Service Manager

Southampton City Council; Southampton; On-site; GBP 67,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent benefits

Death in service

Generous holiday

Flexible working

Family-friendly policies

Coaching and mentoring

Employee assistance

Armed Forces Covenant

Retail discounts

Gym discounts

Sustainable travel benefits

Volunteer days

Job summary

Southampton City Council is seeking an exceptional Service Manager to lead a portfolio of services central to family help, safeguarding and family-led solutions. The role requires strategic leadership across a diverse, innovative mix of teams and close collaboration with senior leaders and partners.

You will shape pathways that prevent escalation and improve outcomes for children and families. The role offers an opportunity to influence nationally significant reform, working within a

Qualifications

• Energetic, ambitious and passionate about improving children's lives.
• Thinks creatively and brings fresh ideas to complex challenges.
• Can inspire and motivate others through periods of change and transformation.
• Has a proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and build strong partnerships.
• Understands the importance of family networks, strengths-based practice and whole-family approaches.
• Is confident working strategically while maintaining a relentless focus on operational delivery.
• Can identify opportunities, challenge existing ways of working and drive innovation at pace.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across a portfolio of services central to delivering Families First for Children.
• Oversee multidisciplinary teams including the Adult Facing Team, Specialist Assessment Team, Building Bridges, Kinship Services, and Family Group Conferencing.
• Embed Southampton’s Family Help approach and strengthen whole-family pathways to prevent escalation and reduce statutory intervention.
• Lead and inspire managers and practitioners to deliver outstanding outcomes for children and families.
• Collaborate with senior leaders, partners and practitioners to shape and deliver reform at pace.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Change management

Partnership building

Family-centred practice

Analytical thinking

Job description

Following our significant transformation programme and our strong progress in delivering the national Families First for Children reforms, we are seeking an exceptional Service Manager to lead a diverse and innovative portfolio of services that sit at the heart of our vision for delivering family help, family safeguarding and family-led solutions. This is a unique opportunity for an ambitious and dynamic leader to help shape the future of children's services in one of the country's most forward-thinking local authorities. Southampton Children's Services is proud of its strong track record of improvement and innovation. Our ambition is simple: to ensure children receive the right help at the right time, enabling them to thrive within their families and communities wherever it is safe to do so. We are proud of the ambition, energy and momentum that exists across our service, and we are looking for leaders who want to be part of that journey.

The Role

As Service Manager, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across a portfolio of services that are central to the successful delivery of Southampton's Families First for Children programme. Your portfolio will include:

• Our newly established Multi-Disciplinary Adult Facing Team, bringing together specialist practitioners in substance use, domestic abuse and adult mental health
• Specialist Assessment Team
• Building Bridges
• Kinship Services
• Family Group Conferencing

Leadership Profile

You will lead and inspire high-performing managers and multidisciplinary professionals, creating the conditions for innovation, strong practice and excellent outcomes for children and families. Working closely with senior leaders, partners and practitioners, you will play a critical role in embedding Southampton's Family Help approach, strengthening whole family working and developing increasingly effective pathways that prevent escalation and reduce the need for statutory intervention.

• Is energetic, ambitious and passionate about improving children's lives
• Thinks creatively and brings fresh ideas to complex challenges
• Can inspire and motivate others through periods of change and transformation
• Has a proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and build strong partnerships
• Understands the importance of family networks, strengths-based practice and whole-family approaches
• Is confident working strategically while maintaining a relentless focus on operational delivery
• Can identify opportunities, challenge existing ways of working and drive innovation at pace

Most importantly, we want somebody who sees possibility where others see barriers and who is excited by the opportunity to help shape a nationally significant reform programme.

Why Southampton?

Southampton is at the forefront of children's social care reform. We are investing in new ways of working, creating innovative multidisciplinary services and strengthening partnerships across children's and adults' services. The creation of our Adult Facing Team, expansion of family network support services and continued development of Family Safeguarding approaches place Southampton in a strong position to deliver the ambitions of the Families First for Children programme. You will join a supportive and ambitious senior leadership team that is committed to delivering outstanding services, encouraging innovation and providing opportunities for professional growth. If you are looking for a role where you can influence strategy, drive meaningful change and help create nationally leading services, this is your opportunity.

What we can offer you:

Salary: The salary band for this role is £67,375 - £76,270 per annum. The starting salary is £67,375 with annual progression through the salary bands. Here at SCC we have a range of different benefits, a few examples can be found below.

• Excellent with 15.2% employer contribution
• Death in service benefit of x3 salary, and optional salary sacrifice shared cost AVC (additional voluntary contribution)
• Generous holiday 25-31 days, based on role and service
• Flexible working options (role-dependent)
• Family-friendly policies - Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared/Unpaid Parental Leave, Time off for Dependents
• Training and development, including coaching and mentoring
• Health and wellbeing support - Employee Assistance Programme, Menopause Pledge, Mental Health First Aiders and access to a variety of staff networks
• Veteran-friendly employer with the Armed Forces Covenant
• Retail discounts and savings through the Southampton City Council benefits platform
• Discounted memberships at local sports and fitness centres
• Sustainable travel benefits - low emission car scheme, cycle to work, season ticket loans
• Employee volunteering scheme with 2 paid days leave to volunteer