n Lambeth we put children and their families at the heart of our practice, and practice at the heart of all that we do. Our new Borough Plan has social justice at the centre and a clear vision for improving outcomes for our children and families.
You will be joining an ambitious, passionate, and committed leadership team. We are working at pace to create the conditions for effective social work to flourish and for all our children to receive a good service. We are clear on the challenges we face and have the courage and vision to deliver improvements. Following our inspection in 2022 Ofsted recognised the momentum and investment in Children’s Services. We are now seeking to complete our transformational leadership team at a Team Manager level.
About the Role:
Lambeth is looking for a highly motivated Team Manager for our Fostering and Permanency Service to help us achieve our vision of making Lambeth one of the best places in the world for children and young people to grow up. In this role, you will play a key leadership role in the delivery of high-quality social care practice to ensure that these outcomes are realised.
As the Team Manager for the Fostering and Permanency Service you will manage a team of 5 social workers and 1 Business Support Officer. There are two vacancies within this service; (1) Team Manager - Special guardianship and connected person’s assessment team and (2) Team Manager - Post Special Guardianship Order Team).
You will need to be social work qualified with 2 years of management experience in fostering, special guardianship assessment or post order support teams. You will also have extensive knowledge of the Children Act and other areas of social work legislation including a sound understanding and working knowledge of the fostering regulations and standards. You will need to have a passion to lead and motivate staff to demonstrate best practice. You will have the ability to manage risk and use of multidisciplinary working with partner agencies is essential. You will be expected to ensure a high level of compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements of the service. Our ambition is to become an outstanding provider. We are keen to hear from you if you have strong leadership skills and a passion for continuous improvements.
You will be experienced in supporting social workers to be the agents of change and to empower and enable them to spend their time doing good quality, meaningful social work, coproduced and tailored around the needs and issues of each family they work with.
“Lambeth – a borough with social and climate justice at its heart. By harnessing the power and pride of our people and partnerships, we will proactively tackle inequalities so that children and young people can have the best start in life and so everyone can feel safe and thrive in a place of opportunity.”Lambeth 2030 (Borough Plan)
“Lambeth – a borough with social and climate justice at its heart. By harnessing the power and pride of our people and partnerships, we will proactively tackle inequalities so that children and young people can have the best start in life and so everyone can feel safe and thrive in a place of opportunity.”
Lambeth 2030 (Borough Plan)
Hear from some of our children and young people on why think Lambeth is the best place to grow up and live!
In Lambeth, we offer our social workers:
Hybrid and flexible working arrangements
Competitive packages for roles
Manageable caseloads – at April 2023 the average Social Worker caseload by service area: Child Protection (13), Court (13), Children Looked After (11)
27 days annual leave (rising to 32 days after 5 years continuous service and 35 days after 10 years continuous service)
Flexi-leave and TOIL available to staff
Work in one of the best-connected boroughs in London, with travel links that can quickly get you all around London, the South-East and beyond
A modern working environment in the Lambeth Civic Centre, recently redesigned optimising the space for post-pandemic flexible working
Training and development opportunities tailored around our practice framework
A clear career progression pathway into Advanced Practitioner and social work management positions
Reflective Practice Groups
Local Government Pension Scheme, Cyclescheme and interest free travel loan
Investment in learning and development and career pathways as part of the new Lambeth Social Care Academy
Smart technology including tablet device rollout for practitioners and hybrid video conferencing in the office