Service Manager - Families First Partnership Programme

WMJobs; Oldbury; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

Birthday off

Pension scheme (21.6%)

Service awards 2/5/10+ years

Flexible working patterns

Career progression

Mileage/subsistence expenses

Employee benefits scheme

Job summary

Sandwell Children's Trust is recruiting a Families First Partnership Programme Service Manager to lead Multi-Agency Child Protection as part of national reforms. This senior role focuses on strengthening statutory social work practice and improving outcomes for children at risk of significant harm.

You will drive a multi-agency approach with partners, ensuring services are responsive and evidence-informed, and you will oversee transformation, performance monitoring, and compliance with duties,

Qualifications

• Experience leading in children's statutory services.
• Expertise in safeguarding and child protection.
• Proven track record transforming services and outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of multi-agency child protection services in line with national reforms.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership to ensure high-quality statutory social work practice.
• Champion best practice in safeguarding, risk assessment, and intervention for children in need of protection.
• Collaborate with partners to embed a shared vision and integrated approach to child protection.
• Monitor performance, ensure compliance with statutory duties, and drive continuous improvement.

Skills

Social work leadership

Child protection expertise

Strategic leadership

Partnership working

Education

Recognised social work qualification & registration

Job description

Sandwell Children's Trust

At Sandwell Children's Trust we strive for excellence to improve the lives of children. Our 'Sandwell Deal', brings together our new improved offering that make Sandwell Children's Trust a great place to work; it also sets out our expectations of you as a member of staff.

What we can offer you

• Generous annual leave of up to 31 days, plus 5 additional days for long service recognition.
• Your birthday off paid in addition to annual leave entitlement and 8 Bank Holidays, plus a concessionary day at Christmas.
• You will receive a generous local government career average pension scheme with employer contributions of 21.6%.
• We recognise individual loyalty with service awards from 2, 5, 10 and every 5 years onwards.
• Flexible working patterns that suit you and all of our roles have well-defined career progression.
• We provide competitive expenses for both mileage (55p per mile) and subsistence, plus access to a comprehensive employee benefits scheme.

Please visit The Sandwell Deal via this hyperlink: https://sandwelldeal.co.uk/

Band J SCP 48-51 (£60,194 - £63,832 per year) dependent on experience

Full-time 37 hours per week

Fixed term contract until 31 March 2027

We are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity for a Families First Partnership Programme Service Manager, with a focus on Multi-Agency Child Protection.

About the Role

We are looking for a highly skilled and experienced Service Manager to lead on Multi-Agency Child Protection as part of the implementation of the national reforms in childrens social care. This is a critical leadership role focused on strengthening statutory social work practice and improving outcomes for children at risk of significant harm.

You will be responsible for driving forward a multi-agency approach to child protection, ensuring that services are responsive, evidence-informed, and aligned with national reform priorities.

Whilst good progress has been made, we are looking to recruit someone skilled, knowledgeable and passionate who can continue to drive improvement at pace and achieve better outcomes for babies, children and young people, particularly where there are concerns about significant harm.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of multi-agency child protection services in line with national reforms.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership to ensure high-quality statutory social work practice.
• Champion best practice in safeguarding, risk assessment, and intervention for children in need of protection.
• Work collaboratively with partners to embed a shared vision and integrated approach to child protection.
• Monitor performance, ensure compliance with statutory duties, and drive continuous improvement.

About You

This role requires a confident and knowledgeable leader with a deep understanding of childrens social work. You must hold a recognised social work qualification and be registered with the relevant professional body.

• Extensive management experience in childrens statutory services.
• Subject matter expertise in child protection, including direct experience of frontline practice.
• A strong track record of leading service transformation and delivering improved outcomes.
• Excellent communication, partnership, and leadership skills.

Come and join an enthusiastic team with the passion and drive to improve outcomes for children in Sandwell. This is a fast-paced and rewarding area of work, with a significant focus on implementing the Families First reforms ahead of April 2027.

When people join the team at Sandwell they say it feels like they become part of the family...they have #ComeHomeToSandwell. With the work that we have done so far and with the ambitions we have for the future, it's a really exciting time to join Sandwell Children's Trust and to become part of our Family.

Sandwell Children's Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable groups including children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Completion of an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is a requirement for working with children and young people.

Closing date: midnight on Monday 31st August 2026

If you require further information on the role or working for us please email [e-mail] and a member of our Recruitment Team will be happy to give you a call.