Are you passionate about supporting children to remain within their family networks? Do you have the leadership skills to guide a dedicated team working with Connected Carers? If so, we’d love to hear from you. We are seeking a dynamic Team Manager to join our outstanding Connected Carers Team on a temporary 12 month contract with the opportunity for this to extend. This is one of two management roles within a busy and committed team that supports Connected Carers from initial viability through to long-term fostering and post-panel support. You will lead a team of skilled social workers and practitioners, providing high-quality, reflective supervision and ensuring that all assessments and support plans are child-focused, timely, and compliant with fostering regulations and standards. In March 2025, Durham Children's Service's was rated Outstanding by Ofsted. "Social workers told inspectors that Durham is a great place to work. Their words and actions convey a sense of belonging, and they view Durham as their employer of choice". They further added that " Senior and political leaders in Durham are ambitious, purposeful and influential. They are unrelenting in their pursuit of doing what is right for children and families, resulting in consistent improvements and the delivery of high-quality services for children and families ". WHAT IS INVOLVED? As one of two Team Managers, you will play a key leadership role in ensuring the delivery of high-quality, child-centred services. Your responsibilities include: Leadership & Supervision Provide reflective, high-quality supervision to social workers and practitioners. Support staff in making evidence-based decisions that prioritise child safety and wellbeing. Promote a culture of learning, accountability, and trauma-informed practice. Quality Assurance & Performance Oversee the quality assurance of assessments, reports, and reviews. Monitor and manage team performance, ensuring compliance with statutory timescales and fostering standards. Represent the team and the wider Fostering Service in multi-agency meetings and strategic forums. Practice KnowledgeMaintain a strong understanding of: Fostering regulations and national minimum standards The unique challenges faced by Connected Carers The impact of delays on both children and carers, and the importance of timely, supportive interventions. We encourage you to contact Rachael Riley via email at Rachael.Riley@Durham.gov.uk to arrange an informal discussion about the role. HOW WILL I BE SUPPORTED? We are passionate about social work in County Durham. We are committed to providing a culture where good practice can flourish. We ensure our social workers are highly supported and encourage flexible working to achieve a good work-life balance. You will benefit from a range of training opportunities and professional development through personalised induction, professional supervision, and mentoring. Take a closer look: https://www.durham.gov.uk/childrenssocialwork WHAT WILL I NEED? You will need a Degree in social work or equivalent social work qualification, e.g. Post Graduate Diploma in Social Work (PDDipSW); Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW); Diploma in Social Work (DipSW); Certificate in Social Services (CSS) and current Social Work England Registration You will be a qualified social worker with: Proven experience in fostering, safeguarding, or permanence planning. Excellent leadership, communication, and analytical skills. A commitment to trauma-informed, strengths-based practice. Strong knowledge of fostering regulations, national minimum standards, and the unique challenges faced by Connected Carers. Please refer to the attached person specification for the full criteria. If successful, you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced Disclosure. REWARDS AND BENEFITS We offer generous rewards and benefits that are designed to help you perform at your best: Competitive salaries and 27 days holiday per year rising to 32 days after five years continuous local government service. Option to purchase up to 10 additional days annual leave per year. Excellent work/life balance through schemes including job sharing, compressed hours and flexi-time (allowing up to 13 flexi days per year). Hybrid working (home and office working). Excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Plus, top up options - Salary Sacrifice Shared Cost AVC scheme and standard AVC scheme for members of the LGPS. Wellbeing Portal and access to an Employee Assist Scheme. Wide range of learning and development opportunities including professional qualifications, coaching and mentoring. Employee Benefits Portal and Lifestyle Savings Scheme (discounts across a host of major retailers). Discounted DCC gym membership. Staff networks run by staff for our staff, including Race Equality and Diversity, Disability, LGBT, Armed Forces, Carers, Menopause. Trade Union membership. A range of other salary sacrifice schemes such as car leasing. Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. Take a closer look: https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/26895/Rewards-and-benefits HYBRID WORKING Durham County Council currently operates a hybrid working policy where a model of 2 days in the workplace and 3 days at home/remote will apply. This model is pro-rated for part time roles and arrangements are at managers discretion, alternatively you can work all of your contracted hours within the workplace if you prefer. EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION We are a proud equal opportunities employer and recognise that a diverse, talented workforce brings new ideas and new perspectives, which will facilitate growth and improvements to services. We are committed to ensuring that our employment policies and processes are fair and equitable to all. We welcome job applications from everyone, and successful candidates are considered only on their skills and ability to do the job. As a Disability Confident Leader, we encourage applications from disabled people and provide support throughout the recruitment process. Take a closer look: https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/26899/Equality-diversity-and-inclusion-in-our-workforce INTERVIEWS Interviews will be held on 29th July 2025. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran. HOW TO APPLY In line with the County Council's Recruitment and Selection Policy, please note that we are unable to accept CVs. Applications must be submitted on-line via the Northeast Jobs portal. Please use the ‘Person Specification’ section of your application form to demonstrate that you have the essential and where possible, desirable experience, skills, and knowledge. Candidates who do not evidence that they meet the essential qualifications and experience listed on the person specification will not be short-listed. If you have any support needs or require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27 (option 2), or the Recruitment Team via email at RecruitmentCYPS@durham.gov.uk We collect personal information from you when you register with North East Jobs and make an application. Details on how we process your personal data is available in our Privacy Notice. https://www.durham.gov.uk/media/24645/Privacy-notice-human-resources/pdf/PrivacyNotice-HR.pdf VPRS/161