About the Role
and our Ideal Candidate
Children's Social Care has initiated a transformative journey to address the increasing demand for our services and to enhance our Fostering service. At Sutton, our objective is to ensure the safety, well-being, and development of children and young people requiring support or protection.
We have an exciting opportunity to join us as a Team Manager for the Fostering Team within Children Social Care. Reporting to the Service Manager, you will oversee the operations and management of the team of professional and experienced Senior Practitioners, and Social Workers to provide high quality supervision, support, and training to foster carers and their families to enable them to provide the best possible trauma informed care to our children and young people.
You will be expected to develop and motivate your team to fulfil the changing demands of the service through high quality social work supervision and compliance with the statutory requirements for Fostering, as well as having an interest and the capacity to contribute to the recruitment and retention of foster carers and service development. An understanding of children in care, foster carers and their families is essential to this role.
The team collaborates with external partners, including local authorities, child welfare organisations, healthcare professionals, and educational institutions, to coordinate support services and ensure comprehensive care for children and families. We invite applications from driven individuals with substantial supervisory experience to manage and lead a team of social care professionals. You will be an integral part of the Sutton Fostering Service; self-motivated, energetic, and confident, with a can-do and positive attitude.
This role presents an excellent opportunity for seasoned professionals such as experienced Team Managers or Deputy Team Managers seeking more responsibility based on significant experience in their current role. It's also ideal for experienced Managers looking to embark on a new journey and share their wealth of knowledge and expertise with our service, while effectively delivering against our statutory objectives.
Whether you’re already experienced or aiming for promotion, you will receive robust support through coaching, mentoring, and leadership from the Service Manager and Head of Service and our friendly and knowledgeable team of social care professionals. We're committed to ensuring that you're well-equipped to succeed in your new role and make a meaningful impact on the lives of those we serve.
We would expect candidates to fulfil the competencies including (but not limited to):
1. Relevant professional qualification and registration required.
2. A minimum of 3 years post qualification with extensive, sophisticated and up to date working knowledge of relevant national and local policies, statutory guidance and legislation in relation to the provision of Health and Social Care services.
3. Experience of Project Management in the Fostering field including developing recruitment strategies.
4. Familiar with Social Media Platforms required to promote fostering and increase visibility locally and across neighbouring boroughs.
5. Ability to contribute to and provide professional leadership of organisational change and development and address performance management issues that arise.
6. Ability to communicate effectively in challenging situations to a wide range of audience in different contexts.
For more information about the role and/or an informal conversation, view the role profile or contact Geeta Rath, Service Manager for Fostering on geeta.rath
About Us We are in the midst of a significant transformation in Children's Social Care, driven by the growing demand for our services. Our focus is on implementing comprehensive changes to elevate the quality of care provided to children and families, while also fostering positive and supportive work environments for our staff. Through strategic recruitment of new leaders and experienced managers, we are infusing innovative ideas and driving meaningful changes throughout our service delivery. Our ultimate aim is to establish ourselves as a leading authority in children's social care, committed to delivering exceptional support that positively impacts the well-being of our community and provides an inclusive, diverse and stable workforce. Our Offer To You
As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.
Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:
7. A generous annual leave entitlement of 26-31 days plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade
8. Enhanced Maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
9. Two volunteering days per year
10. Flexible Working - Smarter Working Scheme (dependent on the role)
11. Adjustable and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
12. Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
13. Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
14. Interest free season ticket loans
15. Local Government Pension Scheme
16. Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
17. Zip car scheme
18. Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support