Team Leader

East Lothian Council; Haddington; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

East Lothian Council is looking for a TAC Team Leader to provide guidance and management within Children's Services. This temporary, full-time position involves overseeing a team of social work professionals focused on supporting care-experienced young people. The ideal candidate will have a strong social work background, experience in leadership, and a commitment to achieving the best outcomes for children and families.

Benefits

Flexi-time

Continuous professional development

Supportive work environment

Qualifications

• Registered with SSSC and able to apply for registration if not already a member.
• Experience in social work leadership roles preferred.
• Must hold a current driving licence and access to a vehicle.

Responsibilities

• Provide management and leadership within Children's Services.
• Support previously looked after and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
• Work collaboratively with other agency managers for service improvements.

Skills

Leadership

Team Management

Communication

Crisis Management

Creative Problem Solving

Education

Approved qualification in Social Work

Certificate in Child Protection

Post Qualifying award in Practice Teaching or Mental Health

Job description

Vacancy Information

The salary advertised is full time (35 hours per week). Part-time hours will be pro-rated accordingly.

Hourly rate of pay: £27.88 - £31.39

Temporary for 23 months.

Days And Hours Of Work

09:00-17:00

Working days are negotiable, flexi time is applicable, and starting and finishing times are flexible.

To start asap.

This is a fantastic opportunity to lead a small team of Senior Practitioners and Social Workers in East Lothian's Throughcare and Aftercare Team. The team provides a range of support to previously looked after and looked after and accommodated young people as they transition to independent living. The team also provides support to Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children arriving both spontaneously and through the National Transfer Scheme.

To deliver this support effectively, there are opportunities to be creative, and it is expected that you will work collaboratively with other managers to lead service improvements where identified. As our TAC Team Leader, you will provide leadership, professional support, and supervision to social work professionals within the service.

You will play a key role in ensuring that East Lothian offers high-quality, well-supported, trauma-informed Throughcare and Aftercare options for all care-experienced young people and UASC. You will lead, support, and mentor your team to deliver the highest standards of care and support.

Candidates should be able to work well under pressure and manage competing demands, including staff support, supervision, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality interventions.

East Lothian Children's Services is committed to Keeping The Promise and placing the voices of children, young people, and their families at the heart of everything we do. We want to recruit individuals who are passionate about achieving the best possible outcomes for children, young people, and their families.

We are committed to fostering an open and trusting culture at all levels of the organisation and prioritise continuous professional development and learning. Our staff are our greatest asset, and we strive to be supportive, inclusive, and child-centred by ensuring effective supervision, manageable caseloads, and a healthy work-life balance.

Our vision is to support children and young people to live safely with their families wherever possible. We have redesigned our services to ensure the right support is provided at the right time, and our staff are involved in service development and improvement initiatives.

We have an accessible senior management team committed to recruiting the best people to complement the wide range of knowledge and experience across the service.

If you would like to discuss this vacancy, please contact: John Whitelaw, Service Manager 01620 827482

Home / Hybrid Working Consideration

Applications for homeworking or hybrid working will be considered for this post, subject to a trial period and in accordance with East Lothian Council's Home Working and Worksmart Policies which can be found here . Home or Hybrid working options can be discussed with candidates invited for interview. All applicants must live in the UK and will be expected to attend Council offices from time to time as required.

INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY / SECONDMENT OPPORTUNITY

Applications for this post will only be accepted from current employees of East Lothian Council (this includes casual and agency staff who are currently undertaking work for us). Any current employee wishing to apply for this temporary post as a secondment should discuss it with their current line manager in the first instance.

Job Details

To provide management and leadership within Children's Services (social work), in accordance with the Service Plan, Children and Families legislation, early intervention and prevention and joint working with partners in Adult Services, Education, Police, Health, Housing and other professionals as appropriate.

Please download the Job Outline/Person Specification (available under 'Job Attachments') for the full range of tasks and duties associated with this job. You will need to refer to these in order to complete the application form. You must ensure you meet every 'essential' criteria stated on the Person Specification to be considered for interview.

The ' East Lothian Way' - values and behaviours we expect our employees to demonstrate in their everyday work. Should you be invited to interview, you may be asked questions based on these behaviours. Please refer to the document via the link to familiarise yourself with them.

Job Requirements

Relevant Qualifications

Approved qualification in Social Work, and SSSC Registration.

Certificate in Child Protection or Post Qualifying award in Practice Teaching or Mental Health.

SSSC registration is an essential requirement of this role. If you are appointed and are not already a member of the relevant section of the SSSC Register, you will be required to apply for registration within 3 months of your start date to ensure that you are registered within the required 6 months.

Driving Licence

As the duties of this role require you to effectively travel to successfully undertake the full remit of the role, you must hold a current driving licence and have access to a vehicle.*

(*Where a disability precludes you from obtaining a driving licence, ELC will take into account its responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to allow for your disability.)

PVG Membership

This post is considered as a Regulated Role with vulnerable children and/or protected adults, as specified in the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020.

All preferred candidates for posts carrying out regulated work with these groups will be required to become a PVG Scheme member, or undergo a PVG Scheme update if they are already a member, prior to any formal offer of employment being made by East Lothian Council.

Please note: PVG member's records are constantly updated with any new vetting information that arises. Any information that is disclosed on a PVG membership or update check, if relevant to the post being applied for, will be discussed with the applicant and investigated prior to any formal offer being made.

Please Note

If you have spent more than 3 months working or living outwith the UK in the last 5 years then you will be required to present a copy of an overseas criminal record check. Details of how to apply and contact details can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Additional Information

For additional East Lothian Council employment information please click on the following link: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/nonteachinginfo

If you have any difficulties creating an account on MyJobScotland or applying for this post please contact the MyJobScotland support team via this link https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/contact-us .

If you require further information about this vacancy, please call 01620 827868, or email us on

Please note: We do not accept CV's (either electronically or by mail). All our vacancies must be applied for by fully completing the on-line application form. Although there is an 'import data from my CV' function on MyJobScotland, this only imports very limited data and should not be relied upon to complete the application form. If, for example, due to a disability, you are unable to complete the on-line application form you can contact us for a paper application via the telephone number or email address above.