Service Manager - Family Help

Reading Borough Council; Reading; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Flexible working opportunities

Modern Civic Offices in Reading

Life Assurance

Job summary

Reading Borough Council is seeking an exceptional Service Manager, Family Help to lead the integrated Family Help Service, bringing together Early Help, Child in Need and Child Protection into a unified, relationship-based approach.

You will provide strategic and operational leadership, shaping practice and partnerships across education, health, police, housing and the voluntary sector to improve outcomes for children and families in Reading.

Qualifications

• A recognised Social Work qualification and registration with Social Work England.
• Significant leadership experience within children's social care and safeguarding services.
• Strong knowledge of Early Help, Child in Need and Child Protection practice.
• Experience of leading managers and developing high-performing teams.
• Ability to lead change, influence partners and deliver service improvement.
• Commitment to relationship-based and strengths-focused practice.
• Excellent communication, collaboration and strategic leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop Family Help Services.
• Drive the implementation and ongoing development of the Family Safeguarding Model, ensuring high-quality multidisciplinary practice.
• Provide inspirational leadership to Team Managers, creating a culture of accountability, learning and continuous improvement.
• Ensure children receive timely and effective support, intervention and protection when they need it most.
• Champion strengths-based, relationship-focused practice that empowers families and builds resilience.
• Lead service performance, quality assurance and improvement activity, ensuring consistently high standards of practice.
• Build strong relationships and work collaboratively with key partners across the children's system.
• Support workforce development, succession planning and staff wellbeing, enabling teams to thrive and deliver excellent services.
• Contribute to strategic planning and service transformation as a valued member of the wider leadership team.
• Use data, insight and performance information to drive continuous improvement and achieve the best possible outcomes.

Skills

Leadership experience

Knowledge of Early Help

Child in Need & Child Protection

Leading managers

Relationship-based practice

Strategic leadership

Excellent communication

Education

Social Work qualification

Registration with Social Work England

Job description

The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.

Job details

Are you a passionate and ambitious leader who believes that children thrive when families are empowered, supported and connected to the right help at the right time

Do you have the vision, experience and determination to lead transformational practice, inspire teams and build strong partnerships that improve outcomes for children and families?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for an exceptional Service Manager, Family Help to join us at a pivotal moment in the evolution of children's services.

As we embrace the Government's Families First Partnership Programme, we are reshaping how we support children and families through the creation of our integrated Family Help Service, bringing together Early Help, Child in Need and Child Protection services into a single, coordinated approach focused on delivering effective, relationship-based support earlier and more consistently.

This is a unique opportunity to lead this service and help shape a service that is ambitious, innovative and relentless in its focus on improving outcomes for children and families.

We welcome applications from all sections of the community. We particularly encourage applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management within Children’s Services as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.

The Opportunity

As Service Manager, Family Help, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across our Family Help Service, leading Team Managers and multidisciplinary teams to deliver seamless support for children and families from the earliest point of intervention through to statutory safeguarding and child protection.

You will play a key role in embedding and leading our Family Safeguarding Model, bringing together social workers and specialist adult practitioners to address the factors that impact family life, including domestic abuse, substance misuse and mental health challenges.

Through collaborative practice and whole-family interventions, you will help create lasting change and reduce the need for children to enter care.

This role offers the opportunity to influence practice, shape services and work alongside partners across education, health, police, housing, community safety and the voluntary sector to create a coordinated and effective system of support.

What You’ll Do

As Service Manager, Family Help, you will:

• Lead and develop Family Help Services.
• Drive the implementation and ongoing development of the Family Safeguarding Model, ensuring high-quality multidisciplinary practice.
• Provide inspirational leadership to Team Managers, creating a culture of accountability, learning and continuous improvement.
• Ensure children receive timely and effective support, intervention and protection when they need it most.
• Champion strengths-based, relationship-focused practice that empowers families and builds resilience.
• Lead service performance, quality assurance and improvement activity, ensuring consistently high standards of practice.
• Build strong relationships and work collaboratively with key partners across the children's system.
• Support workforce development, succession planning and staff wellbeing, enabling teams to thrive and deliver excellent services.
• Contribute to strategic planning and service transformation as a valued member of the wider leadership team.
• Use data, insight and performance information to drive continuous improvement and achieve the best possible outcomes.

About You

You will be an experienced and credible leader with a deep commitment to safeguarding children and supporting families.

You will understand the opportunities presented by the Families First Partnership reforms and be excited by the chance to shape a modern, integrated Family Help service that makes a real difference.

You will bring:

• A recognised Social Work qualification and registration with Social Work England.
• Significant leadership experience within children's social care and safeguarding services.
• Strong knowledge of Early Help, Child in Need and Child Protection practice.
• Experience of leading managers and developing high-performing teams.
• A proven ability to lead change, influence partners and deliver service improvement.
• A commitment to relationship-based and strengths-focused practice.
• Excellent communication, collaboration and strategic leadership skills.
• The ability to inspire confidence, motivate others and create a positive and ambitious culture.

You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place. Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:

Work Together as one team - champion and inspire a culture which ensures that all employees across the organisation work together to provide excellent outcomes for Reading

Drive Efficiency - create an environment in which resources are used efficiently and employees’ skills are developed and used effectively

Be Ambitious - aspire to deliver excellence and inspire and support others to reach their potential

Make a Difference to Reading - inspire a culture in which the customer is the focus and where change is welcomed as an opportunity

Why Join Us?

This is an exciting time to be part of our journey.

We are building a service that is centred on relationships, focused on strengths and committed to delivering the right help at the right time. We are investing in our workforce, embracing innovation and creating opportunities for leaders to influence system-wide change.

You will join an ambitious organisation that values collaboration, celebrates innovation and places children and families at the heart of everything we do.

For the right leader, this role offers the opportunity to shape the future of Family Help, develop outstanding practice and leave a lasting legacy for children, families and communities.

Our offer

We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition is strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.

A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service and 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
• A wide range of flexible working opportunities
• Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
• Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
• Season Ticket Loan - a loan to help with the cost of your rail or bus journey, to and from work
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax

Closing Date: Sunday 1st November 2026 Interview Date: 12th and 13th November 2026 Interview Process: To be confirmed