Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities. Lewisham is the UK's first Borough of Sanctuary, recognised for championing the rights of refugees and migrants.
Introduction
We are seeking an experienced Group Manager to join our senior leadership team within the Family First Contact Point (FFCP). This key strategic and operational leadership role sits at the front door of Children and Young People’s Service, with responsibility spanning safeguarding, early help, assessment, short‑term interventions, and multi‑agency partnership working. The role includes oversight of the Emergency Duty Team (EDT), ensuring effective out‑of‑hours safeguarding responses, and leadership responsibility across the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) function, including providing cover where required. Candidates should bring significant experience above Team Manager level, having overseen practice, performance, and service delivery across a complex and high‑profile service area.
What’s the role?
This central leadership role provides strategic and operational oversight of the FFCP, including front door decision‑making, safeguarding responses, assessment, and multi‑agency arrangements. You will lead a multi‑disciplinary service of Team Managers, Advanced Practitioners, Social Workers and Family Practitioners, ensuring high‑quality triage, timely decision‑making, and the completion of proportionate, high‑quality assessments and short‑term interventions for children and families at the front door. A key aspect is ensuring alignment between daytime services and the Emergency Duty Team (EDT), maintaining continuity of safeguarding decision‑making and robust out‑of‑hours responses. You will also provide senior leadership across multi‑agency safeguarding arrangements and work closely with partners such as police, health, education, and housing to coordinate responses.
- Provide visible leadership across FFCP, including EDT, ensuring consistent safeguarding responses
- Maintain oversight of performance, thresholds, demand and service flow
- Ensure high‑quality triage, assessment, short‑term intervention and statutory decision‑making
- Maintain oversight of the quality and timeliness of assessments and interventions
- Lead multi‑agency partnership working and safeguarding arrangements
- Oversee statutory processes including safeguarding pathways and EHC contributions
- Provide oversight of LADO activity and undertake LADO duties where required
- Drive practice improvement and quality assurance across the service
What’s in it for you?
Excellent training and development opportunities, plus a range of benefits including:
- Generous holiday allowance
- Local Government Pension scheme
- Flexible working and family‑friendly policies
- Season ticket and bicycle loans
- A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
- Supportive staff networks
What We’re Looking For
We seek an experienced leader with substantial management experience across children’s social care, including front door services, and a strong understanding of safeguarding thresholds, statutory responsibilities, assessment, and early intervention. You should have experience overseeing or working alongside EDT services and demonstrate strong multi‑agency partnership working at both operational and strategic levels. Confidence managing multiple teams, leading service improvement, and ensuring high‑quality practice, including timely and effective interventions for children and families, are essential. A skilled and reflective leader with a clear understanding of good practice and the ability to translate strategic priorities into operational delivery is expected.
Location
Based at Laurence House, Catford, SE6, with hybrid working arrangements.
Special conditions
- Social Work qualification required
- Social Work England registration required
- Enhanced DBS required
Salary
£64,938 - £69,660 per annum (SMG1). All appointments will be offered at the minimum spinal column point (SCP) for the grade of the role. The only exception to this will be when matching current salary (up to the maximum of the scale), which is subject to evidential proof.
Diversity
Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to ensure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme; further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply.
The recruitment process is anonymous and we don’t accept CVs.
