West Sussex, Hampshire, Based in Horsham or Chichester, but working countywide , Based in Crawley, Based in Chichester (On-Site)
Contract, Full time
£62676 - £66211 per annum
37
The Opportunity
Salary: £37,605 to £39,726 per annum pro rata (Full Time Equivalent: £62,676 to £66,211 per annum)
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Pattern: Part time - 22.2 hours per week including Wednesdays
Location: Hybrid working across four Local Authorities, with an office base at County Hall North, Horsham
We're looking for a Service Manager to join our Adoption South East Senior Leadership Team. In joining our team, you will lead Social Workers and Managers employed by all four local authorities in finding the right families for children with a plan for adoption.
We work to a hybrid working model, meaning that although you would have an administrative base in Horsham, team members work largely remotely, making best use of technology, but with the option to touch base at any of our offices across the region. Regular team meetings are conducted both online and in person at a central base.
This is an opportunity to join a supportive and committed team of adoption professionals. You will provide professional leadership with a particular focus upon child centred family finding, ensuring effective practices in situations of complexity, risk, uncertainty and challenge, in line with the Professional Capabilities Framework.
If you are a qualified social worker, with management experience and you share our commitment to children and families, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Rewards and Benefits
As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do. Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including:
For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.
About you
To be successful in this role you will have:
- Ability to deliver change and continually improve practice and performance in a supportive, positive way.
- Emotional intelligence and be able to provide effective leadership, people management and performance management skills ideally with a recognised management qualification to go alongside this.
- Effective research, evaluation and interpretation skills to derive conclusions and plan over the short and longer term and consider changes in legislation and national policy.
- Ability to make sound pragmatic problem-solving decisions, which will have a wider service impact.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to influence the actions of others and communicate information which may be complex and contentious.
- Able to reflect on practice and identify innovative solutions within the required framework.
- A recognised Social Work qualification e.g. Degree in Social Work, DipSW, CQSW or equivalent as recognised by the relevant professional body.
- A recognised post qualifying award in Social Work or demonstrable evidence of continuous professional development at a similar level.
- Experience managing resources to deliver a service for example, leading staff, managing a budget, or contributing to financial related decisions.
- You will need to be able to travel independently around the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport. Pool cars and pool bikes are available.
For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.
About us
Adoption South East (ASE) is a regional adoption agency delivering adoption services on behalf of four local authorities (Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex and Brighton and Hove) under a partnership agreement. Although our staff are all employed by the partner local authorities we exist as a separate organisation, with our own ASE management structure. This vacancy is hosted by West Sussex County Council, whose terms and conditions of employment would apply.
To learn more about us and our work please visit our website: www.adoptionsoutheast.org.uk
ASE works across the combined footprint of the four local authorities, from the London borders in the North all the way down to the South Coast. We place up to 100 children in adoptive families each year as well as supporting families in the early stages, and later during the children's growing up years, recognising that as well as joy, adopting brings challenges.
For further information about us and about working in Children's Social Care at West Sussex County Council, please visit Careers in children's social work in West Sussex
Further information
The reference number for this role is CAFHE05572.
For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Michael Wilson (Head of Service) at For issues or queries regarding your application please contact .
To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to Social Work England registration, an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.
Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.
EC