Service Manager - Duty and Assessment, Children's Services

We have a fantastic career opportunity for an experienced Service Manager to join our team here at Northamptonshire Children's Trust. This is an exciting time to be joining us, as we are in a period of significant transformation, now delivering services as a Trust for two unitary authorities across the county.

The Children's Trust allows for a single focus on improving the outcomes of children and young people in Northamptonshire and will aim to develop a working culture that allows the very highest quality of professional practice to flourish, aiming to deliver at the cutting edge of innovation.

We have a range of amazing career opportunities in Northamptonshire for experienced social workers who will contribute creatively to the development of this evolving service.

Our service and your role
Duty and assessment are the single point of contact for all safeguarding concerns relating to children and young people in Northamptonshire. Our professionals provide a range of services that have contact with children, young people, their families, and carers. We collaborate to ensure immediate and prompt responses and combine our knowledge and expertise, to keep children and young people in Northamptonshire safe from harm.

With a rotating duty element, the team works at pace, completing robust short-term quality assessments of need, ensuring the right service provision is in place. Skilled social workers in these teams are friendly and confident professionals, who can work collaboratively to very tight deadlines and ensure the child's voice is evident throughout.

There are 6 teams within DAAT, each team consists of a Team Manager, Advanced Practitioner (who holds complex cases and supports up to 6 Social Workers / Senior Social Workers); a Newly Qualified Social Worker; and a family support worker within their team.

We collaborate with other professionals to ensure immediate and prompt responses. Their combined knowledge and expertise keep children and young people in Northamptonshire safe from harm. We are supporting excellence in social work practice, with a signs of safety based approach, and clear personal development opportunities for the right candidates.

The Person
It will be important that you have the desire to want to make a personal contribution towards improving our service. You will be a qualified social worker, registered with the SWE with extensive post-qualifying experience of statutory social care practice and management and ideally experience of Duty and Assessment or First Response Services.

You will have a sound understanding and ability in relation to effective management practices, particularly as they relate to service planning and performance management and development of services and staff. Driving Licence essential.

What We Offer

• Highly competitive salaries
• Social Work England registration costs
• Flexible working practices, including home working, flexi time and job share
• The opportunity to personally contribute to improving the service
• Monthly high-quality supervision
• Up to 27 day's annual leave plus bank holidays (with service rises to 32 days plus bank holidays)
• Opportunity to buy back up to 5 weeks of additional holiday each year
• Subsidised local authority Pension Scheme
• Additional 12 weeks of maternity leave at 50%
• Employee discount schemes
• Up to £8,000 relocation allowance
• Signs of Safety training
• An onsite academy delivering a variety of learning & development opportunities
• Heavily subsidised city centre parking
• Regular engagement opportunities with the CEO