Main Purpose of the Job:
To provide senior level management within a designated service area.
To provide support, guidance and management of operational line management reports. Provide senior level management cover within the Service Unit or across the Division as required.
To work with internal and external partners to ensure that high quality, value for money services are delivered to support vulnerable children and their families.
To hold responsibility for the designated service area ensuring that:
- timely allocation and throughput is made for all children open to the Department
- Performance is delivered to required standards
- Electronic casefiles are appropriately maintained
- Supervision is held at required frequency and to qualitative standards
- Induction and appraisal are held at required frequency and to qualitative standards agreed by the Department.
- Systems are delivered to ensure tracking of performance and corrective action is promptly taken where required.
- Ensure data for the designated service area is reliable and of high quality and is interrogated at regular intervals.
To ensure that the business plan for the Department relating to the designated service area is delivered and updated at required frequency.
To contribute to the delivery of best practice and best value through the establishment of effective systems, targets and performance management that encourages innovative and creative approaches to service delivery.
To ensure good customer care is delivered by the designated service area and effectively address and manage service complaints to required standards and timeframes.
To undertake accountabilities as detailed within the Departmental Quality Assurance strategy.
To be agreed for specific group manager responsibilities.
Summary of Responsibilities and Personal Duties:
Management Responsibilities
To work as a member of the Children’s’ Social Care Management Team and with other partners and contribute to the full integration of Children’s Services.
To take action required on financial and performance management information.
To contribute to the development of partnerships with other directorates and external agencies, including attendance at meetings as appropriate.
Ensure that systems are in place to monitor and review policies, procedures and practice on a regular basis, including regular reports made available for the Children’s Social Care Senior Management Team and that outcomes are fed back to improve front line practice
To deputise for the Head of Service in own area as required and represent the Directorate as required on corporate and external activities and groups.
Managing Services and Delivery
To manage and lead on designated business projects and deliver on time within budget and to agreed quality standards.
To actively consider new and innovative ways of working which recognise and promote the positive benefit of change to improve services and achieve goals.
To ensure that service users participation and engagement is promoted and their views are actively reflected and considered in service delivery.
To lead/contribute on audit activity and ensure that action plans are delivered to required specification.
To identify, establish and maintain relevant information and systems in critical areas and analyse material to identify priorities, make decisions, determine action and review process.
Financial Management
In conjunction with the Head of Service be responsible for and manage the range of budgets made available to the service area to ensure that resources are deployed to best effect, provide value for money, are well monitored and controlled, and adherence to ensure delivery of necessary savings.
To lead and provide guidance to others to ensure that forecasting activity is accurate and timely and corrective action is made as required.
Able to manage and direct service delivery initiatives and projects from inception to implementation within budget and set timescales.
General accountabilities
Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, Council Policies, the Council Constitution, and Financial Regulations
Ensure compliance within the service with relevant legislation including legislation specific to the delivery of Children’s Services, the Data Protection Act 1998, Health and Safety, Equalities Act.
Take responsibility for continuing professional development
Work flexibly across the Division as required undertaking any such duties as may be commensurate with the grade of the post.
Contacts
Staff within the Council and in external agencies/partner agencies
Children, Families, Foster Carers
Responsibilities and Personal Duties:
MASH
To ensure that:
Referral systems are monitored and scrutinised to ensure maximum efficiency.
The MASH is delivering a timely and efficient response to contacts within the Department.
Partner agency and local authority members of the MASH are clear on their function and operating principles.
Performance data regarding referral patterns and trends are scrutinised to ensure corrective action regarding working practices and systems.
MASH team development and learning activity is ongoing to deliver good outcomes for children.
Referral and Assessment
To ensure that:
Timely and appropriate responses are made to referrals into the Department
Single assessments are completed in a timely manner and are of high quality
S47 enquiries and child protection processes are managed in line with statutory guidance and outcomes are monitored and scrutinised.
Recording is undertaken to a high standard and audit activity is undertaken on a regular basis to affirm.
Workloads are managed and tracked ensuing prompt step down and closure or transfer to internal teams.
Family Support and Safeguarding
To ensure that:
CIN procedures are adhered to and a timely and well documented response is provided to all of our children in need.
Child protection processes are delivered to standard, including timely visits, clear documentation and engagement of service users.
Court processes are managed well including timely and considered chairing of legal planning meetings.
Plans for permanence and extended family are fully considered at an early stage.
Fostering:
Foster carer recruitment is ongoing providing a targeted response to service need
Recruitment capacity is in place and timescales are met for all stages of the recruitment process.
High quality foster careers are recruited in line with service need.
The fostering panel is well serviced and organised, with clear systems and processes to meet service demand
Foster carers are supported, visited and reviewed in line with statutory requirements and clear and transparent reward systems are in place.
Systems for assessment of kinship carers are in pace and delivered in a timely way to produce high quality assessments.
Kinship carers are supported in line with clear plans based on assessed need
Placements are provided that are timely and systems are in place to deliver these based on a clear match to user need.
Placements are scrutinised for both quality and effectiveness and value for money
Performance measures are met for the fostering and placements service
Children Looked After & Leaving Care
Statutory requirements for CLA are met with clear tracking systems in place.
Permanence planning is appropriate and evidenced for all children.
Systems are in place for review and corrective action for statutory requirements as well as national and local performance indicators.
Pathway planning is timely and clear for all looked after children, including transitions to independence.
Clear systems are in place to ascertain CLA feedback and respond to individual need.
Experience:
Successful background of consistent achievement at management level in a local authority.
Significant experience of delivery of statutory social work services delivering good outcomes for children, young people and their families.
Experience of management of a diverse group of professional staff in the public and/or private sector.
Experience in the preparation, management and control of large complex budgets.
Successful management of change, harnessing the strengths and talents of the workforce in a complex area within a large organisation.
A track record of successfully building and developing partnerships, both internally and externally, and the ability to establish trust and credibility.
Evidence of success in determining and evaluating service quality and identifying opportunities to achieve effectiveness and best value.
Experience of performance management and improvement of both national and local performance indicators on both a quantitative and qualitative basis.
A proven track record of effective working, communicating and negotiating effectively with a wide range of stakeholders and audiences whilst developing positive relationships.
Maximise service delivery within tight financial limits in a large organisation; and set, monitor and review allocated budgets
Knowledge and Ability:
Understand statistical information and ability to analyse, communicate and develop strategies for corrective action. Ability to deliver action plans and ensure review mechanisms for sustainment.
Understands best practice within provision of statutory children’s social care services.
Evidences ability to be informed by, contribute to and understand research and its translation for service delivery.
Ability to provide clear leadership and empower and motivate staff to ensure optimum delivery of services.
Deliver on programme management of projects, from initiation to delivery ensuring milestones are met and mechanisms for consultation and briefing of key stakeholders and decision makers.
Demonstrates understanding of the council strategy, vision and priorities.
Actively seeks and offers new approaches, methods, techniques and tools. Tries out new ways of working and shares their insights with colleagues.
Ability to make difficult decisions in a timely way.
Education and Qualifications:
Social Work qualification
Social Work England regisPlanning own and others activitiestration
Skills: Demonstrates an ease, fluency and resilience in terms of:
Problem analysis and decision making.
Using performance information to plan, shape and improve service delivery.
Communicating effectively both verbally and in writing to a range of stakeholders.
Planning own and others activities
Organising arrangements for delivery of service with contingencies in place.
Directing and motivating others within a pressured environment
Use of technology and other management tools.
Time management and prioritisation within competing demands.
Energises others and self to overcome barriers.
Encourages, mentors and coaches others to deliver.
Demonstrates regard for others.
Responsive to others needs and considers impact within decision making.
Builds relationships and influences others for mutual benefits
Equal Opportunities:
Awareness of equal opportunities issues in the context of service provision in this role.
Welcome to Lewisham – a vibrant and culturally diverse borough that is bursting with fantastic things to see and do. As a truly international borough with over 170 languages spoken in our homes and businesses, a thriving cultural scene, and a treasure trove of indie shops, bustling markets and more, it’s a great place to start and build a career.
Social work in Lewisham is changing and we have set out our vision and values for how we practice. In Lewisham Children’s Social Care (CSC), we know what good social work looks like and we are passionate about creating the right conditions and culture for good practice to thrive.
Our social workers benefit from working in small, supportive teams with caseloads on average between 15-20 children. Our ‘Signs of Safety’ practice framework means we are committed to working in a relationship-based way with children and families, focussing on strengths in the family network to effect change. A positive learning culture which promotes opportunities for reflection and relationship-based practice is important to us. We are committed to developing our practice using reflective practice spaces such as case mapping, thinking spaces and group supervision.
Our permanent and stable senior management team are visible and approachable. Our dedicated PSW and workforce team supports professional development across the service so that you will;
be supported through our comprehensive learning and development offer, which includes subscriptions to ‘Research in Practice’ and ‘Making Research Count’.
receive regular supervision and appraisal.
have 1-1 practice development coaching as a case holding practitioner, and professional development coaching as a manager.
have access to regular ‘Signs of Safety’ training and the opportunity to become a practice leader through attending our bespoke practice leader course.
have access to external leadership development opportunities such as Pathways and the Black and Asian Leadership Initiative (BALI).
have a clearly defined career progression pathway with opportunities for professional development at all levels.
We have a strong working relationship with Goldsmiths, University of London as part of the South East London Teaching Partnership so our practitioners have the opportunity to teach on social work courses as teaching consultants. We host ‘Step Up’, ‘Frontline’ and traditional route students and social workers have the opportunity to become practice educators.
Core CSC Staff Benefits include:
We have been awarded the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard – a benchmark for high employment standards. We are also one of the first London Councils to be accredited a London Living Wage employer and are a Disability Confident employer as well as a Timewise accredited Flex positive employer. We offer a 35-hour working week, and:
The opportunity to work in a thriving, diverse and developing inner London borough with a stable management team, manageable caseloads and a workforce group committed to promoting your development and emotional wellbeing
Generous salary for social workers at all levels
Generous holiday entitlement - starting at 27 days a year (plus public holidays) rising to 32 and 35 days after 5- and 10-years’ continued service.
Oyster card access for travelling in and around London for work and we are exploring initiatives, including Zip cars
Flexible working policies and a variety of hybrid, and flexible working options – we know how important this is to you
Smarter Working with new modern technology and training to support this
Career average pension scheme
Family friendly policies including maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and special leave for emergencies.
Variety of support schemes including key worker housing, tax-free childcare scheme, access to Civil Service Sports Club which offers financial discounts and savings on days out and entertainment. KAARP activities and entertainment discounts. We offer a shop local discount scheme, volunteering leave, long service awards, membership of the Crownsavers Credit Union and access to Payroll Giving.
Health and Wellbeing support includes a staff support hub and 24/7 employee assistance programme which incorporates mental health support, counselling services and access to the PAM Assist health and wellbeing app.
We have signed the Menopause Pledge and offer gender specific and gender-neutral health and wellbeing support with access to financial advice. We offer discounted gym and leisure centre membership including free lunch time swimming; interest free loans for season tickets, nursery childcare, and bikes, a “try before you buy” bike scheme and cycle training, smoking cessation, free eye tests and money towards glasses.
Active Employee Groups including the Black and Multicultural Forum, Anti-racist Network Group, LGBTQ+ Forum, Disabled Staff Forum, Climate Emergency Staff Forum, Trade Union Memberships, and a staff-led Change Network
Staff tell us they feel valued and enjoy working in Lewisham and are well supported by their managers with regular reflective supervision and good access to training.
“Lewisham has so much to offer any social worker. I feel supported, respected and valued every step of the way”
Lewisham Social Worker
If you have any questions about applying for this role, or if you are interested in having an informal discussion about working with us, please contact our Recruitment and Retention Manager, Angela Main at angela.main@lewisham.gov.uk or Sara Taylor, our Principal Social Worker: sara.taylor@lewisham.gov.uk