About Barnet Council
Barnet is a borough with much to be proud of. Our excellent schools vibrant town centers vast green spaces and diverse communities all help make it a great place to live and work. As a council we want to build on these strengths as we move into the future. We are growing and developing as an organisation to meet the challenges facing our borough and we are committed to working with partner organisations and residents to make Barnet even better. As an organisation our staff are committed to Our Values: Learning to Improve Caring Inclusive Collaborative which drive everything we do.
About the role
Were recruiting a Team Manager to fit a dual role for the Carer Support Team and Fostering Recruitment and Assessment Teams; this is a maternity cover for up to 12 months. The Carer Support team sits within the Corporate Parenting Service and will be responsible for supporting children and their families within Kinship arrangements including supporting life story work as well as managing all private fostering referrals and arrangements within the borough.
As the Team Manager of the Carer Support Team you will be responsible for timely and robust screening and allocation of referrals from various childrens teams. Alongside this you will ensure that there are robust support packages in place that support Kinship arrangements in providing permanency for children for their minority.
As the Team Manager of the Fostering Recruitment and Assessment Team you will be responsible for increasing the number of excellent quality Foster Carers for children and young people in Barnet. This includes working alongside Marketing Officers Recruitment Coordinators and assessing Social Workers. As the Team Manager you will be responsible of all screening and quality assurance of prospective Foster Carers from enquiry through to approval including working closely with Barnets Fostering Panel.
You will need to be a strong systemic leader who models effective attuned management and communication skills. You will manage a a large multi agency team of practitioners. You will ensure that the teams are well supported and receive regular reflective supervision as part of their roles.
About you
You will be a qualified social worker with a minimum of 3 years post qualifying experience preferably in a statutory setting. You will be highly organised and able to deliver to deadlines and able to work independently whilst maintaining a team and whole service focus. Your will have a track record of excellent knowledge and understanding of complex child safeguarding alongside your strong grasp of relevant legislation. You will have strong verbal and written communication skills as well as either experience or a sound understanding of social worker supervision and change management .
You will be responsible for the day to day management of the work allocated to your teams ensuring that this is completed to the highest standards and with the childs welfare central to decision this you will ensure that effective working relationships are maintained with referring teams and those being assessed whilst being confident to appropriately challenge when required. Your role will have a strong element of quality assurance and it will be expected that you bring strong analytical assessment skills to the job. You will develop your team members by ensuring they receive regular reflective case and personal supervision and that service and corporate priorities are met. You will provide management cover within the service areas when your colleagues are on leave. You will ensure that Human Resource policies and procedures are adhered to including robustly and effectively addressing any performance capability sickness absence or similar all cases you will ensure that concise and accurate records of your management decision making and direction is evidenced and communicated.
Above all you will be committed to assisting the service to ensure that we are a forward thinking responsive service which meets the diverse needs of children young people and their families in Barnet by contributing to service and departmental strategies policies and procedures.
What we offer
How to apply
Read the job description and person specification before clickingApplyto commence the online application form. If you would like any further information about the role before applying please contact
Required Experience:
Manager