Team Manager Children, FAS Social Work Team

Fixed Term maternity cover for 6 months with a possible extention to 12 months. Full Time 37 hours per week working Monday to Thursday 8.30am until 5.00pm and Friday's 8.30am until 4.30pm

You must have social work practice experience and be a qualified social worker, registered with Social Work England to apply for this post.

The First Assessment Services is looking for a Team Manager with experience in the delivery of statutory children's services, to join the existing management group at the Front Door of Bristol Children's Services.   

The team value a manager who is visible and has an office presence.

The role will consist of supervisiing case holding social workers, undertaking strategy discussions, and providing daily advice and guidance in line with the role to determine case pathway, and to oversee the assessment of youth homelnessess..

You would also cover and provide advice to staff at the front door when required.  

We are currently in the process of reviewing services within children and families, as part of our transformation to ensure we allign with the government reforms. 

The First Assessment Service moved to City Halla yar ago, and is responsible for making rapid, informed and safe decisions on all referrals requesting support or safeguarding intervention for vulnerable children, young people and their families.   

The SW team undertake assessments when the threshold is unclear to help determine the correct pathway.  

The First Assessment Team value office presence from line managers, and there is an expectation that this post is primarily office based with only occasional home working.  

The team currently consists of five team managers who share responsibility across the service but who lead on a specific area.  This vacancy is a maternity cover position. 

This role will be based within the social work team, but may require cover into the front door dependant on service need. 

You will therefore need to be confident supporting all aspects of the First Assessment Service work service, including triaging contacts and strategies.

The team managers work collaboratively and supportively together along with the Deputy Team Managers and a small team of advanced social workers who make up the management group.   

We recognise the value of working alongside colleagues to support development and promote positive working relationships. We are therefore seeking a manager who shares this ethos and can work from our office based at City Hall.  Some occasional home working will be an option dependant on service need and demand.   

You will be an experienced Social Worker or Team Manager, with excellent management, decision making and multi-agency working skills and with a commitment to supporting children and their families to access the right level of support, at the right time in their lives.  

You will have confidence and skills in recognising and acting on immediate risk to children and in recognising and understanding the needs of children in need of help and support.

You will have a high level of knowledge and experience in applying legislation, guidance and policy to complex situations and will hold and manage risk in line with this.  

The team manager role requires a keen interest in understanding performance, data, targets, throughput and systems.  

You will be confident in managing team performance and will be passionate about understanding and improving complex systems, processes, and performance to improve outcomes for children and young people.   

You will lead, manage, support, and supervise Social Workers, within the First Assessment Service. You will be responsible for the performance of your team(s), and will have the skill, experience and expertise to drive forward excellent practice. The successful applicant will be able to deliver excellence in rapid decision making, triage, multi-agency working and short term assessment. 

You will be joining a stable service with long term, permanent staff, low vacancy rates, and good staff morale.   

You will support service development, with your capacity to develop systems, and processes with multi-agency partners. 

The role is based at City hall in the centre of the city. There are excellent amenities around the office area. There is no free parking in the vicinity, but the office is easily accessible by public transport. 

Please note that this role is subject to an Enhanced DBS Check.

Why Bristol City Council? 

At Bristol City Council, we go that extra mile for our people; we offer a work environment which is fast moving and supportive, giving you the chance to use your skills and develop new ones within a high-profile organisation. 

Join us and you’ll receive an excellent rewards package including flexible working and flexitime, membership of the Local Government Pension scheme, and a generous annual leave allowance. In addition, you’ll be working in a supportive environment where you’ll have the chance to make Bristol a better place and contribute to its future. 

How do I apply? 

If you share our values and are ready to be part of our exciting journey please select the apply button below. 

To be shortlisted for interview you’ll need to demonstrate how you meet each of the essential criteria in the Person Specification within the Further Information section of your application. On occasion we will receive high numbers of applications, we may then shortlist against the desirable criteria along with the essential criteria, so if you can, please demonstrate how you meet this in your application.

For permanent Bristol City Council employees, this post will be a secondment.

For employees who are currently on a fixed term contract with Bristol City Council, the secondment must not extend beyond the end of the fixed term period to ensure there is a substantive post to return to.

If you are currently a casual worker or a member of an employment agency (currently working with Bristol City Council) this post will be a fixed term contract.

We're a Disability Confident employer which means we value recruiting and retaining disabled people. Any job applicants who consider themselves to be disabled and meet the essential criteria in the Person Specification are guaranteed an interview. We'll make reasonable adjustments throughout the interview process and provide continued workplace support throughout your career.

Should you require any further information or would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact, Sonia Gingell, Service Manager sonia.gingell@bristol.gov.uk

Bristol City Council are not offering sponsorship for this role.

Bristol City Council strives to have a workforce that reflects the communities it serves, we are therefore committed to ensuring diversity in our hiring process. We welcome, develop and promote people from all sections of the community. Appointments will be made on merit. 

The personal information section (including your name) you’ll complete as part of the application form will not be visible to hiring managers, but is used confidentially to make sure that everyone is treated fairly.