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Service Manager (Referral and Assessment)

Please Note: The application deadline for this job has now passed.

The Role

Can you inspire, encourage, and develop excellent social work practice to make a real difference in the lives of children and young people?

Are you someone who is practice focused and passionate about delivering the best outcomes for children and families?

Would you like to spend every day at work knowing that you have made a positive difference in the lives of care experienced young people?

If yes, we have the perfect role for you!

We are looking to recruit a Service Manager in Referral and Assessment to lead our Front Door Services. You will be energetic, inspirational, and passionate about achieving positive outcomes for children, young people and families.

Our goals and visions

Here in Wandsworth, we are on an exciting journey of transformation. We have developed our Practice Model and are preparing for the implementation of the Family Safeguarding approach. Wandsworth will be the first Local Authority in London to implement the Family Safeguarding Model.

Our goals and vision are all about keeping families together where it is safe to do so. We work with each family’s strengths to help them meet the challenges they face, alongside supporting our practitioners to do the transformational work needed to reduce or prevent the need for children to be taken into care. When children do need to come into care, we want them to understand why, and we want to support them to achieve stability and permanence as soon as possible.

About the role

As Service Manager in Referral and Assessment you will be responsible for leading a talented group of social workers and Managers within the Service. You will be working collaboratively with referring agencies, partners and colleagues across the department to ensure children and young people are safe.

Through a culture of quality and respect you will lead the delivery of high-quality and responsive social work to children and families in Wandsworth. We value each staff member in the service and want each and every one to be a leader and champion of exemplary practice, able to work with families to make changes, and to achieve early permanence for children when they cannot remain at home.

To be shortlisted, your CV and personal statement (no longer than two sides of A4) will clearly evidence:

  • Having a social work qualification and current registration with Social Work England
  • Extensive experience of management within children’s social care services, with specific knowledge and interest in a MASH and Assessment setting.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, as well as an ability to build relationships with practitioners, families and partners.

Contact details

If you would like to have an informal chat about the role, please contact Iain Low by email at Iain.Low@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk

Benefits

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including, working from home, compressed or part-time hours, term time only, job shares and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.

We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 39 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities. In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline

  • Closing Date: 11:59pm on Sunday 5th December 2021
  • Shortlisting Date: Week commencing 6th December 2021
  • Interview Date: 13th  and 14th  December 2021

Useful Information: The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the advertised dates for interviews may change due to the current Covid-19 situation. If they do, we will let you know as soon as possible. Your health and wellbeing is our top priority. Should you become unwell due to Covid-19 during the recruitment process we would very much appreciate receiving an update from you as soon as possible.

At Wandsworth, we particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams, including black and ethnic minority communities. We understand the value of what a diverse workforce brings to our local authority and therefore, strongly encouraging candidates from these backgrounds to apply to this position. We will keep applications open until we have satisfactory representation on the shortlist.

Equality Statement

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important Information

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

How to apply?

To be considered for interview your CV and supporting statement must highlight your knowledge, skills and experience listed in the Job Profile located at the bottom of the advert.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils

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