Social Work Practice Manager in Oakham

We’re excited to announce a fantastic opportunity to join us as a Social Work Practice Manager within the Adult and Health Directorate. If you’re passionate about driving high‑quality social work practice and inspiring others to achieve their best, this could be the role for you. This is a two‑year fixed‑term position within our forward‑thinking Quality Assurance Team. As our Social Work Practice Manager, you’ll work closely with the Principal Social Worker and Quality Lead, taking a key role in shaping excellent practice across adult social care. You’ll bring your expertise, leadership, and coaching skills to support and empower a wide range of colleagues – qualified and non‑qualified practitioners, social workers, and managers – helping them to grow, develop, and deliver outstanding outcomes for the people we serve.

About the role

• Support teams with complex case work, including legal cases such as 21A, safeguarding, and mental capacity.
• Chair multi‑professional meetings, including safeguarding meetings following agreed procedures, and resulting in robust action plans with defined timescales.
• Lead on embedding high‑quality practice across Adult Social Care by ensuring practitioners and managers have the training, guidance, and tools to deliver this.
• Ensure CQC Assessment readiness and preparation for inspection activity.
• Represent the adults and health directorate at a strategic level in meetings and forums at local, regional and national levels.

Who you are

To be successful in the role, you will need to be an experienced Social Worker and be interested in the opportunity to progress your career, evidencing the following:

• Social Work Degree qualification and evidence of post qualifying practice i.e. BIA/PE.
• Strong leadership skills including mentoring and coaching.
• A strong knowledge of assessment and support planning for adults and unpaid carers.
• Experience of change management and leading service improvement projects.
• Ability to work in a relational way to develop and support a positive learning culture in which continuous improvement is embedded.

The successful applicant for this post will be subject to an enhanced check by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The costs for the DBS and Social Work England are paid by us. Social Work Practice Manager Interviews will be held on 23 and 24 April 2026. Please be advised this could be subject to change, in which case we will give appropriate notice. We will be reviewing applications on a regular basis and inviting those who meet our essential person specification criteria to interview. If you’re interested in this role, we strongly encourage you to apply without delay.

To be successful in this role – you may have experience working in the following roles:

• Social Work Team Manager
• Practice/Specialist Lead roles in Adult Social Care

Our offer to you

Rutland Council is committed to Flexible Working and understands the benefits of supporting employees to manage their work and life balance, whilst meeting the needs of the service. We are committed to supporting and empowering our staff to be the best workers that they can be and Rutland Council is the place you want to be. Our benefits go beyond the salary – being part of a great team, excellent Local Government Pension, generous annual leave, opportunities to learn and develop your career, and a demonstrable commitment to supporting the health and wellbeing of our staff. Whilst the base for this post is Oakham, Rutland, the Local Authority offers a hybrid working practice. As well as working from home, we feel it is important that you have the opportunity to spend time in the workplace with your colleagues to help you learn, develop and engage.

Find out more

To learn more about working with us visit https://jobs.rutland.gov.uk or if you have any queries about this role please contact Kelly McAleese on 01572 758167 or at kmcaleese@rutland.gov.uk.

How to apply

Click on the apply button which will redirect you to the Jobs Go Public (JGP site) where we handle all our vacancies. If you already have a JGP account you will be asked to login, or alternatively if you don’t have an account, you will be guided through the set up process. Access to an account is necessary, as all updates regarding your application will be sent via the JGP site to the email you have used to register. If you are experiencing problems or have any queries about the application process, please call us on 01572 758291 or email us at recruitment@rutland.gov.uk. All recruitment correspondence, including interview details, will be sent out via email from the Jobs Go Public site. If you require documentation/correspondence in an alternative format, please contact the Recruitment team.

Rutland County Council is committed to Equality and Diversity and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Everyone at Rutland County Council has a responsibility for, and is committed to, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults and for ensuring that they are protected from harm.