This advert is open to both Internal and external applicants Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of children and families? Stoke-on-Trent is the place where you can do just that—and more. We're dedicated to ensuring that every child in our city thrives, reaches their full potential, and grows up in a supportive community. We're also committed to making Stoke-on-Trent the best place for social workers to build a rewarding career. At the heart of everything we do is our community, Join us in shaping a bright future for Stoke-on-Trent, where children are at the heart of our efforts. We are looking for an experienced and skilled practitioner to come and join our Children’s Emergency Duty Team as a Principal Manager. The Principal Manager is a new role within this service and reports directly to the Head of Service for IFD and EDT. You will receive good quality supervision and oversight and be encouraged to work autonomously and creatively in this post. The team will provide good quality services to children and families outside of normal working hours; as well as building and maintaining collaborative working with our partner agencies and colleagues across the directorate. The team is a vital part of Stoke on Trent children’s services, where we provide support to the most vulnerable cohort of children and families and as such we need a team manager who can work restoratively and work with families to help them to find their own solutions and provide safeguarding responses where required. This is a unique opportunity for a practitioner with substantial post qualifying experience and some prior involvement of supervision / mentoring of staff; to join a new team and be a fundamental part of shaping our EDT and its future. We require strong leaders who are able to make sound decision making, provide good quality oversight and mentoring to colleagues and who is creative and innovative in their approach. If you are an experienced practitioner/team manager who is enthusiastic, passionate and embraces change then we would welcome you to join us on our change journey. Our vision is to make sure that we provide the right services to children and families at the right time and we can achieve this by continuously striving for improvement and welcoming a learning and development culture, which you will be integral in achieving. This is a real opportunity for you to develop and progress in your role where you will work closely with the strategic manager and have ample opportunities to be involved in the change journey and implementing new ways of working. This Principal Manager role will lead and oversee the daily operational functions of EDT having supervisory responsibility for the specialist practitioners. This role is a 37-hour working week, to be worked flexibly and autonomously to accommodate necessary tasks within normal working hours, as well as being available for evening work (up until 10pm) and minimum of alternate weekends. This will enable you to provide the best support and oversight to the team. To be considered for a position you must have a degree in Social Work or equivalent, be registered with Social Work England and be able to fulfil the travel requirements of the post. Amongst the benefits we offer are: Up to 41 days holiday (including 8 days bank holidays) Option to buy extra annual leave Flexible working hours Hybrid working High quality reflective supervision Health and wellbeing support Access to staff equality and diversity networks We believe in empowering families and creating positive life experiences for all. To achieve this, we're heavily investing in high-quality learning and development for our team, with a strong focus on: Restorative and Relational Practice: Balancing high support with high challenge. Child-Friendly City: Making Stoke-on-Trent a place where children’s needs come first. Listening to Children: Ensuring the voices of our children are heard and have a real impact on decisions. Come and join out motivated and passionate team as we strive towards creating great outcomes for children and young people in our city! We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and we expect all our employees and volunteers to share this commitment If you are interested in applying for this post then please feel free to contact Head Of Service Sheena Adams or Nichola Foster to discuss further. Sheena.adams@stoke.gov.uk Nichola.foster@stoke.gov.uk Please note that you will need to have prior agreement from your current Head of Service should you wish to apply for a secondment. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion At Stoke-on-Trent City Council, we believe our strength comes from the diversity of our community, and we want our workforce to reflect that. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and experiences. We understand that some people, especially those from underrepresented or marginalised backgrounds, may hesitate to apply if they don’t meet all of the listed requirements. If this role interests you and you think you could be a good fit, we encourage you to apply. We are proud of what makes each of us unique and are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels included, can be themselves, and can succeed together.