Practice Improvement Manager
About Us
Tower Hamlets is a progressive, ambitious and diverse place to work. We place children and families at the heart of everything that we do and are relentless in our pursuit of positive outcomes for all.
The Tower Hamlets Learning Academy is an innovative approach within Children’s services to enable excellent practice for our residents and make Tower Hamlets an employer of choice. The Academy was set up in 2018 as an engine to drive organisational transformation to foster practice excellence as well as recruit and retain high calibre practitioners.
Tower Hamlets adopted a unique approach to setting up its academy by bringing five key workstreams in the division together into a singular operational unit. The Academy has since had a significant impact in establishing a relational culture (C Change Approach/People First) within the division and securing a stable and skilled workforce who are aspirational for the children and families. The success of the Academy has been acknowledged by Ofsted and the Department of Education as a national innovation.
About the role
It’s an exciting time to join Tower Hamlets Children’s Learning Academy. As the Improvement and Early Career Framework Manager you will be responsible for the ‘Steps to Success Program’ (5-year support program for NQSWs) and the Practice Improvement work streams across Early Help, Social Care and Youth Justice. The post holder will be expected to line manage Practice Leaders and Practice Development Coordinators and report to the Head of the Learning Academy.
You will be expected to be a relational leader (in line with our Better Together Practice Framework) who is able to engage all stakeholders to review and implement an innovative support program for NQSWs and the practice improvement initiatives. The role will require you to develop in-house experts at every level and procure experts externally when needed to promote learning, practice improvement drives and staff development. You will be confident in designing and delivering training to enable us to further build on a culture of learning.
About You
- Qualified Social Worker and up to date registration with Social Work England
- Substantial leadership experience working in a statutory children’s social care setting
- Substantial experience of making sound professional judgements on the quality of practice in high risk/high complexity cases
- Proven project management skills and ability to support newly qualified and experienced members of staff to develop and deliver excellent practice
- Successful experience of providing management and professional supervision/development to social care staff at all levels
- Ability to engage and develop effective professional relationships with children and families and involve them in service developments and improvement activities
- Ability to analyse information and produce quality case/service reviews and audits and recommend SMART areas for improvements
- Apply theoretical frameworks and evidence-based models of practice, research & theory in practice and service development/improvement.
- Communicate to a high standard verbally and in writing and producing and presenting high-quality analytical reports to a range of forms
Our offer
We've been working hard to make Tower Hamlets a great place to practice social work. We are committed to developing excellent managers and practitioners and making Tower Hamlets an employer of choice.
If you choose to work with us you will benefit from:
A competitive salary - £59,220 - £ 62,457
Up to 31 days annual leave rising to 32 days with 5 years continual service and 8 bank holidays
- Zone 2-3 travel card, season ticket loan
- Opportunities to develop your practice, with a clear framework for career development/leadership programme
- Good quality, regular, reflective supervision
- Manageable caseloads for your team
- Enhanced sick pay scheme, maternity/adoption leave pay and maternity support leave
- Opportunities for agile/flexible working
- Cycle to work scheme/ Rent deposit scheme/Access to free eye tests
- Discounted gym/Costco membership & You at Work discounts and many others
We have fantastic transport links –Tower Hamlets Town Hall is directly opposite Whitechapel Station, which is a minute away. Whitechapel is an interchange station which serves Hammersmith & City, District, Overground, with quick access to central line DLR and Jubilee lines. We also have the Crossrail Elizabeth line with links to Canary Wharf, Shenfield/Abbey Wood/Heathrow and Stratford, which is the best-connected hub in London.
Application Details
· Closing date: 10TH July 2024
· Interviews to take place on 18th and 19th July 2024 -Please hold the date.
For further information about this role or to discuss your interest please email Sam Nair, Head of the Learning Academy/PSW at Sam.Nair@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Additional details
Tower Hamlets vision for our borough is that: people are aspirational, independent and have equal access to opportunities; we are a borough that our residents are proud of and love to live in; and we are a dynamic, outcomes-based council using digital innovation and partnership working to respond to the changing needs of our borough. We want people who aspire to our TOWER values: Together; Open; Willing; Excellent; Respect.
Tower Hamlets has a zero-tolerance approach to, and works to eradicate, all forms of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital status, status as a civil partner, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and maternity and looks to employ a diverse workforce representative of those groups. We recognise that people can also be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class.
We are a Disability Confident Employer, which means applicants who declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the post are guaranteed an interview. Care experience has also been adopted by the Council as an additional protected characteristic.
We welcome applicants interested in flexible working arrangements and also applicants who live in the borough.