Team Manager (Internal) in Ipswich

Suffolk County Council

Address: West Suffolk House, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3YU - Hybrid

Salary: £48,163 per annum (pro rata for part time)

Hours: 37 hours per week, flexible working options available

Contract: Permanent

At Suffolk County Council, we believe that when our people grow, our communities thrive. As a Team Manager in the Independence and Wellbeing Service, you’ll find opportunities to develop your skills, make a meaningful impact, and shape the future of Suffolk.

Your role and responsibilities

As a Team Manager within the Independence and Wellbeing Service, you will lead and support a multi-disciplinary team of Social Workers, Occupational Therapists and Independence and Wellbeing Practitioners to deliver high-quality, person-centred services. You will oversee the effective triage and analysis of referrals into Adult Social Care, ensuring timely and proportionate responses. This includes leading the delivery of short-term preventative, Mental Capacity and Occupational Therapy assessments that promote independence and enable individuals to thrive within their communities.

Working collaboratively, you will build strong relationships across Adult Social Care, Health and partner organisations, including social prescribers and mental health professionals. You will work closely with Customer First to ensure individuals receive clear, consistent information, advice and guidance at the earliest stage of their journey.

You will support and guide your team to work in partnership with adults, their families and professionals, delivering a range of preventative and crisis response interventions. This includes promoting the use of equipment, assistive technology and digital care solutions to help meet our duty to prevent, reduce and delay care and support needs.

You will bring strong leadership experience, alongside professional registration as either a Social Worker (Social Work England) or Occupational Therapist (HCPC), and a commitment to driving high standards of practice and continuous improvement.

You will need to

• Be a registered Social Worker or Occupational Therapist, with experience at Senior Practitioner level or in a similar role, including supervising others.
• Demonstrate strong knowledge of data and performance tools to support service delivery.
• Be confident working in a high-demand, fast-paced social care or occupational therapy environment.
• Show creativity and a proactive approach to problem solving.
• Have well-developed risk assessment and risk management skills.
• Be able to lead, motivate and support a team effectively.
• Have a strong understanding of the key challenges facing local government and Adult Social Care.
• Be able to work collaboratively with partner organisations and colleagues across Adult Social Care.

The team The Independence and Well-being Service (IWS) is the front door Social Work team, working alongside Customer First to offer robust advice, information, equipment, digital care aids at the earliest point of an individual's journey into Adult Social Care. There are three IWS teams in Adult Social Care, located in Waveney, West Suffolk and Ipswich.

IWS work involves, but is not limited to:

• Arranging reablement services
• Undertaking short term assessments
• Mental capacity assessments
• Home visits where appropriate
• Commissioning services
• Reviewing support

Empowering Everyone

We’re big believers in potential, possibility and the power of different ideas. We’re always searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report.

For more information

Please contact Fiona Raffe for a casual conversation. You can reach them by calling 01473 263246 or emailing Fiona.Raffe@suffolk.gov.uk

How to apply

1. Read the Job and Person Profile (Word).
2. Click ‘Apply Now’ to start your online application.
3. Upload a supporting statement answering the following questions below (no more than 400 words per question). You should use the Supporting Statement template (Word).

Give an example of how you have created or embedded a high-performance culture within a team. What actions did you take and how did you measure success?

Tell us about a time you had to manage demand within a service area. How did you balance resources, priorities and quality of service?

Describe how you have worked collaboratively across systems to reduce demand and improve outcomes for service users.

Please note: Without a supporting statement, your interest will not be progressed. Any supporting documents must be in either PDF or MS Word format.

For guidance on completing your application, please see our How to Apply page.

Planning to use Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Please ensure your application still reflects your own skills, experience and ideas. If used inappropriately, your application may not be processed. Please read our guidance for using AI to understand what’s acceptable.

Do you need any reasonable adjustments to help you to apply? If you are disabled and/or have additional support needs, you can request reasonable adjustments. You can do this by contacting our Recruitment Team at recruitment@suffolk.gov.uk or 03456 014412. You can find examples of possible adjustments on our Reasonable Adjustment pages.

Closing date: 11.30pm, 31 May 2026.

Interview date: Thursday 4 June 2026.

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.