Team Manager

Suffolk County Council · Lowestoft · £55,563 (stated in the posting)

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Description

• Suffolk County Council
• Address: West Suffolk House, Bury St Edmunds IP33 3YU and Riverside, Lowestoft NR33 0EQ - Hybrid
• Salary: £55,563 per annum (pro rata for part time)
• Hours: 37 hours per week, flexible working options available
• Contract: Permanent

At Suffolk County Council, collaboration is at the heart of what we do. As a Team Manager in our Parenting Together Service, you'll lead social work practice that helps children in care and care leavers achieve lasting and meaningful change.

You will join a service committed to delivering the right support at the right time, bringing together multi-agency working to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people in care. The role requires strong leadership, sound decision-making and a passion for developing high-quality practice. 

Reimagine the possibilities.

Your role and responsibilities

As a manager in Children and Young People’s Services you will be at the forefront of managing change, leading high quality and effective ways of working and managing staff, resources or projects to achieve the best possible outcomes for children, young people and their families in Suffolk.

You will be responsible for

• Managing the work of a team of social workers including wellbeing and case supervision and performance management. 

• Maintaining a strong focus on the child’s lived experience, ensuring that day-to-day care, safety, and developmental needs are central to all interventions. 

• Mentoring and coaching staff and students as needs require.

• Working together with partner agencies to ensure that children’s needs are met to the best outcomes are achieved.

• Overseeing cases in proceedings until completion.

• Ensure that statutory timescales and CYP key performance indicators are met 

• Maintaining clear, accurate, and timely case records and provide written reports as required, in line with local policies and procedures. 
• Supporting service learning and improvement by contributing to reflective practice, service development activity, and the sharing of effective approaches. 

• Having a good understanding of the relevant policies legislation and guidance relating to children in care and information sharing.

You will need

We are looking for an experienced and passionate social work leader who is committed to achieving the best outcomes for children and families.

You will bring:

• a recognised Social Work qualification and current Social Work England registration 
• significant frontline experience in children's social care
• experience of leading, managing and developing staff 
• strong knowledge of relevant legislation, statutory guidance and national policy 
• experience of complex decision-making, risk management and service delivery 
• the ability to build effective partnerships across professional disciplines 
• excellent communication, organisational and performance management skills 
• the ability to use performance information to drive service improvement 
• experience of leading service improvements or organisational change
• knowledge of Signs of Safety and solution-focused approaches
• understanding of evidence-informed interventions
• experience of working alongside a range of partner agencies
• an awareness of the wider operational and strategic environment within children's services. 
• due to the travel requirements of the role, you will need a driving licence and access to personal transport. If you can meet these requirements through other suitable means, please contact the Hiring Manager to discuss.

You can view the full list of requirements in the Job and Person Profile (JPP), which you'll find in the 'How to Apply' section of this advert.

If you believe you can succeed in this role, we encourage you to apply, even if you don't meet every requirement.

The team

We aspire for every child in Suffolk to live their best life.

The Parenting Together Teams sit within the Suffolk Cares Service. They provide support to children in care and their families through their journey in care until they transfer to the Next Steps Service.

The team operates within a whole-family, strengths-based approach, working in partnership with children, parents and carers. Practice is underpinned by clear assessment, purposeful planning, and regular review, with a strong focus on the child’s lived experience and day-to-day care.

Practice within the team is aligned to local policies and procedures, statutory guidance and the council’s wider Families First and children’s services priorities, with a strong emphasis on reflective practice, learning, and continuous improvement.

Take a look at what makes our Ideal Worker, shaped by the voices of young people: find out more.

Empowering Everyone

We are big believers in potential, possibility and the power of different ideas. We’re always searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report. 

For more information

Please contact Wendy Wright (01473 264972) or Lavinia Onutiu (07917638041) for a casual conversation or email them using Wendy.Wright@suffolk.gov.uk or lavinia.onutiu@suffolk.gov.uk

How to apply 

Step 1 - Read the Job and Person Profile (Word). 

Step 2 - Click ‘Apply Now’ to start your online application. 

Step 3 - Upload a supporting statement answering the following questions below (no more than 400 words per question). You should use the Supporting Statement template (Word).  

1. Please tell us about your experience of leading and developing social workers or practitioners within children’s services. Using a specific example, explain how you used supervision, coaching and performance information to improve practice and achieve positive outcomes for children and families.
2. Provide an example of a complex safeguarding or risk situation in which you worked with partner agencies to improve outcomes for a child or family. How did you manage differing professional views, ensure the child’s lived experience remained central and reach a safe and informed decision?
3. Tell us about a service improvement, practice-development or change initiative that you have led. How did you engage staff and stakeholders, respond to challenge or resistance, and use data, feedback or quality-assurance activity to measure its impact?

Please note: Without a supporting statement, your interest will not be progressed. Any supporting documents must be in either PDF or MS Word format.  

For guidance on completing your application, please see our How to Apply page. 

Planning to use Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Please ensure your application still reflects your own skills, experience and ideas. If used inappropriately, your application may not be processed. Please read our guidance for using AI to understand what’s acceptable. 

Do you need any reasonable adjustments to help you to apply? If you are disabled and/or have additional support needs, you can request reasonable adjustments. You can do this by contacting our Recruitment Team at: recruitment@suffolk.gov.uk or 03456 014412.  You can find examples of possible adjustments on our Reasonable Adjustment pages.  

Closing date: 11.30pm, 1 November 2026

Interview date: 13 November 2026

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts. #LI-Hybrid

As a modern and effective council, we offer a wide variety of careers to suit people with a range of skills, abilities and ambitions. We offer working options that flex to reflect the way people work today and take the time to understand and support your individual needs. We’re driven to make a positive difference to the world around us and encourage everyone with drive and focus to join us and build an influential and impactful career. Reimagine the possibilities.

In return, you’ll enjoy:

• up to 29 days annual leave entitlement (pro rata), plus UK bank holidays and two paid volunteering days
• membership of a competitive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• travel, lifestyle, health and wellbeing benefits
• performance-related annual pay progression, in addition to an annual cost-of-living pay increase
• training and encouragement to expand your knowledge
• a variety of career development opportunities across our organisation
• diverse and active staff networks
• flexible working options, with the right to request flexible working from your first day

If you want to know more about our benefits, values and equality commitments please visit our Suffolk County Council careers website (careers.Suffolk.gov.uk).

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