Team: Fostering Team
Job Family: Enabling (M) - CBG13
Salary: £51,471 - £55,585 per annum pro rata plus standard MRS £4,600 per annum pro rata
Hours: 37 hours per week
Location: You will be expected to attend a CBC office location as often as needed to carry out your role, which will be no less than once per month.
Contract Type: Hybrid - Permanent
Closing Date: 31st January 2026
Interview Date: TBC
About the Role
We are looking for an inspiring and dynamic Team Manager to lead our Fostering Recruitment and Assessment Team and drive forward our ambition to ensure every child grows up in a loving, stable, and well-supported foster family.
This is a pivotal leadership role at the heart of our Fostering Service. You will shape our recruitment strategy, strengthen our pool of exceptional foster carers, and work alongside dedicated colleagues to make sure children receive the best possible care.
As Team Manager for Fostering, you will:
* Provide strong, reflective leadership to a team focused on recruiting, assessing, and supporting prospective foster carers.
* Develop innovative recruitment campaigns that reach and inspire diverse communities.
* Oversee high-quality, timely assessments that ensure children are placed with safe, skilled, and nurturing carers.
* Collaborate closely with partners, marketing teams, and internal services to improve the recruitment journey from initial enquiry to approval.
* Use performance data to drive outcomes and continuously improve the service.
* Contribute to service transformation and the development of a modern, responsive fostering offer.
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced practitioner or current manager ready to take the next step.
About You
You will bring:
* Social Work qualification and registration with Social Work England.
* Significant experience within fostering, children's social care, or a related field.
* Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate, guide, and develop a high‑performing team.
* Excellent decision‑making and analytical skills.
* A commitment to trauma-informed practice, relationship-based social work, and safeguarding children.
* Creativity, determination, and the confidence to influence change.
Our Offer
We have a number of rewards and benefits available to our staff, to view these please visit our Rewards and Benefits page
Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer. We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process.
You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies in this Recruitment Pack.
Our Competency Framework and Qualification Guidance are to be read in conjunction with our Recruitment Pack.
For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Laura Gavrila at or call
Safeguarding:
Central Bedfordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees, volunteers and contractors to share this commitment. This post is subject to the disclosure of criminal records.
To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.
Our National Careers Service team offer a free monthly workshop covering CV writing and how to complete the statement sections of the Central Bedfordshire Council online application form. This MS Teams workshop is open to anyone from the UK and lasts around 1.5 hours. Please book your place here.
More information about this service can be found here: Support getting into work or learning | Central Bedfordshire Council