Team Manager - Looked After Children (LAC)

Fundamental to fulfilling the responsibilities of this post is the ability to provide strong leadership and the ability to work in collaboration with other agencies, and services as well as promoting relationship-based and trauma informed working with young people and their families.

You need to be able to respond flexibly, positively and successfully to the ever-changing pressures that the Local Authority may face as well as maintaining quality assurance, management oversight, robust decision making and people management.  

 If you would like to discuss the opportunity in the first instance, please feel free to contact Mariette Bezuidenhout on Mariette.bezuidenhout@redbridge.gov.uk

Redbridge is among the fastest growing parts of the country and the third most diverse London borough. Our communities are attracted by a mixture of excellent schools, relatively affordable housing compared to other parts of London, high quality open spaces and rapid transport connections into the heart of the City.

We are so proud of our Children and Families’ service. Rated as Outstanding by OFSTED, we offer a whole family approach to the care of children in Redbridge.

We are one of only a few authorities who have achieved this top score under the new inspection framework. Highlights from the report included praises for:

• Exceptional leadership

• Promotion of best practice and innovation

• Highly effective practice

• Happy and supported staff

• Meeting emerging problems such as gangs, county lines and exploitation

• Thoughtful social workers

We can provide such strong services because of our highly qualified and motivated staff who put children and young people at the heart of everything we do. We offer a range of roles in our services for social workers, family support workers and others at all levels, supported by experienced managers and a variety of learning and development opportunities.

We also continually develop our services to respond to emerging best practice so that we can continue to offer outstanding services to the children and young people in our borough.

Training, development, and support is provided for all our staff from specific programmes for newly qualified social workers through to continuous professional development for more experienced staff.

Children Services are implementing Trauma Informed Practice to equip practitioners to better support the mental health and wellbeing of our children, young people and families.

We want to offer support to frontline staff as we understand working with children, young people and families in the context of abuse, neglect and other adversities place high emotional demands on practitioners.

We offer a range of classroom based and online learning as well as opportunities for reflective practice and learning. We also have opportunities for apprenticeships and a dedicated progression programme for social workers and occupational therapists. The Career Progression Framework is closely linked to the Social Work Professional Capabilities Framework and introduces clear levels of performance and achievement in social work that are directly linked to levels of pay.  This can be used to help identify strengths and areas for development.

In addition we also offer great benefits at Redbridge:

• Local government pension scheme

• 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays)

• Cycle to work scheme

• Discounted Car Parking

• Employee discount scheme

• Flexible working options including job sharing, compressed hours and term-time working

• Employee volunteering scheme

• Employee assistance programme

• Excellent learning & development opportunities

• Performance management and career progression support

• Confidential Employee Support helpline

• Electric car and bike pool scheme

If you would like an informal discussion about working in children’s social care at Redbridge please contact Judy Daniels, our Principal Child and Family Social Worker at Judy.Daniels@redbridge.gov.uk