Service Manager - Harm Outside the Home

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council; Dudley; On-site; GBP 63,000 - 67,000; Full time

Job summary

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council is seeking a Service Manager for Harm Outside the Home, Edge of Care and Emotional Wellbeing, based at Dudley. You will lead strategic and operational activities to deliver safe, high-quality services for children and families.

The role includes line management of Team Managers and Service Leads, safeguarding oversight, and service development within a collaborative, multi-agency framework to improve outcomes for vulnerable young people.

Qualifications

• Leadership of complex multi-agency adolescent safeguarding and emotional wellbeing services.
• Experience in safeguarding oversight and service performance management.
• Strategic and operational leadership with budget oversight.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across Harm Outside the Home, Edge of Care and Emotional Wellbeing.
• Line manage Team Managers and Service Leads.
• Ensure safeguarding oversight and quality of practice.
• Drive service improvement and performance using data and feedback.
• Develop partnerships with Children’s Social Care, Police and Health.
• Promote accessible and inclusive services for diverse communities.

Job description

Service Manager - Harm Outside the Home

LocationCable Plaza, Waterfront West, Brierley Hill, Dudley

Salary£62,923 - £67,010 per annum - salary subject to experience

Service Manager:– Harm Outside The Home

Grade:- 14

Directorate:-

Children and Young People Services

Service Area:-

Harm Outside the Home, Edge of Care andEmotionalWellbeing

Reports to:-

Principal ServiceLead

Responsible for:-

Team Managers and Service Leads

Location:-

Cable Plaza, Waterfront West, Brierley Hill, Dudley, DY5 1LW

Job Purpose

To provide strategic and operational leadership across Dudley’s Harm Outside the Home, Edge of Care and Emotional Wellbeing Services, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, safe and effective services that improve outcomes for children, young people and families.

The Service Manager will have management accountability for a portfolio of services responding to complex adolescent need, including exploitation, missing episodes, serious youth violence, harm outside the home, family breakdown, risk of entry to care and emotional wellbeing.

The postholder will leadand support Team Managers and Service Leads and will be accountable for service performance, quality of practice, safeguarding oversight, workforce management, effective use of resources and continuous service improvement.

Working with senior leaders and key partners, the Service Manager will promote an integrated approach to adolescent safeguarding, family supportand emotional wellbeing, ensuring children and families receive coordinated and timely support.

Key Responsibilities

1. Leadership and Management

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across Harm Outside the Home, Edge of Care and Emotional Wellbeing Services.

• Provide effective line management, supervision and leadership to Team Managers and Service Leads.

• Set clear expectations for service delivery, professional practice, performance and outcomes.

• Ensure effective workforce planning, recruitment, retention, development and deployment of staff.

• Promote a positive culture of accountability, professional curiosity, reflective practice and continuous improvement.

• Contribute to the wider strategic leadership and development of Children and Young People Services.

2. Safeguarding and Practice

• Maintain senior management oversight of safeguarding, complex risk and high-risk situations across the service portfolio.

• Ensure effective responses to exploitation, missing children, serious youth violence and other forms of harm outside the home.

• Ensure Edge of Care services provide effective interventions to strengthen families, prevent family breakdown and reduce unnecessary entry to care where safe and appropriate.

• Ensure Emotional Wellbeing provision responds effectively to the needs of children and young people and connects appropriately with wider Health, Education and safeguarding services.

• Champion child-centred, trauma-informed, strengths-based and contextual safeguarding approaches.

• Provide professional challenge and ensure concerns are appropriately escalated where safeguarding responses require improvement.

3. Performance and Quality Assurance

• Be accountable for service performance, quality and outcomes across all areas of responsibility.

• Establish effective arrangements for management oversight, supervision, audit and quality assurance.

• Monitor demand, capacity, performance and outcomes and ensure timely action is taken where improvement is required.

• Use performance information, intelligence, audit findings and feedback from children and families to drive service improvement.

• Ensure learning from safeguarding reviews, complaints, audits and significant incidents is embedded in practice.

• Provide clear assurance regarding service quality, safeguarding and performance to the Head of Service and wider governance arrangements.

4. Partnership and Strategic Working

• Develop effective strategic and operational relationships with Children’s Social Care, Family Help, Police, Health, Education, Youth Justice, Community Safety, Housing and voluntary and community sector partners.

• Represent Children and Young People Services at relevant multi-agency and partnership forums.

• Promote effective information sharing, joint planning and coordinated responses to children and young people with complex needs.

• Influence and challenge partners appropriately to strengthen safeguarding arrangements and improve outcomes.

• Contribute to the development and implementation of relevant local strategies, policies and service plans.

5. Service Development and Resources

• Lead service improvement, transformation and development across the portfolio.

• Develop an integrated approach across Harm Outside the Home, Edge of Care and Emotional Wellbeing, ensuring clear pathways and effective coordination between services.

• Identify opportunities for prevention and earlier intervention to reduce escalation of need and unnecessary entry to statutory services or care.

• Ensure resources are deployed effectively in response to service demand, risk and priorities.

• Manage delegated budgets and resources in accordance with Council requirements and contribute to financial and workforce planning.

• Use research, evidence, intelligence and performance information to inform service development and commissioning.

• Ensure services demonstrate value for money and measurable impact for children, young people and families.

6. Children, Young People and Families

• Ensure the voices and lived experiences of children, young people and families inform service delivery and development.

• Promote meaningful participation and engagement in the design and evaluation of services.

• Ensure services are accessible, inclusive and responsive to the diverse needs of Dudley’s communities.

• Promote practice that builds on the strengths of children, young people, families and their wider networks.

General Responsibilities

The postholder will:

• Work in accordance with Dudley Council policies, procedures, values and professional standards.

• Ensure compliance with statutory safeguarding responsibilities, information governance and data protection requirements.

• Promote equality, diversity, inclusion and anti-discriminatory practice.

• Provide reports, briefings and assurance to senior leaders and partnership arrangements as required.

• Maintain responsibility for identified service risks and ensure appropriate escalation and mitigation.

• Participate in supervision, appraisal and continuing professional development.

• Work flexibly in response to service requirements.

• Undertake other duties commensurate with the level and grade of the post.

Service Context

Dudley’s Specialist Service brings together a Harm Outside the Home, Edge of Care and Emotional Wellbeingprovision to provide a coordinatedresponseto children and young people experiencing complex and interconnected needs.

The Service Manager will provide leadership across these services to ensure Dudley delivers an integrated approach that:

• protects children and young people from exploitation and harm outside the home;

• strengthens families and prevents unnecessary entry to care;

• supports children and young people’s emotional wellbeing;

• intervenes earlier where needs and risks are emerging; and

• delivers high-quality, evidence-informed services focused on improving outcomes.

• The postholder will play a key leadership role in ensuring services work effectively together and with the wider partnership to improve the safety, stability, wellbeing and life chances of children and young people across Dudley.

This advert closes at midnight on Sunday 11th October 2026

Shortlisting for this post will take place on Wednesday 14th October 2026

Interviews for this post will be held on Friday 6th November 2026

Workplace Attendance: Working in the office 3+ days a week (pro-rata) or Onsite full time

All applicants must be able to provide documentation to prove their right to work in the UK.

Please note: Dudley MBC does not currently offer sponsorship for candidates without the Right to Work in the UK.