Service Manager - Safeguarding

Connect2Surrey; Reigate; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Connect2Surrey is seeking an experienced Service Manager to lead Family Safeguarding and Children's Social Care on an interim basis in Reigate. You will provide strategic direction, drive performance improvement and ensure safe, high-quality services.

The role requires senior leadership, budget stewardship, cross-agency collaboration and a proven track record of delivering sustained child-focused outcomes. This is a demanding, influential post offering scope to shape practice and outcomes.

Qualifications

• Significant senior leadership experience within Children's Social Care and safeguarding leadership.
• Proven track record in performance improvement and service transformation.
• Strong knowledge of performance data, BI, and management information.
• Experience in budget management and resource allocation.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across Family Safeguarding and Children's Social Care services.
• Drive service improvement and transformation with clear standards.
• Use performance data to identify trends, risks and improvement needs.
• Strengthen performance management and service delivery oversight.
• Oversee quality assurance, audits and translate findings into improvements.
• Lead and support senior managers and operational teams.
• Manage safeguarding risk and ensure high standards of practice.
• Monitor budgets and resources for value for money.
• Build cross-agency partnerships across Children's Services and partners.
• Support workforce development and an improvement-focused culture.
• Contribute to wider strategic priorities and continuous improvement.

Skills

Senior leadership

Performance improvement

Budget management

Cross-agency collaboration

Child safeguarding

Business intelligence

Job description

Service Manager - Family Safeguarding

Location: Reigate, Surrey - Hybrid Working

Rate: £500 per day

Contract: Interim

We are looking for an experienced and influential Service Manager to provide senior leadership across Family Safeguarding and Children's Social Care.

This is an excellent opportunity for an established senior leader who can bring strong operational grip, lead improvement and use performance intelligence to drive better outcomes for children and families.

We are particularly interested in candidates who combine extensive Children's Social Care and safeguarding leadership experience with a strong understanding of performance improvement, quality assurance, business intelligence and assesments.

The Role

Working at a senior leadership level, you will provide strategic and operational direction across Family Safeguarding, ensuring services are safe, effective, performance-focused and centred around achieving positive outcomes for children and families.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Providing strong strategic and operational leadership across Family Safeguarding and Children's Social Care services
• Driving service improvement and transformation, ensuring clear standards and expectations are embedded across the service
• Using performance data, management information and business intelligence to identify trends, risks and areas requiring improvement
• Strengthening performance management and ensuring leaders have a clear grip on service delivery
• Overseeing quality assurance, audits and performance measures, translating findings into tangible service improvements
• Providing leadership and oversight to senior managers and operational teams
• Ensuring effective management of safeguarding risk and consistently high standards of practice
• Managing and monitoring budgets and resources, ensuring effective deployment and value for money
• Building effective partnerships across Children's Services and wider multi-agency partners
• Supporting workforce development and creating a strong, accountable and improvement-focused culture
• Contributing to wider strategic priorities and continuous improvement across Children's Services

About You

We are looking for an accomplished senior Children's Social Care leader who can demonstrate:

• Significant senior leadership experience within Children's Social Care
• Previous experience operating at Head of Service level, or substantial equivalent senior management experience
• Strong experience within Family Safeguarding, Child Protection, Children in Need or closely related statutory services
• A proven track record of performance improvement and service improvement
• Strong understanding of business intelligence, performance data and management information, with the ability to turn insight into action
• Experience of quality assurance, audits and improving practice standards
• Strong operational grip and the ability to identify and respond to areas of risk or underperformance
• Experience of managing significant budgets and resources
• Strong knowledge of statutory Children's Social Care and safeguarding practice
• The ability to lead and influence senior managers, practitioners and multi-agency partners
• A confident, visible and collaborative leadership style focused on achieving sustainable improvements for children and families

This role would suit an experienced Service Manager, Senior Service Manager or Senior Children's Social Care leader with a strong safeguarding background who enjoys combining operational leadership with performance, improvement and strategic development.

Why consider this opportunity?

This is an opportunity to take on a highly influential senior role where you can directly shape practice, performance and service delivery. You will have the scope to use your leadership experience to strengthen services, develop a culture of continuous improvement and ultimately improve outcomes for children and families.

Connect2Surrey is a trading style of Surrey & Kent Commercial Services LLP - A joint venture between Surrey County Council & Commercial Services Kent Ltd. Connect2Surrey is an equal opportunities Employment Agency & Business. It positively encourages applications from all suitably qualified and eligible candidates