Social Work Manager - CP & Court Service

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About The Role

Job Title: Social Work Manager - CP & Court Service
Hours: 37
Salary: HC11 £49,764 - £54,180 (plus £5,000 market rate supplement per year £54,764 - £59,180)
Welcome payment: £5,000 after 6 months completion in post
Relocation package of up to £10,000 available
Contract: permanent

Closing date: 12/01/2025

Come and join us on our Restorative Journey of Improvement to gain the best for children and families in Herefordshire

The Role

We are looking for a Social Work Manager to help us on our improvement journey. Come and join us on our Restorative Journey of Improvement to gain the best for children and families in Herefordshire.

We need a qualified and experienced children's social work manager to manage one of six social work teams, undertaking child protection and court work. You will be experienced in child in need and child protection work, PLO pre-proceedings, care proceedings and adoption work.

You will manage a team of social workers and family support workers with input from a Managing Practitioner within our new locality structure. You will be committed to providing the highest quality of supervision and case direction, focussing at all times on improving outcomes for children. You will be organised and a strong communicator and decision-maker. You will work effectively as part of a service management team, committed to embedding good practice, with a focus on relationship based and restorative practice.

Herefordshire is on a journey and we would like you to be part of our next chapter. This is an exciting opportunity to have a genuine impact on the local authority and help improve and protect the children and young people within it.

You will be fully qualified (Degree in Social Work or equivalent), with significant post qualification social work experience, plus evidence of CPD and Social Work England registration.

Your proven record of effective service delivery will include managing staff and budgets, while implementing service and quality improvement methods successfully in pursuit of challenging performance expectations.

If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact Deborah direct by phone, 01432 261645, or by email, at [email protected].

Herefordshire Council Child Protection & Court Teams

The Childrens Child Protection & Court teams are based across Herefordshire as we move to a locality-based model. Teams will be located in the North, South and Central areas of the county with good transport links to get around the City as needed. The staff are very welcoming and are always keen to offer help and guidance if needed to anyone new to the team.

There will be six teams which are made up of a Team Manager and five social workers each. The locality base for this post is yet to be confirmed, however the candidate will either be located in Hereford City (at Plough Lane Offices), Ross-on-Wye or Leominster, with flexibility for working at home within a plan agreed as part of your appointment to the post, however you will be expected to attend some meetings in person and attend the office as agreed each week.

We work alongside families in improving outcomes for their children, we have a restorative approach to social work and this is also evident in the team culture and senior management style as we are available for discussions on complex matters, working together to ensure the right outcomes are achieved for our families.

Social Workers work closely with the Council's Legal Team to complete Court applications, which can be a learning experience for Social Workers but plenty of support is available to help when needed. We have Case Progression Officers who support the teams in ensuring we meet court timescales and contribute to identifying training that may be required to ensure that our staff feel equipped & supported.

Regular supervision takes place each month and you will have supervision with a Service Manager, who is available on a daily basis, for both formal and informal supervision sessions and case discussions.

We are excited to welcome new Social Workers so please consider joining us!

We Offer

A competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:

• Team Manager starting salary: £49,764 - £54,180 per annum
• Market rate supplement: plus £5,000 per year
• Welcome payment £5,000 for experienced social workers joining our children's teams
• Relocation packages: support of up to £10,000
• Pension Scheme Enrolment in the Local Government (LGPS)
• Professional development: protected time and budget to support social workers develop themselves and their careers.
• Career progression: clear pathways to progress
• Generous Annual Leave: 31 days' annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum
• Flexible working: flexi-time, job-share, part-time hours and, in some instances, home working
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
• Payment of professional membership fees
• Pick your perks - our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.

About Us

Herefordshire is a beautiful, historic county located in the heart of the Marches on the border with Wales. We are one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England with a wealth of unspoilt countryside, distinctive heritage, and lively and attractive market towns.

Our priority in Herefordshire is to keep children safe and give them a great start in life. It's the priority for the council, our partners and for all of us who work with Children & Young People.

How do we do this? By having dynamic, dedicated, passionate and professional staff who work in a culture that focuses on what we can achieve with children, what they can achieve themselves, and the relationship we build with families and partners to enable this. We have invested heavily in training and developing staff in our relational practice approach with our improvement partner Leeds City Council, so it's an exciting time to join Herefordshire - we believe in investing in you so you can be the best you can be!

Herefordshire has a really strong team ethos. Our teams are passionate about the work they do and the positive difference they and the teams they are in make to people's lives. This is all underpinned by the focus and support from their managers and the council as a whole.

We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond.

Therefore, we take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.

Come to Herefordshire and join the journey.

Herefordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service enhanced check and further pre-employment checks.

We welcome applicants whatever their personal characteristics or social identity. All requests for flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments will be considered.

The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:

• Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the "Disability Confident" scheme;
• Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant; and
• Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.

Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for more details of this role.

To apply, please submit your CV and complete the supporting statement within the application form, referring to the job description & person specification, detailing how you meet the specific requirements of the role.