As a Team Manager you will confidently and effectively lead a team of social workers who work directly with children and families from the point of referral, through to child in need, child protection, proceedings, looked after children and leaving care. You will take a leadership role in one of these areas driving forward practice and service delivery.
You’ll lead by example, ensuring that interventions are always focused on improving outcomes, and that children are kept safe. This is vital, people-first work, and so you’ll need to be committed to delivering outstanding services across a wide range of situations to ensure children are safeguarded and protected from harm. Using your leadership skills, you’ll help nurture a culture of learning and development across Children’s Services, providing your team with supervision and support, and undertaking all aspects of staff management. You’ll act with honesty and integrity, prioritising compassion and leading your team to work openly and with respect.
You’ll have experience of working with children and families within a statutory setting, both as a practitioner and in a management capacity. Having provided a range of services aimed at safeguarding children, you’ll have an understanding of working with relevant legislation, and experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams. You’ll have excellent verbal and written communication skills, as well as the ability to respond constructively to complaints and implement effective change. Most importantly, you’ll work with empathy, and be passionate about providing the best services possible for the vulnerable children in our communities.
As a social worker, Kensington and Chelsea presents a unique and rewarding work environment. The borough is home to a diverse community and the demographic make up of our staff reflects this.
We are committed to promoting equality and celebrating the benefits of diversity. We are a Disability Confident Employer – committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.
The borough’s commitment to social care is reflected in its innovative approach to service delivery. For example, the Council has established a Bi-Borough partnership with neighbouring borough Westminster, which allows for the sharing of resources and expertise. The partnership has resulted in improved service delivery and better outcomes for vulnerable residents, which was recognised in our last ILACS inspection which found Kensington and Chelsea to be Outstanding in all judgement areas.
“Children in care and care leavers receive an outstanding service from workers who know them exceptionally well and are caring and ambitious for them. There is strong corporate support from the wider council to provide high-quality social work services for children, including significant financial investment so that the conditions are in place for excellent social work practice to flourish.”
Ofsted
Social workers in Kensington and Chelsea can look forward to a package that includes a competitive salary and child protection payment of £2,500 for social worker positions, membership of the Local Government pension scheme, Travel allowance scheme for zones 1 and 2, cycle scheme, reimbursement of Social Work England fees, generous annual leave plus bank holidays and discounts for many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments. Employees also benefit from an extensive training package, with access to the West London Alliance essential training and to years 1 and 2 of Systemic Practice.
In addition, we offer an annual leave purchase scheme where you can purchase up to 5 days annual leave per annum at 90 per cent of the actual cost. The Council has a staff contributory private healthcare scheme, open to all staff and offers a Dental Insurance Plan.