Service Manager

Role Responsibility

An exciting opening has come up for a 1-year fixed term Service Manager in the Adolescent Service in East and South Kent.   

The Service Manager leads, motivates and manages Adolescent Social Work Teams (AST) and Adolescent Early Help Units (AEHU) in East and South Kent. These teams support some of the most vulnerable adolescents in the County and have particular expertise in Contextual Safeguarding practice and responding to Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE). This is partnership work, and there are close working relationships with key local stakeholders, in particular, Kent Police, The Violence Reduction Unit and local Community Safety Partnerships.

You will play a leadership role in the contextual safeguarding partnership in Kent, overseeing District Contextual Safeguarding Meetings (DCSM) in Thanet, Canterbury, Folkestone and Hythe, Dover and Ashford. You will work closely with colleagues in the Adolescent Service including the Adolescent Response Team (ART) to further develop the approach to CCE in Kent.

 As part of the Integrated Children’s Service East Kent Management Team – you will work alongside Service Managers for Early Help, Children’s Social Work Teams (CSWT) and Child in Care Teams (CIC). Supporting families to stay together and averting unnecessary entries into care is a key aim of the service. You will be responsible for the full range of Child Protection (CP), Child in Need (CIN), Children in Care and Early Help practice. 

In the Adolescent Social Work Teams you will oversee the local response to 16- and 17-year-olds who are homeless and liaise with local housing authorities to ensure that homeless young people get the support they need.  In AEHUs you will manage prevention of offending work in relation to Out of Court Resolutions (OOCRs). This requires close working with colleagues from Kent Police.     

Working within the Adolescent Service, the role requires an ability to work flexibly under pressure,  and requires excellent organisational, planning and management skills. You will be responsible for managing your own budget.  You will provide advice and guidance to other professionals.

The successful candidate will have the ability to find solutions to a wide range of practice challenges.

 You will need to demonstrate substantial knowledge of the legislation and statutory guidance relevant to children's social care and prevention of offending. You will use performance indicators and quality standards to monitor and improve performance.

 Kent County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment.  

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring service and registration as a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification. 

Contact Details

For further information please contact:

Stephen.Fitzgerald@kent.gov.uk

Stephen Fitzgerald, Assistant Director East Kent Integrated Children's Services

About the Company

Work that works for you and us - let's talk flexibility!

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note - if you are interested, please apply soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.