Service Manager for Children and Family Services (Social Work)
“Children in Cornwall benefit from good and outstanding services. The long-standing and committed senior leadership team has decisively and persistently focused on improving services for children”- Ofsted
We have an exciting opportunity for exceptional social work managers to advance their career in an innovative and ambitious children’s service in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. The are two positions available of Service Managers for East Cornwall and West Cornwall covering the beautiful West Coast of Cornwall and the coastal and rural diversity of East Cornwall. We believe that the children of Cornwall deserve the best. If you have a proven track record of developing and delivering humane, relationship-based social work with children and families, we would like to hear from you.
Cornwall has a proven track record of innovation and service development to improve the lives and the futures of children and families. Our overall Ofsted rating of 'Outstanding' places our children’s social care service in the top 10% of services nationally despite higher levels of deprivation than most. We have developed and embedded a strong learning and performance culture which has enabled our performance, direction and approach to be maintained and further developed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our approach is systemic, strengths-based, pro-social justice and pro-social learning, with a focus on Children’s Rights. We have made a significant investment in Early Help and have taken an innovative approach to integration, which is enabling us to help more families at an earlier stage, and more effectively.
The Service Manager for our area-based early help and children’s social care services combine strategic and operational responsibilities. You will have direct responsibility for a wide range of area based multi-disciplinary services and a high level of autonomy in providing early help and statutory social care to children, young people and their families. You will also have lead responsibility for specific areas of practice and service delivery across Cornwall.
You will be joining a high performing service with a well-established, friendly and supportive Senior Leadership Team that will provide you with fantastic opportunities to develop as a leader of children’s services. You will be a qualified and registered social worker, with a proven record of successfully leading and managing frontline statutory children’s social care services and delivering good outcomes for children and families. You will understand the Munro reforms; be committed to the development of integrated, place-based services; have the skills to develop and deliver innovative, evidence-based interventions; and know how to safeguard the wellbeing and resilience of our fabulous workforce.
What we can offer you
In recognition of the vital contribution you make, we offer an attractive package of benefits including:
- An individualised induction to meet your specific needs and learning
- A generous relocation package
- An excellent core curriculum to support your ongoing development with a high quality programme of evidence-based learning and development to enhance skills and practice.
- Supportive management and leadership
- Support to access temporary accommodation if moving from outside of Cornwall
- Access to a Cornwall Council lease car
- 26 days paid annual leave per year (rising with length of service), plus bank holidays
- Flexible working opportunities, including part-time hours and homeworking
- A license to access Community Care Inform and Research in Practice.
- Payment of your Social Work England registration fees.
- A competitive starting salary and the opportunity to increase your pay further as you progress
If you would like an informal discussion, please contact Ben Davies, Service Director for Children and Family Services, on 01872 324103.
This is a public/customer-facing role, where the statutory English language requirement for public sector workers applies.
This position will be subject to an enhanced criminal record disclosure check.
Whilst the location/work-base for this role may have been specified our evolving ways of working means that the role may require you to also work remotely (e.g., from home/other locations). We will discuss this with you during the recruitment process.
We are happy to talk about flexible working options such as part-time or compressed hours. More examples of our flexible working opportunities can be found here - flexible working options.
More information about our social work careers is available here.
How To Apply
Please click on the ‘Apply for Job’ link to open a new page and complete and application form. (If it does not work, please ensure you have pop-ups enabled)
Please view the Role Profile, your application will need to demonstrate how you meet the required criteria on the role profile marked ‘application form'. Please ensure you answer all the pre-screening questions in full, within the application form. Guidance on how to complete your application can be found here – The application process
Please be advised that for this role we are accepting uploaded supporting statements and/or CVs to support your online application.
About Us
Cornwall Council deliver services to more than half a million local people and over five million visitors a year. Find out about working and volunteering for us.
Cornwall Council is registered to sponsor individuals that are appointed into eligible positions. A list of eligible positions can be found here Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations and codes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Further information about applying for a UK visa can be found here.