Fostering Team Manager

About Southwark:

We are the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues and social enterprises and we have a young, diverse and growing population.

At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities.  Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark Stands Together, (which is our work with Southwark’s communities and the council’s staff to tackle racism, injustice and inequality) underpins all that we do.

About the role:

Are you a dynamic leader with a passion for fostering excellence?

Southwark Council invites you to lead our dedicated fostering team as a Fostering Team Manager. This pivotal role requires exemplary management and leadership to drive Southwark’s sufficiency and permanency strategy while championing best practices within our frameworks.

At Southwark, we are committed to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive in a supportive and nurturing environment. By joining our team, you will be at the forefront of making a tangible difference in the lives of children and foster carers in our community.

As the Fostering Team Manager, you will:

• Provide exemplary management and leadership to advance Southwark’s sufficiency and permanency strategy.
• Oversee, supervise, and support a team of supervising social workers, ensuring our in-house foster carers meet the highest standards of care for Southwark’s children.
• Ensure that foster carers receive the necessary support and constructive challenges to provide exceptional care.
• Champion oversight, performance, reflective supervision, and relationship-based practice within the team.

About you:

We are seeking a motivated and driven individual who aligns with our vision and strategies. The ideal candidate will:

• Possess in-depth knowledge of fostering regulations and national minimum standards.
• Demonstrate experience and skills in management and leadership, aimed at increasing the capacity of our foster carers and driving performance and practice standards.
• Exhibit strong leadership capabilities to inspire and support a team of social workers dedicated to fostering excellence.

If you are ready to take on this challenging yet rewarding role, we want to hear from you. Apply now to join Southwark Council and be a part of a team that is dedicated to fostering a brighter future for our children.

Additional details:

This post requires a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) DBS check at Enhanced level.

Benefits and more information:

In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.

Recruitment timetable:

• Advert closes 17 June 2024.
• Shortlisting 19 June 2024.
• Interviews 26 June 2024.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme:

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans.
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care.
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition.

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.