Service Manager – Family Help

Children's Social Work Matters; York and North Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

LGPS access

Health & Wellbeing initiatives

Reward package

Flexible working practices

Community engagement

Learning & Development

Discounts and savings

Job summary

City of York Council is seeking a Service Manager (Social Work Qualified) to lead the Family Help team in York. You will oversee Practice Supervisors and Senior Social Workers while guiding Family Help Lead Practitioners, both social work qualified and alternative qualifications.

The role covers cases from early help to court processes and requires strong leadership to balance risk and safety for vulnerable children.

Qualifications

• Qualified social work professional with leadership experience
• Ability to supervise Practice Supervisors and Senior Social Workers
• Commitment to improving outcomes for children and families

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee a Family Help team in York
• Support staff across cases from early help to Child in Need and Court processes
• drive high standards of practice and continuing professional development

Job description

Job Description

City of York is seeking an exceptional and motivated Service Manager (Social Work Qualified) to lead one of our Family Help teams here in York!

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a team within the newly formed Family Help service in York. The role will involve directly managing Practice Supervisors and Senior Social Workers whilst you work together to support a team of Family Help Lead Practitioners – both social work qualified and alternatively qualified.

You will be managing a team of workers who are supporting children at targeted early support level through to Child in Need, Child Protection, Pre-Proceedings and through the court process. You will oversee complex cases, offer support, guidance and supervision for children at significant risk of harm and will help balance risk and safety for those children open in your service alongside your Practice Supervisors. You will also be responsible for managing performance to ensure that your service is offering consistently high quality services to the children in York.

We are looking for a qualified social work professional with a passion for improving outcomes for children affected by exploitation, contextual safeguarding concerns and extra-familial harm. You will bring strong leadership skills, professional curiosity and a commitment to continuous improvement. Alongside providing effective supervision and support to staff, you will drive high standards of practice, promote professional development and create a culture of learning, reflection and innovation.

As the Service Manager in Family Help, you will hold overall responsibility for the service, providing both operational and strategic leadership. You will play a significant role in shaping local policy, strategy and service development as well as support Practice Supervisors to manage and develop practice and performance within your team.

Our practice model is underpinned by Signs of Safety, a collaborative and solution-focused approach that helps families and professionals work together to identify strengths, build sustainable safety and achieve meaningful change.

We are proud to be rated Outstanding by Ofsted, recognising the strength of our leadership, our ambitious vision for children and our unwavering commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for families. We are equally committed to developing and nurturing strong leaders.

As this role is public facing, applicants will need to demonstrate, at interview, their competency to converse and provide advice and guidance to members of the public, in spoken English to CEFR level C1: Can express themselves fluently and spontaneously, almost effortlessly. Only a conceptually difficult subject can hinder a natural, smooth flow of language.

City of York Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. We require the successful candidate to undertake an enhanced Criminal Record check via the Disclosure and Barring Service.

• generous annual leave allowance
• access to the Local Government Pension Scheme
• comprehensive Health & Wellbeing initiatives
• a reward package which recognises your contribution
• flexible working practices
• community engagement and volunteer activities
• continuous Learning & Development
• a growing range of discounts, rewards and savings

Closing date: Wednesday 7th October 2026 at 12 midnight

Interview date: w/c 19/10/2026