Team Manager (Family Help Service) REF: 2872
12-month Secondment Opportunity / Fixed Term Contract and Full Time
PO 6: £56,436 pa rising in annual increments to £59,574 incl LW
About Us
Located in the heart of South London, Lambeth Borough is a vibrant community of over 317,600 residents. Stretching from the dynamic neighbourhood of Streatham in the South to the iconic landmarks of Waterloo in the North, we are proud to be the 9th largest borough in London. Our diversity is our strength, with more than 130 languages spoken, making Lambeth the home of the Windrush generation, London's largest LGBTQ+ community, and a thriving Portuguese‑speaking community.
It is an exciting time to join Lambeth Council; we have bold ambitions for the future of Lambeth’s communities and residents through our Lambeth 2030 Plan ‘Our Future, Our Lambeth.’
With exceptional schools, lush green spaces including Brockwell Park, cultural gems like the Black Cultural Archives, and world‑renowned institutions such as St Thomas's Hospital, Lambeth offers an enriching and dynamic environment.
About the Team
The Families First Team (FFT) is an innovative, multi‑agency pilot at the front door of children’s services, designed to help families earlier, make better decisions faster, and prevent unnecessary escalation into statutory intervention.
Operating as a time‑limited, 10‑working‑day assessment and brief intervention model, FFT brings together social care professionals and embedded specialists to rapidly understand risk, need and family context, and take purposeful action.
This is a small, high‑impact, multidisciplinary team working alongside the Initial Response Hub/MASH.
- Child‑centred and safeguarding‑led
- Evidence‑informed and analytically robust
- Multi‑agency from day one
Following a time‑limited assessment and brief intervention, the team will support clear, confident decisions to:
- Step families down to early help or community support
- Close cases where needs are met
- Escalate appropriately where risks require statutory intervention
FFT is a focused, action‑oriented service designed to reduce drift, improve family experience, and strengthen decision‑making at the earliest point.
About the Role
You are a confident and credible safeguarding leader, able to hold thresholds and make complex decisions at pace.
We are looking for an individual who will bring:
- Strong experience of front‑door or assessment services
- In‑depth understanding and application of Pan London & CWD Level of Needs thresholds
- A track record of leading high‑performing teams in fast‑paced environments
- Excellent risk analysis and decision‑making skills under pressure
- The ability to challenge constructively and provide clear direction
- Experience of multi‑agency working and influencing across systems
- Good communication skills and a grip on data and information management
You are:
- Calm, decisive and authoritative
- Committed to timely, proportionate intervention
- Passionate about improving outcomes through earlier help and smarter systems
- Motivated by purposeful change and able to bring staff with you.
This is an opportunity for you to lead a flagship front‑door transformation pilot and shape system‑wide decision‑making.
Equal Opportunities and Diversity
At Lambeth, we are dedicated to providing quality services and equal opportunities for all. We are committed to safer recruitment and are proud to be a Stonewall diversity champion, a Living Wage Employer, and to guarantee interviews for all disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria of the role. For a full list of our accreditations, please click here.
