalent).
• Registration with Social Work England.
• Significant senior management experience within children's social care and safeguarding services.
• A proven track record of leading large teams, managing substantial budgets and delivering service improvement.
• Extensive experience of working in partnership across agencies and influencing strategic outcomes.
• Experience of leading services through inspection and regulatory scrutiny.
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding, child protection, pre-proceedings and court work.
• The ability to communicate effectively and confidently with a wide range of stakeholders, including elected members, senior leaders and partner organisations.
• A demonstrable commitment to creating a culture of high performance, continual improvement and excellent social work practice.

As a senior leader, you will exemplify the leadership behaviours of Westmorland and Furness Council and be committed to delivering outstanding services for children, young people and families.

For an informal discussion with Jonathan Taylor, Director – Children and Families about this opportunity, please contact: [e-mail]