Quality Assurance Manager

Grade K SCP 39 £50,269- SCP 43 £54,495
Contract: Permanent
Essential Requirement: DBS, Registered with SW England.
Essential Qualification: Must have a Social Work Qualification and registered with Social Work England.
Interview date: 19th June 2026
For further information about this role, contact Jennifer Kenny Jennifer.kenny@bolton.gov.uk

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Applications that rely too heavily on AI may be rejected during shortlisting, however we understand that AI may be used as a reasonable adjustment, if using AI to support your application, please give a brief explanation why to help ensure fair selection process.
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The Role
As Quality Assurance Manager, you will lead the quality assurance framework across Children’s Services, playing a critical role in understanding and improving the quality, impact and outcomes of social work and social care practice. Reporting to the Principal Social Worker, you will provide professional leadership, insight and challenge to ensure practice is effective, reflective and focused on making a meaningful difference for children, young people and families.
You will oversee and develop a comprehensive quality assurance programme, using a range of methodologies including audits, practice observation, feedback from children and families, data analysis, complaints and compliments. You will ensure that quality assurance activity meets statutory, regulatory and inspection requirements, and provides a clear, accurate and honest picture of practice.
Working closely with senior leaders, managers and partners, you will analyse themes, identify strengths and risks, and translate learning into clear improvement actions. You will track learning points and service action plans, reporting progress to senior management and contributing directly to Bolton’s Assurance and Performance Board.
You will play a key role in developing a learning culture, ensuring that findings from quality assurance activity are fed back effectively to practitioners and managers through briefings, learning forums and training. Through constructive challenge and collaboration, you will support improvement, consistency and high standards across the service.
As a senior professional within Children’s Services, you will also represent Bolton in internal and multi agency forums, influence strategic decision making, and help ensure the service is confident, self aware and continuously improving.

If you would like to discuss this role further, please contact Principal Social Worker, Jennifer.Kenny@bolton.gov.uk

About You
You are an experienced, registered social worker ideally with a strong track record in quality assurance, service improvement and/or practice development within children’s social work. You have extensive knowledge of statutory children’s services, safeguarding, looked after children processes, and current legislation and national guidance, and a clear understanding of what good practice looks like.
You bring strong analytical skills and experience of using data, audits and qualitative insight to evaluate practice and identify improvement priorities. You are able to design, adapt and deliver quality assurance frameworks and audit tools that are robust, meaningful and rooted in social work values and ethics.
You are confident in providing professional challenge and influence at all levels, including senior leadership, while maintaining positive, trusting working relationships. You communicate complex findings clearly and effectively, through high quality reports, presentations and feedback that support learning and improvement rather than compliance alone.
Self directed, organised and resilient, you are able to manage multiple priorities and work independently. You are committed to equality, inclusion and anti discriminatory practice, and you actively promote a learning culture that supports reflection, curiosity and continuous development.
Above all, you share Bolton’s values and are motivated by making a difference, ensuring that quality assurance activity leads to better practice and better outcomes for children and families.

If you think you could be what we're looking for, please apply now with your CV and covering letter explaining how you meet the requirements of the role as outlined in the job description and person specification.

About Us
This is your opportunity to join us at an exciting time as we have strong ambitions for the borough.

Bolton is a great place to work. We are a welcoming organisation that wants to contribute to a place where people feel active, connected and prosperous. We are passionate about improving the outcomes and experience of Bolton people. We want Bolton to be a vibrant place built on strong cohesive communities, successful businesses and healthy, engaged residents.

As an employer we want to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment, by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits, including discounts and exclusive gym membership prices and salary sacrifice schemes. In addition, we offer a generous annual leave allowance, flexible work opportunities, access to a Pension Scheme, as well as a range of employee wellbeing and support services.

Our Values are really important to us, read all about them below, along with all our great staff benefits, the job description/person specification for the role and the important legal bits, and our Top Tips too.
Ready to apply? Then please click Apply and upload your anonymised CV and supporting statement discussing your relevant skills and experience and explain how you believe they make you a strong fit for this role.

Within Greater Manchester, local authorities have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel. Please see greater.jobs for further information before you apply.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable adults and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance - this post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (amended in 2013). Employment offers are conditional subject to satisfactory clearances. For roles where a criminal records check from the DBS is required, this includes satisfactory clearance of this check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of an individual’s offence/s. Information provided by you or the DBS will be dealt with in a confidential manner and in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice which can be viewed here. Bolton Council’s policy on the Employment of Ex-Offenders is available here.

This post is a designated customer facing role under the fluency duty and requires a specified level of spoken English as per the person specification.

This organisation has signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment. That means we will recognise your continuous or ‘unbroken’ service in any Greater Manchester local authority or NHS organisation that has signed the commitment, Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service or Greater Manchester Combined Authority, giving you access to our service-related benefits. Please see the home page of greater.jobs for more information.

For more information about working for Bolton Council, please see greater.jobs; for advice and support with your application, contact recruitment@bolton.gov.uk