Assessment Team Manager (Children\'s Services) in Walthamstow

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Retention Bonus: Up to £3,000 (terms & conditions apply)

Contract Type: Permanent, Full-Time

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 13/01/2026

Proposed Interview Dates: TBC

Reference: 1967

About Us

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a welcoming and exciting place to work. We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have tight-knit and diverse communities. Our work is always resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded: we’re a borough focused on meeting and exceeding the needs of our existing and future residents. London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace wellbeing, skills, progression and diversity.

About the Team Managers – Assessment role

We are seeking dedicated, qualified and experienced team manager to join our Assessment teams. We are a supportive, focused, and inspirational service. Our shared purpose is to nurture independence and freedom of choice in our children, young people, and families, helping them to achieve the best possible outcomes. All our staff work together to build and maintain a centre of excellence and best practice. In return for your hard work, we will give you the time and active support you need to make a difference. Promoting creativity is at the heart of our agenda to develop social work; you will be encouraged to share ideas, bring about positive change, and strive to continuously improve outcomes for our vulnerable children and young people.

• Build a highly competent, effective, motivated and outcome focused team.
• Provide a trusting and supportive environment for staff to feel a sense of shared responsibility and camaraderie.
• Encourage staff to share their experiences and seek support from their peers.
• Complete recruitment, induction, development, performance reviews, employee relations and all HR processes and planning to the required standards and timescales.
• Ensure effective team meetings take place to required timescales.
• Ensure the workforce development strategy is implemented, including the induction of new staff.
• Regular supervision is undertaken, and clear objectives set and monitored through the Council’s Appraisal process.
• Use resources including equipment, people, and systems optimally and efficiently.
• Plan, develop and deliver the annual budget.
• Maximise value for money.
• Control financial expenditure and financial integrity to assure regulatory and Council policy compliance.
• Prepare, distribute and present reports to the appropriate committee to the required standards and timescales.
• Make evidence-based recommendations.
• Take overall responsibility for quantitative and qualitative performance management for the Team.
• Analyse and utilise reports to understand and improve the performance and productivity of individuals and the team.
• Adapt supervision to be cognizant of supervisees’ cultural orientation, background and values.
• Identify performance issues and take timely action to remedy them.
• Work in partnership with HR to manage and resolve performance issues within Council procedures.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Proven social work experience/placement in children and families setting with experience in managing a team of social workers.
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of issues relating to looked-after children, including relevant legislation, guidance, and procedures.
• Experience of service delivery which is culturally sensitive and responsive to the needs of a multi-cultural community.
• Able to prioritise and effectively work under pressure.
• Managing a quality service by ensuring key performance indicators relating to service areas are met and that robust monitoring processes are in place to monitor your team’s performance and that measures are in place to address issues if there exist any.
• Ability to oversee and support team members ensuring that a clear and regular reporting lines exist to senior managers.
• Display agile behaviours and understand change at any given moment and respond to it effectively.
• Ability to communicate clearly, both verbally and in writing, and to follow through on required legislative and statutory responsibilities.
• Commitment to the participation of children, young people and their families both at an individual and service level.
• In rare emergency situations, the ability to work flexible or unsocial hours at short notice.
• Have an understanding of the Children Acts 1989 and 2004 and other relevant legislation, procedures and guidance relating to children and families.
• Have a good understanding around permanency planning of children and transitioning through care.
• Awareness of current issues in childcare policy and practice.
• Commitment to the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy and acceptance of responsibility for its practical application.
• To understand and comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

Terms and Conditions

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

• Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks.
• Satisfactory declaration of interest.
• This role is subject to safer recruitment practices as it involves work with children and/or vulnerable adults.
• Satisfactory DBS check; Enhanced.

As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public‑facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its four equality objectives: promoting equality of opportunity; opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage; ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels; providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent services to all. Respecting diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the Council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The Council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self‑identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual’s personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

Locations: Walthamstow, Greater London, United Kingdom