Service Manager for Child Protection and Child in Need Service

Enfield Council is seeking a Service Manager to manage and develop the Child in Need and Child Protection service.
If you are a dynamic and passionate person committed to working with and supporting children and young people, this is your chance to join us. We offer a high quality and innovative service for children in Enfield and are on a journey to Outstanding. We have an established culture that places children at the centre of all our practice, underpinned by an extensive quality assurance framework. We are both relentless in our commitment and dedication to improving services and ambitious for all our children and young people to have the best start in life to achieve their potential. We are committed to “signs of safety” and need exceptional leaders who are committed to embedding this model of working and understand and champion “motivational interviewing” to achieve good quality social work engagement to make a positive difference for children, young people and their families. Enfield is
committed to providing children and their families with the right support at the right time and thus this post is key to delivering the first response for every child. Our Enfield Centre of Excellence provides dedicated support to the Children and Family Service and this includes support from the Practice Lead, Principal Social Worker, Social Work Practice Mentor, ASYE Consultant and the Learning and Development Manager.
Enfield is one of London’s most vibrant and diverse boroughs. It is one of the most sought-after areas to live in London with good schools, abundant green spaces and local amenities, as well as great transport links and vibrant and diverse communities. We believe Enfield is the best place in London for someone to develop their career as a children’s social care leader and working with a wide range of partners including schools, health, and police, will enhance your system leadership skills.
As Service Manager we are looking for:

- a strong understanding of what best good practice looks like and be passionate about inspiring and improving children’s lives, as well as the continuous professional development of social work practitioners and team managers.
- have a demonstrable track record of leading, motivating and managing teams and programmes to achieve significant, sustainable service improvements and outstanding results
- proven experience of leading and delivering statutory services.
- managing and being accountable for high-level risk and decision making in relation to children in need and those in need of protection
- excellent communication and relationship development skills.
- demonstrable experience of influencing and negotiating at a senior level.

- have a demonstrable track record of leading, motivating and managing teams and programmes to achieve significant, sustainable service improvements and outstanding results

About you

- Educated to degree level or equivalent
- Qualified and registered social worker (SWE)
- Knowledge of what excellence looks like and champion best practice and have a thorough working knowledge of relevant legislation and local, regional and national practice that underpins child protection work
- A visionary leader with a passion for making a positive impact on the lives of children and families

Benefits of working for Us:

- Highly competitive salary
- An excellent pension scheme
- Up to 31 days’ annual leave in addition to Bank Holidays
- The opportunity to build/shape your career in social work through our excellent training offer including Mentoring and Coaching programme
- 4 weeks sabbatical leave with pay after 3 years of continuous service with Enfield Council
- Investment into your staff well-being
- Regular supervision and access to a clinical therapist to support your work
- SMART working options which include home and office-based working
- Staff discount scheme
- An excellent location and welcoming modern offices with the ability to travel easily and cycle around the borough, accessing our Cycle to Work scheme

For an informal discussion please contact the Head of Child Protection and Vulnerable Children – Rashmi Patel on 020 8132 2962 or the Director of Children & Family - Anne Stoker on 0208 3794075.
If you have any difficulties accessing this information, please contact Rebecca Spyrou on 0208 132 0008 or rebecca.spyrou@enfield.gov.uk

Closing date: 20th August 2023
Interviews: 6-8th September 2023

Enfield’s Social Care Centre of Excellence confirms our commitment to creating and maintaining an environment for new and existing staff to be the best and deliver high quality social work to our most vulnerable children and young people. It brings our recruitment, professional development and support into the one portal for social care staff to see what we have to offer and how we are supporting them to continue to learn and develop on a professional basis. For more information please visit https://new.enfield.gov.uk/centreofexcellence/about-us/
“This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment”.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications have been received. Therefore, we advise that you complete fully and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
We do not see your name or title when shortlisting your application. This is one of many initiatives to build a more talented and diverse workforce. However, if you put your name on your CV or Statement it will be visible to us. For this reason, we ask that you do not include your name on these documents. Please note it is your responses to the Essential/Desirable criteria, as detailed in the Job Description and Person Specification which is available on the job advert, that will determine if you are shortlisted for an interview, therefore we encourage you to always address the essential and desirable criteria in your application/CV.
Why it's great to work for Enfield Council:

- An excellent pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
- Up to 31 days annual leave depending on grade and length of service. You will also get eight public holidays per year and an extra day off at Christmas.
- A blend of remote and office based working for most roles. 
- Interest free season ticket loan repayable over three or ten months.
- Career development and learning experiences from a range of training courses and learning methods. 
- Employee Assistance Programme to provide advice and counselling services. This is a free and confidential service available to staff and members of their family.
- Health and leisure discounts and tax-free bikes for work.
- 1 month paid sabbatical for Children’s Social Workers (after 3 years service)
- The opportunity to build/shape your career in social work through our excellent training offer including Mentoring and Coaching programme

We are passionate about our people and how we deliver services to our community in Enfield. That’s why we encourage a culture that puts our customers at the heart of everything we do - by empowering our people to work together to find solutions, be open, honest and respectful, take responsibility and listen and learn. If you value these behaviours too, we’d love to hear from you - and of course we are always happy to talk flexible working, click here to find out more.
If you have previously applied for this role within the past 6 months, unfortunately, a second application will not be considered.