Service Manager

Suffolk County Council; Lowestoft; Hybrid; GBP 62,000 - 74,000; Full time

Job summary

Suffolk County Council is recruiting a Service Manager to lead the County Children and Young People Disability Service (CCYPDS). You will guide a specialist multidisciplinary team supporting children aged 0-17 with disabilities, ensuring timely, high-quality services and positive outcomes for families.

The role demands senior leadership, strategic thinking and a commitment to co-produced, strengths-based social work in a Family Help model across the county.

Qualifications

• significant leadership experience within Children's Social Care and SEND services
• strong understanding of legislative and statutory frameworks
• substantial experience leading multidisciplinary teams and managing complex services
• excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building skills
• analytical and strategic thinking with data-driven improvement
• experience managing risk and safeguarding vulnerable children
• track record delivering service improvements and positive outcomes
• ability to inspire, motivate and develop others

Responsibilities

• provide strong and visible leadership across social work, occupational therapy and short breaks services
• champion a clear and ambitious vision for children, families and staff
• inspire, support and develop high-performing teams in a positive working environment
• promote staff wellbeing and sustainable workloads
• set high standards of performance and accountability for safe, high-quality practice
• embed culture of learning, innovation and reflective practice
• oversee and manage significant resources and multi-agency partnerships to improve outcomes

Skills

Leadership experience

Children's Social Care

SEND services

Communication skills

Stakeholder engagement

Data analysis

Risk management

Staff development

Change management

Partnership building

Education

Social Work qualification

Job description

• Suffolk County Council
• Address: Beacon House, Ipswich IP1 5PB, West Suffolk House, Bury St Edmunds IP33 3YU or Riverside, Lowestoft SuffolkNR33 0EQ. Hybrid work
• Salary:£62,119 - £73,998per annum (pro rata for part time)
• Hours:37 hours per week, flexible working options available
• Contract:Permanent

This is an exciting opportunity to lead Suffolk County Council's County Children and Young People Disability Service (CCYPDS), supporting some of our most vulnerable children, young people, and families.

As Service Manager, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering high-quality, innovative services that make a real, lasting difference. Working within Suffolk's Family Help model, you will lead a specialist multi-disciplinary service supporting children and young people with disabilities aged 0 to 17 years, ensuring they receive the right support, at the right time, to achieve the best possible outcomes.

This influential leadership role offers the opportunity to drive service excellence, inspire and empower staff, and shape strategic developments across the county. Through your vision, expertise, and commitment to improving lives, you will help ensure children, young people, and families receive the support they need to thrive.

Your role and responsibilities

You will provide strong and visible leadership across social work, occupational therapy, and short breaks services, creating a culture where staff feel valued, supported, and empowered to deliver outstanding outcomes for children, young people, and their families.

As Service Manager, you will:

• champion a clear and ambitious vision for children, young people, families, and staff, driving service development and continuous improvement
• inspire, support, and develop high-performing teams, fostering a positive and inclusive working environment
• promote staff wellbeing and sustainable workloads, enabling teams to thrive and deliver their best work
• set high standards of performance and accountability, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, and high-quality practice
• embed a culture of learning, innovation, and reflective practice that encourages growth and excellence
• oversee and manage significant resources effectively, working across complex multi-agency pathways and building strong partnerships to improve outcomes.

This is a unique opportunity to make a lasting impact, leading a dedicated workforce and shaping services that support children and young people with disabilities to achieve their full potential.

What you will need

You will be an experienced and inspiring leader with a passion for improving outcomes for children and young people with disabilities. Most importantly, you will be committed to empowering practitioners to deliver meaningful, strengths-based social work that is co-produced with families and focused on achieving lasting change.

You will bring:

• significant leadership experience within Children's Social Care and SEND services
• a strong understanding of the legislative and statutory frameworks that support children and young people with disabilities
• substantial experience of leading multidisciplinary teams and managing complex services
• excellent communication, influencing, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to develop effective partnerships across organisations
• strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to use data and insight to drive improvement and performance
• experience of managing risk, safeguarding vulnerable children, and ensuring high standards of professional practice
• a proven track record of delivering service improvements and achieving positive outcomes for children, young people, and families
• the ability to inspire, motivate, and develop others, creating a culture where people can thrive and perform at their best

To be successful in this role, you will hold a recognised Social Work qualification and be registered with Social Work England.

The team

County Children and Young Peoples Disability Service (CCYPDS) is a small specialist service working across the full range of statutory intervention for children and young people. We play a key role in supporting and advising other teams regarding disability related issues.

The Service is a combination of Social Care, Occupational Therapists and Activities Unlimited - Short Break Service.

You will be joining an experienced team of practitioners and managers who are invested in this area of work and work hard to support each other countywide.

Empowering Everyone

We’rebig believers in potential,possibilityand the power of different ideas.We’realways searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want torepresentthe diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown inour Workforce Equality Report.

For more information

Please contact Fran Arnold (she/her), Head of Service, for a casual conversation. You can reach them by emailing [e-mail]

Do you need any reasonable adjustments to help you to apply?

If you are disabled and/or have additional support needs, you can request reasonable adjustments. You can do this by contacting our Recruitment Team by emailing [e-mail] or calling 03456 014412. You can find examples of possible adjustments on our Reasonable Adjustment pages.

Closing date: 11.30 pm, 6 October 2026.

We value authentic applications that showcase your genuine skills and experiences, so we encourage you to present your own work and ideas throughout the process. If AI is used inappropriately, your application may not be progressed.

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.