Salford City Council is seeking to appoint an experienced and dynamic Complex Safeguarding Operational Manager to lead and develop our multi-agency response to child exploitation and complex safeguarding risks. This is a critical leadership role within our Children s Directorate, providing operational oversight of a specialist, multi-agency team working with children and young people at risk of exploitation. You will ensure the delivery of high-quality, child-centred services aligned to Salford s Complex Safeguarding Strategy, operational guidance, and wider prevention priorities. About the role You will manage a skilled and diverse team, driving performance, quality assurance and innovation in practice. The role requires strong strategic and operational leadership to ensure that children at risk of exploitation receive timely, effective and trauma-informed support. You will: Lead and develop a multi-agency team delivering complex safeguarding services Drive implementation of the Complex Safeguarding Strategy and Local Prevention Strategy Ensure robust supervision, performance management and professional development of staff Maintain oversight of risk management and case quality through effective quality assurance frameworks Represent the service at local, Greater Manchester and national forums Develop and maintain strong partnership arrangements to strengthen prevention and early intervention Contribute to funding bids and oversee budgets in line with service priorities Support the development of policy, procedure and operational guidance in line with statutory safeguarding responsibilities You will play a key role in embedding a strengths-based, child-first and holistic approach to complex safeguarding, ensuring that practice is informed by legislation, research and local intelligence. About you You will be a qualified Social Worker (DipSW, MASW or equivalent) with at least three years experience in Children s Social Care, including experience working with vulnerable and exploited children and young people. You will demonstrate: Strong leadership and supervisory experience within a statutory setting The ability to manage and motivate multi-agency professionals Excellent analytical skills and confidence interpreting complex performance and financial data Experience of managing change and delivering service improvement Knowledge of child protection legislation, modern slavery guidance and exploitation frameworks The ability to develop policy, implement strategy and influence across partnerships Confidence in quality assurance and performance management systems You will be an essential car user and this post is subject to an enhanced DBS check. What we can offer At Salford, we are committed to investing in our workforce. We offer: A comprehensive learning and development programme Access to professional qualifications and apprenticeships A strong digital development offer through our Digital Skills Academy A supportive leadership culture built around our values: Pride, Passion, People and Personal Responsibility Flexible working opportunities under our HappytoTalkFlexible approach This is an opportunity to make a meaningful difference to children at risk of exploitation and to lead innovative, partnership-driven safeguarding practice across the city. If you are passionate about complex safeguarding, committed to high standards of practice, and ready to lead transformational work within a multi-agency environment, we would welcome your application. Please upload your CV and supporting statement as part of your online application. Please be aware that this post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. If you have lived or worked abroad for 3 months or more in the last 5 years or 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the last 10 years whilst aged 18 or over, please refer to the link below for details for how to obtain your Certificates of Good Character. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants If you have completed the GM Elevate Leadership Development Programme within the last 2 years, please indicate this within the About You or Supporting Statement section of your application. Want to know more about Salford? As an authority we are dedicated to improving the lives of our residents, and as an employer we are passionate about helping individuals to thrive in their work. We are committed to developing a diverse and inclusive culture and are proud of our professional accreditations which champion this. Find out about our city as a place to live, work & grow, and learn more about the amazing work we are doing. You ll also find out about the wealth of benefits we have to offer you on our Salford pages ! Continuous Service commitment New employees can keep their service related benefits when moving between a whole host of public sector organisations within Greater Manchester, which include: Councils, NHS, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, Transport for Greater Manchester, as well as many others under this scheme. Find out if this applies to you on our Continuous Service page.. Guaranteed Assessment Schemes We have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel by way of a Guaranteed Assessment Scheme. Our application forms ask you to indicate if you meet any of the criteria within this scheme, and so to find out more and if you qualify please visit our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme page.. 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