Team Leader

Connected Local Government; North East; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in County Durham seeks Team Leaders for children's homes. Candidates will manage shifts and support residential staff, ensuring quality care. A Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare is required alongside significant childcare experience. The role offers flexibility in shifts, competitive salary, and numerous benefits, including training opportunities and a generous holiday scheme. Enhance your career in a fulfilling environment committed to equality and diversity.

Benefits

27 days holiday plus bank holidays

Local Government Pension Scheme

Training and development opportunities

Employee Assistance Scheme

Discounted gym membership

Qualifications

• Significant experience in residential childcare required.
• Strong leadership and communication skills are essential.
• Must be able to engage effectively with young professionals.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage shifts, making critical decisions.
• Maintain documentation for monitoring and review.
• Supervise and support residential staff.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Report-writing

Engagement with young people

Education

Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare

Job description

Team Leaders – Opportunities are available across the County Durham Area

Salary: £32,597 - £36,363 (starting salary will consider experience relevant to the post, if required for external candidates). This post is paid enhancements, this can equate to an additional earning potential of up to £5,000 on top of the basic salary.

We are recruiting Team Leaders for children’s homes across County Durham, including mainstream, short‑break, long‑break, 16–17‑year‑old provision, and planned respite care services. There are posts available across the County Durham area, applicants will be given the opportunity at interview to advise which areas they would like to be considered for.

Our Values

Our service is built on the ‘Durham’ values – Dignity, Unity, Responsibility, Heart, Aspiration, and Mindset which are at the heart of everything we do for both our young people and our teams.

The Role

As part of the management team, you will support the Registered Manager to ensure the smooth running of the home by:

• Leading and managing shifts, taking responsibility for decision making
• Taking a lead role in all aspects of care and support for our children and young people
• Key responsibility for recording, monitoring, and review of documentation
• Supervising and managing residential staff

What you will need

We are seeking candidates who have:

• Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (or equivalent qualification as stated in the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015. Please refer to page 71 to identify relevant qualifications via QS Stat Guidance)
• Significant experience of working in residential childcare
• Strong leadership, communication, and report‑writing skills
• Ability to engage effectively with young people and professionals

Our offer to you

The role will involve working a range of shifts including weekdays, evenings, weekends and sleep in duties. The nature of shift patterns enables a level of flexibility for employees. We operate a 365 days per year, 24 hours a day service. As part of this, our shift‑based roles work on a rota basis and attract enhanced payments.

You will benefit from a comprehensive programme of training to support you to develop in your role.

We offer competitive rewards and benefits to help you perform at your best, including:

• 27 days holiday (plus bank holidays), rising to 32 days after 5 years' continuous local government service
• Option to purchase up to 10 additional days annual leave per year
• Excellent Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), with top‑up options
• Wellbeing Portal and Employee Assistance Scheme
• Learning and development opportunities, including professional qualifications and mentoring
• Employee Benefits Portal with discounts at major retailers
• Discounted gym membership
• Staff‑led networks (Race Equality, LGBT+, Carers, Armed Forces, Menopause)
• Trade Union membership
• Salary sacrifice schemes, such as car leasing

Ready to make a difference?

We encourage you to contact Registered Managers at [e-mail] or [e-mail] to arrange a discussion to find out more about the wide ranging opportunities we have available. Interviews are anticipated to be held week commencing 12 January 2026.

All applicants must be aged 22+, an Enhanced DBS Disclosure is applicable to this post.

Removal and Lodgings

Removal, lodging and separation expenses may be available to the successful candidate if at the time of application for appointment their place of residence is outside the administrative area of County Durham and more than 30 miles in a straight line from their new administrative centre, along with several other criteria for eligibility.

Equality, diveristy and inclusion

We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled people and offer support throughout the recruitment process.

How to apply

Please note, we do not accept CVs. All applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Use the ‘Person Specification’ section of the form to clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential (and where possible, desirable) criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted. For guidance on completing your application, visit our website. If you require assistance when applying for this role, contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, or via email [e-mail]. All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from [e-mail]. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you don’t miss any updates.

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