Service Manager - Fostering, Adoption and Placements

We have a fantastic opportunity available for someone looking to take the next step in their career. We are recruiting to the position of Service Manager for our Fostering and Placements Teams providing management oversight and support to the Adoption Team which is seconded to the Regional Adoption Agency. This represents a real opportunity for the right person to help us achieve our ambitions, through inspirational leadership, effective partnership working and a determined focus on placing children, families and young people at the heart of what we do. This is a key role and will provide day to day leadership and strategic support whilst taking overall day to day operational managerial oversight for the three service areas.

You will be motivated, committed and passionate about making a difference to the lives of children, young people and families. Amongst other things you will be an effective leader with a determination to raise standards and achieve improved outcomes. We are looking for candidates with a successful track record of managing social work teams in a public service organisation for a substantial period of time in the same organisation. The successful candidate will have experience of managing a fostering service, preferably within a local authority, a placement service and a strong knowledge of adoption and fostering legislation. You will uphold high standards of practice, and through quality assurance and effective performance management, you will ensure we are working at our best. You will establish and maintain strong partnerships with our partners to deliver effective support for children, young people and families. You will collaborate with others to create the best results in service provision for children and their families.

Tameside is a forward-looking borough, committed to safeguarding our community and maximising the wellbeing of our residents, protecting the most vulnerable and putting people at the forefront of services to ensure that every decision supports our boroughs economic growth and self-sufficiency. The provision of Children's Services in Tameside is a key priority for the Council and we are committed to achieving the best outcomes for Children and Young People. We have invested heavily in Tameside Children's Services to support capacity whilst at the same time continuing to have great ambition for the services that support its most vulnerable children and families in providing care and protection. We are committed to a multidisciplinary approach to help shape our joint arrangements in a consistent and collaborative culture. We have adopted a trauma informed strength and relationship-based approach as our practice framework, to also help transform our approach to how we deliver services across all our services and partnerships. You will be working with a highly committed workforce, partners and colleagues striving to deliver even better outcomes for children and young people in the borough and to be the best they can be. We recognise that our staff are our most important resource and asset. In Tameside, our values underpin our practice and behaviours and they are at the heart of everything that we do:

• Support
• Trust
  
  Integrity
• Value Difference
• Engage
You will receive regular supervision and work in a supportive culture where we are ambitious about delivering an effective service. We listen to our staff and act on feedback in a variety ways through having regular team meetings, employee engagement sessions and staff surveys. Our comprehensive workforce development programme provides lots of opportunities to help you grow and develop your career. The peer support you will also receive is second to none. In Tameside we like to look after our employees and also offer a fantastic range of employee rewards and benefits, including:
• Health and Wellbeing Support
• Salary Sacrifice Schemes
• Up to 31 days leave each year, with the option to buy additional leave
• Family friendly policies, including maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Discounts at local shops, health & fitness clubs, restaurants and much more.
If you have the drive and ambition to be our new Service Manager and are ready to take that next step in your career, then we would love to hear from you. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. This post requires an Enhanced DBS Disclosure. Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to offer sponsorship. We are committed to developing a culture which respects individuals, appreciates difference and allows everyone regardless of background to reach their full potential. We are proud to be an accredited disability confident employer. Reasonable Adjustments will be considered in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 in relation to the Job Role Criteria. Our rewards and benefits package can be viewed here