Fostering Team Manager in Thetford

About The Role

Are you a Life Changer? Do you want to lean in and transform the life of a child? Compass Community puts children first through our therapeutic, innovative approach. Integrity, Courage and Care shape how we work. We listen deeply, challenge each other and fix what needs fixing, together. This is the work. And we’d like you to be part of it.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and passionate Fostering Team Manager to join our experienced and successful team, leading a group of experienced Supervising Social Workers who are reflective and creative in practice. Working collaboratively with all stakeholders, you will strive to ensure that the children and young people in our care reach their full potential. This is a hybrid role based from our Thetford office, with an expectation of attending the office 2 - 3 days per week. Regional travel is part of the role to support your team, and occasional national travel will be required to visit other Compass offices. A car and a valid driving licence are essential for this position.

In this role you will:

• Contribute to the Fostering Service in delivering the overarching strategic plan for Compass.
• Work with the Head of Fostering in delivering operational excellence, continuous improvement and financial performance of the business whilst safeguarding children and young people.
• Lead, motivate and guide a team of social care practitioners in ensuring that we provide outstanding care and the best possible outcomes for our children and child protection and safeguarding principles are embedded in practice.
• Work within Compass Fostering Policy and legal and regulatory standards and requirements and ensure that the team’s practice is of a consistent high quality, reflective, evidence based, documented and quality assured.
• Achieve regional targets and KPI’s for placement growth and carer recruitment and retention whilst ensuring that the needs of the children and young people and the carers are met when making placements.
• Demonstrate a positive and dynamic leadership and management style, responsible for providing day to day operational support to your team of Supervising Social Workers, creating a highly skilled, trained and motivated team.
• Safeguard the children and young people in our care, including support to the Registered Manager within the monitoring of Schedule 6/7 matters and when appropriate, to have delegated responsibility for liaising with Ofsted on these matters.
• Demonstrate excellent communication and engagement skills in developing, managing and strengthening the customer relationship with key LA customers.
• Have a relevant professional qualification in social work and be Social Care England (or equivalent) registered.

Benefits of Joining Compass Fostering:

• Career Development – We offer many career paths, recognising hard work & supporting your professional progression.
• Competitive Salary – using structured pay grades based on your training and experience.
• Car Allowance – £100 p/m car allowance to allow you to work flexibly from different locations.
• Wellbeing – Access to therapeutic wellbeing sessions with our Therapeutic Services team.
• Bonuses – Receive £200 (2 years), £400 (5 years) and £600 (10 years) service awards, plus up to £500 special recognition award for outstanding practice.
• Medical Platform - Cashback for various medical appointments & treatments including optical and dental with MediCash.
• Awards – Win up to £150 in vouchers every month from our REACH Awards.
• Life Assurance Scheme – 3 x annual salary after successful completion of your probation review.
• Increased Holiday – 25 days annual leave, rising to 28 days within 4 years, plus all bank holidays. Additional 2.5 days each year for your birthday, a health and wellbeing day and a half-day festive shopping day.

Our recruitment process aims to create and maintain a safe workforce and contains robust vetting procedures. The successful applicants will be offered a role subject to satisfactory references and an enhanced DBS check. Compass is an equal-opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. As we continue to grow, we know that we must have the most talented employees with diverse backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, and experiences to support our children and young people.