RQ1774753 – Service Manager – Children’s Social Care in Cambridge

Work Pattern: Minimum of 3 days in the office, 37 hours per week, (9am till 5:30pm)

PAYE Pay Rate: £500 per day

Main Purpose ofthe Role

To lead andmanage a high-quality children’s socialworkservice, ensuring childrenand families receivetimely, effective andsafe support inline with statutoryrequirements. The rolewill provide strongleadership, managecomplex safeguarding risks, oversee performance andpractice, and drivecontinuous service improvement.

Typical Day

A typical daymay involve managingand supporting socialwork teams, reviewingcomplex cases, makingsafeguarding decisions,monitoring performanceand workloads, attendingmulti-agency meetings,working with schools, health and policepartners, managing resourcesand budgets, andproviding professionaladvice to practitionersand senior managers.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, manage anddevelop social workteams to deliverhigh-quality outcomesfor children andfamilies.
• Provide professional adviceand make decisionson complex safeguardingcases.
• Act as theLead Designated ChildProtection Officer forthe district.
• Manage risk andensure appropriate safeguardingprocessesare followed.
• Monitor workloads, caseprogression, performanceand service standards.
• Lead practice development, qualityassurance, audits andcontinuous improvement.
• Work closely withEarly Help, CAMHS, schools, health, policeand voluntary-sector partners.
• Support strategic planningand implementation ofservice improvements.
• Analyse performance informationand use datato improveservice delivery.
• Manage budgets, resourcesand commissioning activityeffectively.
• Support and implementchanges to policies, procedures and statutoryguidance.
• Represent the serviceat meetings andcourt hearings whererequired.
• Ensure confidentiality,information governanceand professional standardsare maintained.

Key Skills

• Strong leadership andpeople-management skills.
• Excellent safeguarding andrisk-management expertise.
• Strong knowledge ofchildren’s social carelegislation and statutoryguidance.
• Ability to managecomplex cases andmake sound professionaldecisions.
• Strong analytical, performance-management and quality-assurance skills.
• Excellent communication,influencing and negotiationskills.
• Ability to managecompeting priorities ina complex environment.
• Strong partnership-workingand stakeholder-managementskills.
• Strategic thinking withthe ability todrive serviceimprovement.
• Resilient, proactive andable to workautonomously.
• Strong budget andresource-management skills.

Essential Qualifications& Requirements

• Recognised Social Workqualification.
• Current Social WorkEngland registration.
• Significant experience leading, managing and developingsocialwork teams.
• Extensive experience managingcomplex safeguarding casesand risk.
• Strong knowledge ofrelevant children’s socialcare legislation, policyand statutory guidance.
• Experience of performancemanagement, quality assuranceand service improvement.
• Experience managing changeand delivering serviceimprovements.
• Experience managing resourcesand/or budgets.
• Proven partnership-workingexperience with agenciessuch as schools, health, police andotherprofessionals.
• Ability to workeffectively in acomplex and demandingenvironment.
• Enhanced DBS withChildren’s Barred Listcheckrequired.

Desirable

• Higher degree, Master’sdegree or equivalentpostgraduate qualification.
• Experience of projectmanagement and deliveringservice-change projects.
• Knowledge of systemicinterventions and sociallearning theory.
• Experience within aFamily Safeguarding model.