Team Manager - Children Social Care

London Borough of Sutton; Sutton; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in the United Kingdom is seeking an experienced Team Manager for Children Social Care. You will oversee a multidisciplinary team, ensuring compliance with legal frameworks while providing oversight for Child Protection services. Ideal candidates should have leadership experience and a degree in Social Work. Enjoy a supportive environment, generous benefits, and a commitment to work-life balance.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Flexible working hours

Comprehensive learning program

Public Health Service localised flexi-time

Local Government Pension Scheme

Subsidised gym membership

Qualifications

• Extensive post-qualification practice experience required.
• Strong managerial skills to lead multidisciplinary teams.
• Significant knowledge of Child Care legislation is essential.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of social workers and support staff.
• Ensure compliance with practice standards and legal frameworks.
• Collaborate with partners in the Borough to support young people.

Skills

Leadership

Case management

Collaboration

Knowledge of legislation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Social Work

Master's degree in Social Work

Job description

About the Role

Join Children Social Care as a Team Manager and receive a generous Welcome and Retention Bonus :

• £ paid in your first month salary
• £ paid at the end of your 1st completed year in service
• £ paid after your 2nd completed year in service
• £ paid in your 3rd completed year in service and every completed year thereafter.

Reporting to the Head of Service, we are looking for an experienced Team Manager to work in our Locality Teams. You will be responsible for the day to day running of a multidisciplinary team, providing direction and management oversight of Social Workers and supporting staff within Child Protection, Child in Need and Assessment and Referral services. Our objective is to ensure the children are at the centre of our recommendations and decision making.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Managing a team of 4 Social Workers and 1 Specialist Support Worker, being responsible for case management decisions and compliance with practice standards, legal frameworks and policy.
• Work across partners in the Borough including health, education, voluntary sector and others to create joint up plans to support young people
• Ensuring that your staff and the team of staff in which you are based are equipped with the knowledge, skills and support to undertake their role.

Team Managers work collaboratively and in partnership with other teams and organisations in health, education and legal services to ensure the best outcomes for the children and young people of the Borough. You will quality assure work through ensuring there are robust assessments, plans and outcomes for families and young people.

Your experience and leadership is key to providing the necessary case direction to all staff members (including partner agencies) within the team. You will play a pivotal role in supporting staff to adopt creative and innovative approaches while effectively managing your own time to meet tight deadlines and demonstrate measurable outcomes. If you are a dedicated and experienced social care professional looking to take on a challenging yet rewarding leadership role, we encourage you to apply.

This position presents an excellent opportunity for experienced senior social workers / assistant managers and team managers who have demonstrated strong management and leadership capabilities, ideally within a local authority setting. As a subject matter expert in social care, you will be expected to possess an in‑depth knowledge of current legislation, regulations, and guidance that's relevant to social work practice.

Key competencies for the role include :

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Social Work, with a preference for candidates holding a Master's degree and registration with Social Work England.
• Extensive post‑qualification practice experience, combined with strong leadership and managerial skills to effectively manage and motivate a multidisciplinary team of social care professionals.
• Significant knowledge of relevant legislation, including the Children's Act and Working Together Guidance.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders and community partners to achieve shared objectives.

About Us

Locality Teams offer a social work service to children and young people in the Borough who are living at home on plans under Section 17 or Section 47 of the Children Act . This is achieved by working in partnership with relevant agencies, children and young people and their families. We provide a diverse and inclusive working environment that ensures manageable caseloads, regular supervision, daily management support and an abundance of learning and development opportunities for our Social Workers to grow and flourish. We have a creative and flexible approach to the working week which allows for both home and office working which promotes a work / life balance.

In addition :

• Sutton works with Kingston University and regional partners as part of the Developing Together Social Work Teaching Partnership (SWTP) to provide staff with a wide range of pre‑ and post‑qualifying education opportunities to promote continuous learning and development.
• Staff are given the opportunity to attend conferences, and workshops and have access to research and practice resources to support their ongoing professional development.
• We encourage staff to support the practice education of Social Work students and those in the assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE).

Sutton Council also has a number of staff network groups such as the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic +A Network, LGBTQ +A Network and Women’s +A Network to ensure staff have a voice to drive positive change in the organisation.

Our Offer To You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps. Our Flexible Working - Smarter Working Scheme embraces new ways of working. It provides improved work life balance for our staff as it allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include :

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro‑rata if part‑time working hours apply)
• General Council Flexi‑time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)
• Public Health Service Localised Flexi‑time Scheme - accrual of up to 5 days per year
• Three volunteering days per year in Sutton
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Car parking scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling supportSubsidised gym membership