Service Manager - Adoption & Care Leavers

Instagram; Hamsterley; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading social services organization in Hamsterley is looking for a proven manager to lead teams serving children and young people. This role requires strong management and leadership skills with a focus on driving improvement and maintaining high standards of practice. Successful candidates will benefit from a supportive working environment with access to professional development and flexible work arrangements. Competitive salary, generous leave entitlement, and a retention allowance of £2,500 over 12 months are included.

Benefits

Generous annual leave entitlement

Local Government Pension Scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• Proven leader with management skills in children's services.
• Ability to mentor and empower teams effectively.
• Strong understanding of regulations and safeguarding.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support teams in children's services.
• Promote practice that prioritizes children and young people's well-being.
• Implement the local 'How we Practice in Durham' framework.

Skills

Leadership in children's services

Relationship building with multi-agency partners

Empathy and integrity

Strong management skills

Job description

Are you a proven manager ready to take the next step in your leadership journey? This is a rare opportunity to lead a service where you can make a lasting difference to the lives of children and young people in County Durham. You will have a broad portfolio covering the Adoption, Care Leavers, Permanence and Unaccompanied Asylum‑Seeking Children teams. Although all of your teams are social work led, and working within the legislative framework they benefit from the skills and experience of alternatively qualified practitioners.

• Promote outstanding practice that keeps children, young people, families, and carers at the centre of everything you and your teams do.
• Lead with empathy, integrity, and ambition, ensuring every decision is rooted in what's best for our children and young people.
• Work within our "How we Practice in Durham" framework, embedding it in your practice and that of your teams.
• Set high standards and create a positive environment that supports good practice and wellbeing.

You'll join us at a fantastic time – our Children's Services have been judged Outstanding by Ofsted. Read the full report here.

Qualifications

• Is a proven leader with strong management skills and experience in children's services.
• Is able to mentor and empower teams, driving improvement.
• Has a strong understanding of regulations, inspection frameworks, and safeguarding.
• Is ambitious for our children and young people and committed to improving outcomes.
• Is skilled in building effective relationships with multi‑agency partners.

Please refer to the attached Person Specification for the full criteria. If successful, you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced Disclosure.

We are passionate about social work in County Durham. We are committed to providing a culture where good practice can flourish. We will ensure you are highly supported. You will benefit from high quality professional supervision, a great induction, and access to our really strong learning and development offer. When you are ready to take your next step our aspiring managers programme "rising stars" will be there for you. We encourage flexible working to achieve a good work‑life balance. You can find out more about social work in Durham here.

Benefits

We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years' continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions.

This post is eligible for a recruitment/retention allowance of £2,500 over 12 months (pro‑rata for part time workers). Payments are made in equal instalments across a 12‑month period alongside your pay. The allowances are subject to tax, National Insurance and pension contributions.