Are you passionate about driving excellence in social work practice and safeguarding children? Are you ready to lead change and champion best practice in children's social care? Medway Council is seeking an experienced Practice Development Service Manager to lead our quality assurance function and champion best practice across Children's Services and Early Help.
This is a Full-time role with Hybrid working (a minimum 3 days per week office-based).
In this pivotal role, you will:
* Lead the development and implementation of high-quality social work and early help practice.
* Manage and inspire Practice Development Leads, providing expert advice, coaching, and challenge.
* Oversee the Learning and Accountability Framework and quality assurance initiatives.
* Work collaboratively with the Principal Social Worker and multi-agency partners to embed a culture of continuous improvement.
* Ensure the voice of children and young people informs everything we do.
About you:
* Qualified Social Worker, registered with Social Work England.
* Significant post-qualification experience in safeguarding and child protection.
* Proven track record in managing social workers and embedding quality assurance mechanisms.
* Strong leadership, communication, and analytical skills.
* Committed to promoting diversity, inclusion, and continuous professional development.
Why join us?
At Medway, we are ambitious for our children and families. You'll be part of a supportive team that values innovation, collaboration, and learning. We offer flexible working, professional development opportunities, and the chance to make a real difference.
Apply now and help shape the future of children's services in Medway
Our organisation:
Medway is a unitary authority in the South East of England, made up of the towns of Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham and more rural areas, including the Hoo Peninsula.
Situated in Kent in the South-East of England, the area has plenty of green spaces, excellent facilities and easy access to the national motorway and rail networks, facilitating superb transport links to London.
We provide all local Government services for a quarter of a million people, looking after education, environment, social care, housing, planning, business and much more - everything from frontline services such as rubbish collection and events like the Dickens Festival to work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure services in Medway run smoothly and cost effectively.
Working at Medway Council means that you get to be part of this journey working alongside talented, professional colleagues to drive forward change to transform the lives of our residents and the communities they live in.
Important Information
* Applicants must be able to demonstrate all essential requirements as listed in the job profile.
* This post is subject to an enhanced Children's DBS check.
* For more information on our roles within Children's Services please visit
Equal Opportunities Commitment Statement
Medway Council is committed to creating an inclusive work environment with a diverse workforce. All appropriately qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or age
For further information please refer to the Medway information pack available as a download or to view online
Please be advised that if you are not contacted within 3 weeks of the advert closing date then you have not been shortlisted. All recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email.
Please visit for information on how Medway Council put good practices in place to ensure employees and job applicants who declare mental health issues receive the right level of support.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy at any time prior to the closing date.
Important Information
Please note that all recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email, if you require documentation/correspondence in hard copy format, please contact the Children's Services Recruitment Team on or email
Please visit for information on how Medway Council put good practices in place to ensure employees and job applicants who declare mental health issues receive the right level of support.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy at any time prior to the closing date.