Team Manager Vulnerable Exploitation and Missing

This is a full time Permanent Position. Hull Children's Services has recently achieved its strongest ever Ofsted judgement, being rated Good overall, with Outstanding judgements for the impact of leaders on social work practice and for the experiences and progress of care leavers. Inspectors recognised the significant progress made across the service, describing it as "safer, stronger and more consistent" for children and families. Ofsted highlighted Hull's strong workforce culture, effective early help services, strong management oversight, and a commitment to ensuring children's voices are central to decision-making. This is an exciting time to join Hull. We are a service with a clear vision, ambitious plans for the future, and a workforce committed to improving the lives of children, young people and families every day.

ROLE AND PURPOSE

Children, Young People and Families Services together with partner agencies will form a Vulnerable and Exploitation Team. The focus of the team is where partners jointly prioritise and maximise their collective efforts to ensure that children, young people are not at risk of CSE, CCE, Trafficking or Missing or if they are experiencing any form of exploitation, reduce the potential for further occurrence. The team will work with children and young people in achieving positive change and developing supporting relationships to achieve and eliminate further abuse. The objective of this professional role will be to lead and work closely with other agencies in providing support to vulnerable and exploited young people who are experiencing or at risk of CSE, CCE, going Missing, or Trafficking, and to have full management oversight and manage the risk associated with working with the young person. The Team Manager for the child/young person will have management oversight and will be the ultimate decision maker in all Safeguarding matters. This role will support all cases that are subject to CSE/CCE/Missing and Trafficking and will be the nominated Team for Vulnerable and Exploited missing young people. This will ultimately develop positive working relationship with partner agencies in tackling CSE/CCE/Missing and Trafficking within Hull. It will also support the children, young people and families providing a high level of intelligence and data to Senior managers in respect of CSE/CCE and Missing. The Team Manager will be required to gather the information from all partners enabling analysis to provide a holistic assessment of a child’s needs and identification of which service is most appropriate. This post holder will be expected to lead a dedicated team. The work involves a high level of professional autonomy and the post holder must be prepared to develop a pioneering piece of work in the context of professionally challenging circumstances, contributing to a national approach to this area of work.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Strategy – Contributes to the overarching strategy in Hull Children’s Social Care and to manage the delivery of a new and innovative project, making key contributions towards developing policies both nationally and locally.
• Customer Focus - Ensures professional relationships with all partner agencies, children and young people, and those identified as their significant network and that these relationships are used to gain positive outcomes. To ensure that staff within the project work purposefully with other agencies to promote positive outcomes for children, young people and their families.
• Performance Management – Guides and develops the practice and performance of staff within the team and ensures that meaningful management/ performance information is produced to enable the effective monitoring and evaluation of the impact and outcomes of the work undertaken.
• Leadership – Models and directs the work of the team and the priorities within the project through a collaborative and systemic approach to work with all partners and networks, children and young people.
• Statutory Obligations – To promote and safeguard the welfare of children, young people and/or vulnerable adults.
• Service Delivery: Holds key responsibility as the lead Team Manager in regard to Vulnerability/Exploitation and Missing and directs individual pieces of work where necessary or promoting other agencies to undertake the work. Ensure that a systemic approach is deployed within the Team, both in terms of working with children, young people and their families, practitioners working together and throughout the whole system of Children Social Care and relationships with partners. Ensure that Senior Managers are aware of all risks associated with CSE, CCE and Missing, giving detailed analysis of CSE, CCE and Missing Young people within Hull and the impact for services. Ensures focused and purposeful conversations are held with partners to agree explicit aims and objectives about desired outcomes within the context of working with children and young people and their families. Chairs MACE meetings to ensure a sound oversight of all cases in relation to progress and a balance between risk and protective factors. Directs the work of the Team Coordinator in relation to case recording, organisational support and liaison and managing resources. Work closely with fellow professionals in order to devise and develop appropriate support and intervention in a coordinated manner. Uses research findings to inform practice. Provides and presents concise reports to the HSCB and CYPFB when required. Acquires knowledge about different groups, races and cultures which inform service delivery and to understand the impact of racism and discrimination on children and families. Manages and utilises cash limited budgets in order to commission services and assistance from other sources to support children and young people.
• Principles of Work: Models systemic practice. Supports practitioners to have the confidence, skills and knowledge to support children, young people and their families within a “lead worker” role. Supports practitioners to identify their own resources, skills and knowledge in the development of support packages to achieve positive outcomes both for the duration of the practitioner’s involvement and in the longer term. Supports the development of professionals having the skills and competencies to enable children, young people and their families to devise their own personal safety plans that will help them to meet their desired outcomes, enable change and reduce the need for services and support. To promote and develop a coordinated multi agency approach, thus reducing the risk across the whole partnership.
• Development, learning & performance: Provides individual supervision to Practitioners and the Team Coordinator. Actively engages in the professional development of the Team any practice supervision and professional appraisals. Provides ‘quality of practice’ evaluation to Senior management regarding “how we are doing”. This will be through audits, performance management data and observation of practice and use to inform continuing learning and development. Leads Team as a learning system. Provides and Leads weekly/daily Team operational meetings to ensure risk and prevention is discussed in all cases of all Exploited and Vulnerable Young people putting in place action plans to reduce risk. Provides support/ information in respect of Human Resources issues including recruitment, sickness monitoring and employee performance processes for partner agencies and within the Childrens, Young People and Families Directorate.
• Decision Making: Fully accountable for all work undertaken as part of the Team and is the ultimate decision maker for all safeguarding matters. Where required, prepares for and attends relevant decision-making panels on relevant cases. Holds and Leads a daily operational tasking meeting to discuss all Vulnerable Missing Young People and directs partner agencies in disruption and prevention of any forms of exploitation. Directs the resources of the Team and the accountability of the work undertaken. Direct information sharing within the Team to be undertaken, with the Team Manager as lead professional in all safeguarding matters.
• Partnerships: Leads and supports partnerships and the development of professionals relationship to ensure that safe decision making and information sharing is undertaken in respect of all queries or concerns regarding children, young people and their families. Ensure that professional views from other agencies are gained when making decisions regarding the support that is needed for children and young people. Ensures there is good communication and liaison between themselves and other agency professionals. Ensures that contacts and requests from other agencies are met with a timely response. Ensures a good understanding of the roles and responsibilities of key agencies including their statutory responsibilities. Follows the statutory guidelines for joint working, including the DfE Working Together, the Children Act 2004 and the Child Protection Procedures. Works with other agencies on initiatives and service developments which promote an integrated approach and multi-disciplinary working. Shares information about children with other agencies in order to safeguard them and promote their welfare in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act and within the developments of a national child index.

Benefits of Working of Hull City Council:

• A competitive salary
• An excellent pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Initially 23 days annual leave depending on length of service. You will also get eight public holidays per year, and three additional days off, one in May/August and one during the Christmas/New year period
• Career development and learning experiences from a range of training courses and learning methods
• Supportive and forward-thinking culture
• Great career development opportunities

Please ensure that you complete and submit your application by midnight prior to the closing date. Please ensure that your application demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria against the person specification as listed in the job description. We are committed to increasing the diversity, equality, and inclusion within our workforce to represent the people we serve and build an environment in which everyone can feel like they belong. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. We adopt a ‘name blind’ approach to shortlisting. Recruiting managers will not have access to personal information, including your name and contact details, until a shortlisting decision has been made. Equality monitoring information is not accessible by recruiting managers at any stage. We reserve the right to amend the dates associated with this advert, which may include closing the advert early where required. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. Online searches, including social media, may be carried out as part of the recruitment process.