Social Work Team Manager

Overview

Job Purpose and Context:

This exciting opportunity is for an effective leadership manager who can deliver an operational service through management of team activity and operating as the principal professional within that team. This will include the performance management of the team or the service activity and the co-ordination, planning and delivery of agreed activities and objectives. You will be expected to contribute to the development and shaping of our future team or group service provision; you will build and maintain relationships and influence activities including working across and outside of the organisation. You’ll provide professional advice and support across a department, supporting policy development and tackling difficult problems of a technical, professional, resource or people-related nature as a principal professional within the service specialism. You will support and promote equality and diversity and respect anyone working for or in contact with WSCC. You will remain up-to-date and compliant with all relevant legislation and adhere to organisational procedures, policies and codes of conduct as well as Social Work England professional standards.

Knowledge and Understanding:

Being a Social Work Team Manager will require you to be confident in working with and offering advice about the statutory requirements of complex pieces of legislation such as the Care Act 2014, Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and all related legislation, while leading a strengths-based team and ways of working within the Community-led support model locally known as Supporting Lives, Connecting People. Good managerial abilities are important for administering a budget and writing proposals. You will demonstrate an authoritative, applied knowledge of the specialist or professional discipline including technical theories and related principles. You will have detailed knowledge of practices and procedures relating to management of discipline. Good leadership skills are a must, as you will be expected to deputise for the Service / Operations Manager and take a County-wide lead for areas of the service when needed.

Responibilities and Understanding:

Deliver an effective, customer-focused service through managing a team or an activity across teams to meet defined performance indicators and business strategies.

Manage and deliver a high-quality seamless service, meeting customer expectations in the most economic, efficient and effective way. You will line manage a team of approx. 10 – 20 staff and may have indirect responsibility for others within assigned groups.

Analyse and evaluate service provision and technical or service specialist information; identifying solutions (according to existing policies and procedures) which shape service delivery.

Advise / support agreed programmes of work through the application of detailed technical knowledge.

Direct responsibility for a small budget (typically around £750,000), and / or advisory impact on projects/other externalised expenditure (typically around £4m); including short term, tactical resource planning and allocation.

Manage and shape the current and future team service (or activity across teams) and contribute to the development of future service provision, including reviewing and recommending changes to systems, processes, procedures and practices, typically planning on a time horizon over several months.

Effective and efficient management of resources, including staff.

Effective communication of technical / specialist information to a range of audiences.

Responsible for developing and maintaining multi-disciplinary relationships within and outside the organisation in order to deliver a high performing, professional service.

Responsible for promoting a strengths-based approach in both your own practice and that of the whole team; and for the application of creativity in support planning in exploring all potential options for meeting needs and outcomes; and consideration of the availability of resources across the service.

Develop effective relationships with managers or partners in connection with the specialist business area and management of the links and relationships influencing other parts of the organisation and partner organisations.

Support equality and diversity and respects customers, clients and other members of staff regardless of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or ethnic origin.

Any other reasonable duty assigned to you by the Service or Operations Manager.

Skills:

1. Ability to make sound, pragmatic, problem-solving decisions including tackling difficult problems of a technical, professional, resource or people-related nature.
2. Excellent communication skills with ability to influence actions by others and negotiate effective business solutions.
3. Research and knowledge management skills; able to apply project management principles and practices.
4. Leadership, effective people management and performance management skills and the ability to provide direction and support to individuals and teams during complex situations.
5. Ability to challenge existing practices and identify innovative strength-based solutions within the required frameworks.
6. Sound and accurate IT skills for general office duties, producing reports and undertaking research.

Qualifications and/or Experience:

• Post graduate professional qualification relevant to the professional service specialism (such as CQSW/CSS/DipSW or BA/MA in Social Work or equivalent and PQSW).
• Significant and broad experience demonstrating applied application of the above levels of knowledge in a relevant setting.
• Relevant chartered status of a professional body or equivalent high-level experience of involved practices.
• Registration with Social Work England and responsibility for maintaining registration.
• Significant post-qualification experience in dealing with diverse issues.
• Demonstrable experience of delivering or co-ordinating a quality customer-focussed service to others.
• Experience of managing and leading staff.
• Experience of managing a small budget and/or contributing to financially related decisions on larger spends.
• Experience of supporting initiatives in a political environment. Desirable.

Pay Rates:

Regular  –  £32.16

Quarter Day (Daily Rate)   –  £8.04

Half Day (Daily Rate)  –  £16.08

Weekend Rates  –  £48.24

Bank Holiday   –  £64.32

Night Rate   –  £42.78

Tagged as: social services, social Worker, team manager