Team Manager - Adolescent Service

London Social Work for Children; Greater London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government social service is seeking a qualified Team Manager with a passion for safeguarding adolescents and young people. This role involves managing a skilled team of Social Workers in Wandsworth's Adolescent Service. Responsibilities include providing strong supervision, coordinating care with agencies, and managing complex cases. The ideal candidate must hold a Social Work qualification and demonstrate advanced leadership skills. This position offers a supportive culture and promotes professional development. Competitive salary and benefits are provided.

Benefits

32 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Relocation package for experienced social workers moving to London

Agile and flexible working arrangements

Professional development opportunities

Performance related salary progression scheme

Regular reflective supervision

Qualifications

• Hold Social Work qualification with Social Work England membership.
• Advanced qualification in Social Work or evidence of advanced capabilities.
• Understanding of Children Act 1989, 2004, and 2014.
• Extensive leadership and management experience with children and families.
• Experience managing complex caseloads and effective work allocation.

Responsibilities

• Oversee a group of skilled Social Workers.
• Provide supervision to ensure high-quality practice.
• Coordinate care planning with partner agencies.
• Manage complex cases involving contextual harm.
• Support adolescents and families in challenging circumstances.

Skills

Leadership

Management knowledge

Contextual safeguarding

Trauma-informed frameworks

Working with adolescents

Education

Social Work qualification with Social Work England membership

Advanced qualification in Social Work

Job description

Are you a qualified Social Worker with proven leadership and management knowledge, and a passion for working with and safeguarding adolescents and young people at risk in the community? This is a specialist role within Wandsworth's Adolescent Service, which adopts a Contextual Safeguarding approach to tackle risks such as child sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, serious youth violence, gangs and online abuse.

As a Team Manager, you will oversee a dynamic group of 6–8 skilled Social Workers, including a Systemic Social Worker and an ASYE Social Worker, plus a Practice Specialist. Your leadership will be pivotal in delivering our vision and strategic priorities, managing complex cases involving contextual and extra-familial harm, and driving positive outcomes for young people. Key responsibilities include:

• Providing strong supervision and management oversight to ensure high-quality social work practice
• Working closely with partner agencies to coordinate wraparound support and robust care planning
• Using trauma-informed and relational frameworks to protect young people and help them thrive
• Managing complex cases involving contextual and extra-familial harm
• Supporting adolescents and their families through challenging circumstances

If you would like to have an informal chat about the role, please contact Leila Farah by emailing [e-mail]. The shortlisting date is w/c 12th January 2025 and interview date is w/c 19th January 2025. Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership may close this vacancy early once a sufficient number of applications has been received, so please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

About you

If you are an experienced leader with a strong background in adolescent and statutory social work, and you are ready to guide a skilled team through complex challenges, this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact. Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone and are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. The ideal candidate will:

• Hold Social Work qualification with Social Work England membership
• Have advanced qualification in Social Work or evidence of having met the capabilities at advanced level
• Possess systematic working knowledge and understanding of Children Act 1989 and 2004 and the Children & Families Act 2014
• Demonstrate extensive leadership and management knowledge and experience in a similar role working with children and families
• Have experience of managing a team/service with a complex caseload, developing effective work allocation and case work prioritisation systems
• Show ability to interpret management information and performance data to identify performance issues and develop solutions

Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and appointment will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory DBS check.

About Wandsworth

Our social workers are at the heart of our success, and we’re looking for Social Workers who share and are excited by our vision. Come and be part of our success.

All children and families deserve an outstanding level of practice, let’s work together to provide them with the very best.

Our shared vision and values to improve outcomes for children and families will drive practice. Our outstanding practice framework will support us collectively to do that. We want to apply solutions to complex problems in the simplest way. Having a robust practice framework will enable a shared language, understanding and value base from which we can all work creatively with children and families to achieve the best outcomes for them.

We know that to recruit passionate, dedicated social workers - where there’s simply more demand than the available resource - we must show our appreciation in more tangible ways. That's why we have put together an attractive package for all our social workers.

In return for your skills, knowledge and experience, you will receive an appropriate starting salary and a friendly, kind, positive and supportive working culture.

We also offer:

Performance related salary progression scheme

32 days annual leave to all employees plus bank holidays

Relocation package for experienced social workers moving to London

Manageable caseloads

Agile and flexible working arrangements

Professional development and CPD opportunities

Regular reflective supervision and peer group supervision

Refer a friend scheme

Welcome payments and retention bonuses for harder to recruit to areas of our services

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone.We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know.

We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to these posts will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

If you have any questions about applying for this role, please get in touch with Simi Sabo on [e-mail]

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