Service Manager - Residential Portfolio

Position reference: 50146438

Directorate: Children's Services | Service: Children in Care

Salary: £61,350 - £66,512

Working Arrangements: agile min 3 days in the office

This is a full-time role. We are committed to supporting work-life balance, and requests for flexible working, including job share, will be considered in line with the needs of the service. Given the requirement for continuity of support to service users, any flexible working arrangements would need to ensure consistency in case management.

Hours per week: 37

Contract type: Permanent

Key to our success is working with our residents, partners, businesses and organisations and building these partnerships to bring about change in Barnsley.

The successful candidate will be required to speak English to an appropriate standard. This post requires an Enhanced DBS Check.

If you are currently living overseas or have lived overseas in the last five years please be aware, if you are the preferred candidate for the post, you will be required to apply for an overseas criminal records check from the country/countries you have resided in.

When applying, please ensure you are prepared to start work with all the necessary legal documents, such as a valid visa, relevant to the type of work you will be undertaking.

Please be aware that our organisation does not possess a Home Office license and, as a result, is unable to provide sponsorship for anyone seeking a visa as a skilled or temporary migrant worker.

Pensions Regulations have provisions to reduce pension payments in certain circumstances of those who return to work within local government service. If you are in receipt of a pension upon commencing employment with the authority, this may affect your pension entitlements and you should therefore seek advice from the relevant Pensions Authority.

About The Post: Barnsley is investing in three new children's residential homes as part of its Children in Care Sufficiency Strategy 2026 to 2030, reducing reliance on external and out of area placements and giving more of our children in care a home in Barnsley. We're recruiting a Service Manager to lead this residential portfolio from the ground up. You'll take responsibility for all three homes as they move through registration, staffing and opening, and then for their ongoing operational and strategic management once live.

What you'll be doing:

• Provide leadership and line management across the three homes, taking the lead on their development and on the recruitment of the staff who’ll run them, including Registered Managers.
• Build relationships with partner agencies and stakeholders across the sufficiency programme, represent the homes at internal and external forums, and manage the budgets, contracts and performance systems that keep the service running to standard.
• Sit on the Out of Hours Senior Management Rota.

What we're looking for:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent, and a qualified, registered social worker.
• A post-qualifying award, ideally with a postgraduate leadership or management qualification.
• Team manager level experience (or equivalent) of operational management in a large organisation delivering services to children, young people and families.
• Experience managing complex budgets and financial processes.
• Experience of planning or delivering services in a multi-agency context, including within a commissioning environment.
• A track record of leading and motivating teams to deliver sustainable, high quality service improvement.
• Sound knowledge of the legislative and policy framework around children's services, and of the regulatory and inspection regime you'll be operating under, including Ofsted registration requirements.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders and resolve conflict at a senior level.

Why this role: You'd be shaping three services from inception rather than inheriting an existing structure, with direct input into staffing models, practice standards and how the homes operate day to day. It's a chance to build something rather than manage around the edges of something already fixed.

We're committed to creating a workplace where differences are valued and everyone truly feels able to be themselves. If you have any support needs during the recruitment process, please let us know. At Barnsley Council, we believe in second chances and value diversity. Our recruitment process is inclusive, and we welcome applicants with past convictions. We're committed to fairness and do not discriminate. Join us in building a future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.