Team Manager South Somerset in Yeovil

Salary & Benefits: £54,282 per annum including a £5,000 recruitment allowance which expires 30.06.2027. Hybrid working: team managers should be in their office base on their duty week and 3/5 days per week on non‑duty weeks. 33 days annual leave (additional to bank holidays). Based in the South Somerset area.

Role Summary: As Service Manager you will provide leadership, guidance and oversight across children’s social care services, helping to ensure practice remains high‑quality, compliant and focused on the needs of children and families. You will support the development of effective services, working with teams to achieve the best possible outcomes for children, young people and their families. You will play an important role in ensuring services are responsive, well‑coordinated and supportive, creating an environment where good practice can thrive, teams feel empowered, and children are protected, encouraged and able to reach their potential. Through visible leadership, supportive performance management and collaborative partnership working, you will help drive ongoing improvement and ensure services meet statutory requirements and local priorities. As part of the wider leadership team, you will contribute to the Council’s transformation agenda, supporting delivery of the County Plan and New Operating Model. You will encourage innovation, build strong working relationships with partners and help shape sustainable improvements, ensuring services continue to make a meaningful difference for Somerset’s children and families.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and deliver high‑quality, child‑centred social work services that safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and families, ensuring practice is compliant with statutory requirements and focused on achieving positive outcomes.
• Develop, implement and deliver service plans, translating strategic priorities into operational delivery, setting clear direction for teams and ensuring targets, objectives and outcomes are achieved.
• Drive continuous service improvement, transformation and innovation across children’s services, identifying opportunities for change and leading the successful implementation of new ways of working.
• Monitor, analyse and report on performance, quality and outcomes, using data, audit findings and customer feedback to inform decision‑making and improve service effectiveness.
• Manage budgets, resources and commissioning activity effectively, ensuring services are delivered efficiently, provide value for money and meet the needs of children and families.
• Lead, motivate and develop multidisciplinary teams, creating a high‑performance culture through effective supervision, performance management, coaching and continuous professional development.
• Provide oversight, guidance and challenge on complex casework, ensuring high‑quality assessment, planning and decision‑making, and that safeguarding responsibilities are consistently met.
• Build and maintain strong, effective partnerships with key stakeholders including health, education, police and the voluntary sector, enabling integrated and coordinated support for children and families.
• Represent the service at a senior level, providing expert advice and guidance to senior leaders and elected members on operational, strategic and policy matters.
• Ensure children, young people and families are at the centre of service planning and delivery, actively seeking and using their feedback to shape, improve and co‑produce services.

What We’re Looking For – Knowledge, Experience and Skills:

• Strategic knowledge and frameworks: Demonstrable knowledge of statutory, policy and strategic commissioning frameworks and their local government context; ability to develop and implement performance management and quality assurance frameworks; understanding of equality and diversity in commissioning.
• Senior leadership and strategy experience: Significant experience working with Members and Directors on complex issues and developing strategic direction; track record of operating corporate projects and advising on policy options.
• Communication and representation: Experience in delivering representation and communication activities that convey key messages to the public and internally.
• Partnership working: Demonstrable experience of partnership working, influencing and leading multi‑agency projects and initiatives, setting standards and commissioning whole‑service solutions.
• Operational management: Experience managing children’s social care teams, supervising, performance management and workforce development.
• Qualifications and CPD: Relevant Social Work degree and professional qualification with Social Work England; evidence of CPD in the specialist field.
• Leadership and change: Ability to promote change, exhibit a role‑model attitude, approach challenges positively, and maintain a drive and self‑motivation.
• Performance and delivery: Ability to meet deadlines and motivate others, demonstrate duty of care and sound analysis in complex service and policy matters.
• Values and behaviours: Commitment to diversity, customer and community focus, and personal integrity.
• Service improvement: Innovative and creative approach; commitment to engaging customers and communities to redesign services and manage change.

Additional Information: 2‑year fixed‑term contract – 37 hours per week. A generous benefits package that supports your wellbeing, work‑life balance and ongoing development. Regretfully, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. For an informal chat about the role, please contact Anna Miall via email Anna.Miall@somerset.gov.uk.