Return to search results

Service Manager - Locality - Children Social Care

Sutton Council
Sutton
Hybrid Working
Permanent
Full Time
10
36
£58,461 - £67,575 (£69,984 unconsolidated maximum)
Per annum
Recruitment and Retention - Childrens
32 days

02/04/2026, 23:55

The London Borough of Sutton is situated less than 30 minutes by train from Central London, with direct connections to London Victoria and London Bridge. Found in zone 5 with good transport links in and out of London, Sutton boasts award winning parks and open spaces, low crime rates, affordable housing and great schools. As well as high levels of resident engagement and satisfaction, providing quality services and success in addressing our financial challenges, whilst involving residents in key issues and high street changes.

Sutton is continuously investing in the health, wellbeing and education of our residents and the future generation, as set out in the “Ambitious for Sutton” corporate plan. We are home to the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. Together with the development of the London Cancer Hub, Sutton will be the world’s leading life-science district, specialising in cancer research and treatment. Our vision will create around 13,000 jobs while contributing £1.2bn to the UK economy each year, a vibrant community of scientists, doctors and innovative companies intended to deliver real benefits for cancer patients and drive economic growth. With the regeneration of the local areas with new homes and schools, Sutton is passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

The Council is seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment. As we strive to improve our services and spaces for our residents as set out in the ‘Ambitious for Sutton’ corporate plan, Sutton aims to shape the future of the borough and adapt to the needs of its residents to make our Borough a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Join Children Social Care as a Service Manager within our Locality Teams and enjoy a Golden Hello along with a Recruitment and Retention Bonus, outlined as follows:

  • £1,000 paid with your first month's salary
  • £1,000 for your first completed year of service
  • £2,000 for your second completed year of service
  • £3,000 for your third completed year of service and each year thereafter

With a total salary package of up to £68,476, inclusive of bonuses and benefits, this is an excellent opportunity to elevate your career in social care.

As a Service Manager for a Locality Team within Children Social Care, your responsibilities will include:

  • Provide leadership to a team of social care professionals to ensure that all interventions are child-centred, emphasising the best interests of the children and young people in our care.
  • Develop and implement children-focused policies, procedures, and best practices that enhance service delivery.
  • Manage budget planning and resource allocation effectively to ensure sustainability and efficiency of services.
  • Ensure the highest standards of safeguarding practices are maintained, promoting the welfare of vulnerable children and young people.
  • Fostering a positive team culture that encourages professional development opportunities for staff.

As a Service Manager, you will play a pivotal role in providing strategic leadership to the teams that deliver front-line Child in Need and Child Protection services, guiding processes from initial assessment to care proceedings. You will ensure compliance with both local and national legislation, maintaining high standards of service delivery. Your expertise in children's social care and effective people management will be key as you oversee four teams composed of Team Managers and front-line social care professionals.

You will lead your teams by monitoring practice, managing processes, and overseeing data management to ensure our Local Authority meets statutory requirements while addressing the health and wellbeing needs of the children in our care. A thorough understanding of relevant legislation and policy application is essential, along with a proven track record of achieving positive outcomes for children and young people. This knowledge will be critical for promoting high-performance within social care practices.

Our strong, accessible, and supportive management culture, led by our Service Managers, is essential in creating a positive team environment that promotes regular supervision and encourages continuous professional development for staff. Join us on this journey to create an environment where both the children in our care and our staff can thrive and succeed in their everyday lives.

The successful candidate should candidate to demonstrate the following competences (not limited to:):

  • Qualified Social Worker with a Social Work Degree or recognised qualification, registered with Social Work England, the relevant governing body.
  • Significant experience at team manager level (ideally 4 years), with demonstrable experience of frontline safeguarding practice. 
  • Leadership skills and social care expertise to grow and develop your service in accordance with changing needs and policy.
  • Excellent communication, analytical and organisational skills, with the ability to have relevant understanding of social work practice as defined within Children Act 1989 and Working Together 2023.

For more information about the role and/or an informal conversation, you can view the Role Profile or contact Andrea Bryant, Head of service Family Support Care Planning (andrea.bryant@sutton.gov.uk)

The London Borough of Sutton “is uncompromising in its focus on improving quality of frontline social work” – Ofsted

London Borough of Sutton works closely with Kingston University and regional partners as part of the Developing Together Social Work Teaching Partnership (SWTP). The partnership offers staff a wide range of pre and post qualifying education opportunities to promote continuous learning and development. This includes staff being encouraged to support the practice education of Social Work students and those in the assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE). Staff are also given the opportunity to attend conferences, workshops and have access to research and practice resources to support their ongoing professional development.

Children's Social Care is going through an important change to meet the growing needs of the children and families we support. We are making many improvements to ensure that care for children is better and to create positive working environments for our staff. With committed leaders and experienced managers, we are bringing fresh ideas to our work and are helping to make real improvements in how we support children and families. Our aim is to provide high-quality care that helps children thrive while also creating an inclusive, diverse, and supportive environment for our staff to develop their careers.

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

  • A generous annual leave entitlement of 26-32 days plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade 
  • Enhanced Maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
  • Two volunteering days per year
  • Flexible Working - Smarter Working Scheme (dependent on the role) 
  • Adjustable and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
  • Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
  • Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
  • Interest free season ticket loans
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
  • Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
  • Electric vehicle leasing scheme
  • Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities. 
However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Sutton we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our PRIDE values.
Here at Sutton we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

As part of our award winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our interview panels to be as diverse as possible (age, cultural, neurodiverse etc.) to reduce bias where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.

The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.

Important Information - Political Restrictions
This post has been deemed as politically restricted / sensitive and therefore applicants will be required to declare any interests that may be deemed political as part of their application.