Service Manager - Families First Partnership Programme - Multi-Agency Child Protection

We Manage Jobs(WMJobs); Oldbury; On-site; GBP 62,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

Pension scheme

Flexible working patterns

Career progression

Travel expenses

Job summary

Sandwell Children’s Trust seeks a highly skilled Families First Partnership Programme Service Manager to lead the MACPT model design, development and implementation within the Families First framework. You will drive multi-agency collaboration, safeguard policy alignment and transformational service delivery across partners.

You will shape governance, workforce development and evaluation, ensuring the model aligns with national reforms and local priorities, with a focus on improved outcomes for

Qualifications

• Must hold a recognised social work qualification and be registered with the relevant professional body.
• Significant leadership and management experience within children's statutory services.
• Strong knowledge of child protection systems, safeguarding practice and partnership working.
• Experience of leading service transformation, programme implementation or organisational change.
• Ability to develop and implement new service models across complex multi-agency environments.
• Strong project management, stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Commitment to improving outcomes for children through innovation, collaboration and evidence-informed practice

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development and implementation of the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) model as part of the Families First Partnership Programme.
• Work with partner agencies to develop and embed a shared vision, operating model, governance framework and implementation plan for MACPT.
• Support the testing and evaluation of key components of the model, including multi-agency working arrangements, decision-making processes and workforce roles.
• Develop implementation plans, policies, procedures and practice guidance to support successful rollout.
• Work collaboratively with operational leaders, practitioners and partners to support culture change and readiness for implementation.
• Monitor progress against programme milestones, identify risks and barriers, and drive continuous improvement.
• Ensure learning from pilot activity, national developments and local evaluation informs future model development.
• Provide professional leadership and expertise in safeguarding and child protection to ensure the model is evidence-informed and aligned with statutory requirements

Skills

Leadership

Management experience

Child protection expertise

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

Communication skills

Education

Social work qualification

Job description

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 (£62,179 - £65,938 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 to support design, test and implement the MACPT model as part of Families First transformation

About the Role

We are looking for a highly skilled and experienced Service Manager to lead the design, development and implementation of the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) model as part of the Families First Partnership Programme and the national reforms in children's social care. This is a key transformational leadership role focused on developing, testing and embedding a new multi-agency approach to child protection that strengthens partnership working, improves decision-making and delivers better outcomes for children and families.

The postholder will work across the partnership to shape the future MACPT model, supporting service design, implementation planning, workforce development, governance arrangements and evaluation. They will ensure the model is aligned to national Families First reforms, local priorities and emerging learning from implementation activity.

Whilst good progress has already been made, we are looking to recruit someone with the vision, leadership and programme delivery skills required to drive this work forward and support successful implementation ahead of April 2027.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development and implementation of the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) model as part of the Families First Partnership Programme.
• Work with partner agencies to develop and embed a shared vision, operating model, governance framework and implementation plan for MACPT.
• Support the testing and evaluation of key components of the model, including multi-agency working arrangements, decision-making processes and workforce roles.
• Develop implementation plans, policies, procedures and practice guidance to support successful rollout.
• Work collaboratively with operational leaders, practitioners and partners to support culture change and readiness for implementation.
• Monitor progress against programme milestones, identify risks and barriers, and drive continuous improvement.
• Ensure learning from pilot activity, national developments and local evaluation informs future model development.
• Provide professional leadership and expertise in safeguarding and child protection to ensure the model is evidence-informed and aligned with statutory requirements

About You

This role requires a confident and experienced leader with significant expertise in safeguarding, child protection and service transformation. You must hold a recognised social work qualification and be registered with the relevant professional body.

You will also be able to demonstrate:

• Significant leadership and management experience within children's statutory services.
• Strong knowledge of child protection systems, safeguarding practice and partnership working.
• Experience of leading service transformation, programme implementation or organisational change.
• Ability to develop and implement new service models across complex multi-agency environments.
• Strong project management, stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• A commitment to improving outcomes for children through innovation, collaboration and evidence-informed practice

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.

So, if you think your future could lie with Sandwell Children’s Trust, then we’d love to hear from you.

Closing date: midnight on Monday 28th September 2026

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.