Team Manager for Child in Need & Child Protection
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We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic candidate to the role of a Team Manager within our Child in Need and Child Protection Team in Macclesfield based at Macclesfield Town Hall. The candidate can be an experienced manager or an advanced practitioner looking to step up into management.
The Team Manager is essential in supporting our Social Workers and Family Support Workers meet the needs of Cheshire East's vulnerable children from pre-birth to the age of 18. Relationships are at the heart of what we do in Cheshire East and we understand the importance of building relationships and providing consistent support. Our teams include ASYEs, Advanced Practitioners, experienced Social Workers and Family Support Workers.
We pride ourselves in creating an environment that encourages and embraces a culture of continuous learning, encouraging your professional growth and contributions to your peers. Join us in making a difference to the lives of vulnerable children and families in Cheshire East. #TOGETHERFORSOCIALWORK
The role of the Team Manager is to ensure the provision of quality, professional social work practice in relation to high-risk complex matters and the management of a team of Social Workers and Family Support Workers in meeting the needs of vulnerable children and families.
The candidate will need to be registered with Social Work England and a full driving license and access to a car is essential.
The Team Manager will manage a busy team of staff to deliver effective services. The Child in Need and Child Protection Service covers children subject to child in need plans, child protection plans and pre-proceedings. There are some children subject to care proceedings which are held within the service. We are seeking a Team Manager who is keen to use their creativity to deliver high quality child focussed practice which ensures the best outcomes for children and their families. We adopt a restorative practice approach by building relationships with children and families by understanding the context and family dynamics to identify the best ways to support them. We focus on collaboration and building on the existing strengths within families and their network.
The Team Manager key responsibilities include:
1. Interview, observe, assess and evaluate information in order to produce a holistic assessment of the needs of children and families and determine appropriate methods of intervention in line with statutory guidance
2. Identify the parenting capacity, family and environmental factors and the need for protection to ensure a balance of risk with protective factors in order to effectively target resources.
3. Devise written plans for intervention and /or care for children and their families, including Child Protection Plans to ensure focused social work interventions and the management of risk to children
4. Research findings and statutory guidance and provide and present concise reports about complex information in line with evidence based social work practice to meet the requirements of the Local Safeguarding Board, the Court and other regulations
5. Manage a complex and high- risk workload and build professional relationships with children and their families to safeguard children and promote positive outcomes
6. Communicate effectively with children and their families to ensure their views and wishes are heard and provide written reports about their circumstances and plans for intervention
7. Manage the Social Work pod, prioritise and allocate tasks, provide guidance, direction, motivation and support to ensure effective services to children and their families
8. Provide professional supervision to social workers and children's practitioners to ensure accountability for social work practice and assist with the professional development of staff within designated practice standards
9. Liaise and work with other agencies and promote joint working in line with statutory guidelines to ensure an integrated approach and multi-disciplinary working for the benefit of children and their families
10. Manage budgets for the commissioning of services and authorise cash payments to families in line with Financial Regulations to ensure value for money and appropriate assistance to families
11. Manage the child's record using Cheshire Easts recording system, provide aggregated information and statistics and share information with other agencies in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act to promote the welfare of children
12. Contribute to the development of social work policy and procedures to ensure that services best meet the needs of children and families.
13. Ability to analyse performance data, motivate and mobilise staff to ensure that performance targets are met and maintained consistently across the service.
Shortlisting will take place w/c 30th September 2024 with interviews scheduled to take place w/c 6th October 2024.
If you would like an informal discussion about this role, please email Tom Geoghegan (Interim Service Manager) at tom.geoghegan@cheshireeast.gov.uk