Team Manager - Leaving Care and Children Looked After

London Borough of Sutton; Sutton; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in the UK is looking for a Team Manager in the Leaving Care and Children Looked After Service. This position involves leading a multidisciplinary team, overseeing corporate parenting responsibilities, and ensuring compliance with care standards. The ideal candidate will have a degree in Social Care, strong leadership skills, and experience in child welfare. This role offers a supportive work environment with opportunities for professional development and flexible working conditions.

Benefits

Annual leave plus bank holidays

Flexible working options

Subsidised gym membership

Learning and development programme

Car parking scheme

Qualifications

• Registered with Social Work England.
• Experience in a care environment with children.
• Knowledge of social work support delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead a multidisciplinary team in corporate parenting.
• Oversee care planning and quality assurance.
• Ensure compliance with statutory requirements.

Skills

Communication skills

Team management

Child-centred care

Emotional resilience

Education

Degree in Social Care or similar

Job description

About the Role and our Ideal Candidate

Team Managers in the Leaving Care and Children Looked After Service are eligible for our Golden Hello and a Recruitment and Retention Bonus as follows:

• £ paid in your first month's salary
• £ paid for your first completed year in service
• £ paid for your second completed year in service
• £ paid for your third completed year in service and every year thereafter

As a Team Manager you will play a crucial role in overseeing our corporate parenting from care proceedings, CLA and Leaving Care. Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading and managing a multidisciplinary team to deliver effective corporate parenting responsibilities for children looked after and leaving care.
• Ensuring that all interventions are child-centred, emphasising the best interests of the children and young people in our care.
• Overseeing the assessment, planning, and review processes for looked after children.
• Ensuring compliance with statutory requirements, policies, and professional standards.

As a leader, you will foster a positive and inclusive team culture that encourages professional growth and continuous improvement. You will oversee proceedings and care planning, quality assurance reports, and the direct work of your team, while chairing meetings and collaborating with multi‑agency professionals to safeguard the children and young people in our care. This role offers challenges in a dynamic and diverse environment, allowing you to expand your knowledge and skill set within children’s social care. Our teams are renowned for their ability to create exceptional care plans that prioritise the needs and voices of our service users, incorporating input from professionals, families / carers, and external agencies to achieve the best outcomes.

Are You Ready to Take the Next Step in your Social Care career? We are committed to supporting your growth in a diverse and inclusive environment, as you embark on your career with Sutton’s Adult Social Care. Apply now and join us on our journey!

This position offers an excellent opportunity for existing team managers and experienced social workers with outstanding communication skills and a compassionate manner, capable of effectively managing high levels of emotional distress. We encourage applications from candidates with experience in childcare and those passionate about delivering person‑centred care.

In addition, we would expect the following from all suitable candidates:

• To be registered with Social Work England and hold a degree in Social Care or similar.
• Experience of working with children within a care environment.
• Have experience of leading and managing a multidisciplinary team.
• Have sound knowledge and ability to deliver social work support to service users and their families.
• Ability to communicate complex social issues clearly to both patients and professionals.
• Ability to plan and coordinate social care plans and aspects of patient discharge.

You will join a welcoming, supportive, and energetic team dedicated to providing first class supervision and ongoing professional development opportunities.

For more information about the role and / or an informal conversation, you can view the role profile or contact Patricia Billi Bartley, Service Manager on.

About Us

Children Looked After (CLA) Team, Court and Leaving Care Service is dedicated to supporting all Children in Care and Care Leavers on their journey toward independence. Our primary responsibility is to ensure high-quality care planning for permanency, fulfilling our statutory obligations to Children in Care and Care Leavers. We strive to provide a consistent, restorative approach that prioritises the voices of children and young people while being trauma-informed.

Joining Sutton, you can expect to receive :

• A broad range of post‑qualifying education opportunities designed to encourage continuous learning and professional growth, as part of the Developing Together Social Work Teaching Partnership (SWTP) with Kingston University and regional partners
• Opportunities to attend conferences, workshops, and access research and practice resources for ongoing development.

Sutton Council is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace, featuring various staff network groups such as the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic +A Network, LGBTQ +A Network, and Women’s +A Network. These groups empower staff to have a voice and actively drive positive change within 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 support
• Subsidised gym membership