Children's Services Team Manager

Contract to start ASAP

Duration: 12 weeks with a possible extension.

Children's Services Team Manager

Hours: Full-time (35 hours per week)

Contract: 12 Week Temporary Contract, ending 14 February 2027

Lead High-Quality Social Care Support for Children and Young People Aged 0 to 25

We're recruiting an experienced Children's Services Team Manager – 0 to 25 Service to join the London Borough of Lambeth, providing strong professional leadership across a specialist social care team supporting children, young people, and young adults.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced qualified Social Worker and manager with a strong background in Children's Social Care, safeguarding, disability services, transition planning, complex needs, statutory casework, and team leadership.

You'll lead a team of Social Workers and practitioners, ensuring high-quality assessments, care planning, safeguarding, supervision, and case management while promoting positive outcomes for children, young people, and their families.

About the Role

As a Children's Services Team Manager – 0 to 25 Service, you'll provide operational and professional leadership to a team responsible for supporting children and young people with a range of complex social care needs.

You'll oversee casework, support professional decision-making, manage performance, provide regular supervision, and ensure statutory responsibilities are met to a consistently high standard.

What you'll be doing:

• Leading and managing a team of Social Workers and social care practitioners
• Providing regular supervision, professional guidance, and management oversight
• Overseeing complex cases involving children, young people, and young adults aged 0 to 25
• Ensuring assessments, care plans, and interventions are timely, proportionate, and outcome-focused
• Providing management oversight of safeguarding and child protection concerns
• Supporting effective transition planning from children's to adult services where appropriate
• Monitoring case progression and identifying drift, delay, or gaps in intervention
• Ensuring the voice of the child or young person is central to planning and decision-making
• Supporting Social Workers with complex professional decisions
• Chairing or contributing to complex case discussions and multi-agency meetings
• Managing risk and ensuring appropriate escalation of safeguarding concerns
• Reviewing and authorising assessments, plans, and statutory documentation
• Monitoring workloads and caseloads to ensure safe and effective practice
• Managing team performance against service standards, KPIs, and statutory timescales
• Supporting quality assurance and case audit activity
• Identifying learning and development needs within the team
• Supporting newly qualified or less experienced practitioners
• Promoting reflective, strengths-based, and child-centred practice
• Working closely with health, education, SEND, housing, adult social care, and other partner agencies
• Supporting children and young people with disabilities or complex needs
• Managing complaints, escalations, and complex family situations
• Contributing to service improvement and transformation activity
• Supporting recruitment, workforce planning, and staff development
• Ensuring compliance with legislation, statutory guidance, Council policies, and Social Work England standards

Requirements

We're looking for a highly experienced and professionally confident Social Work Manager with strong leadership, safeguarding, and complex case-management experience.

You'll ideally have:

• A recognised Social Work qualification
• Current registration with Social Work England
• Significant post-qualifying experience within Children's Social Care
• Previous experience managing or supervising Social Workers
• Strong experience within statutory children's social work
• Experience working with children and young people with disabilities or complex needs
• Knowledge of 0 to 25 services and transition planning
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding and child protection
• Experience providing management oversight of complex cases
• Strong understanding of the Children Act 1989 and 2004
• Knowledge of relevant SEND, disability, and transition legislation would be advantageous
• Experience monitoring performance and statutory timescales
• Experience providing professional supervision
• Strong quality assurance and case-auditing skills
• Ability to challenge practice constructively and support professional development
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to manage competing priorities in a demanding service environment
• Strong multi-agency working and stakeholder-management skills
• Experience managing safeguarding risk and complex family situations
• Local authority Children's Services management experience would be highly advantageous
• Enhanced DBS clearance or willingness to undertake required safeguarding checks
• Eligibility to work in the UK
• Ability to provide three years of references/work history
• Ability to complete a Criminal Convictions Declaration
• Ability to sign a Confidentiality Agreement

Why Apply

• Competitive Umbrella rate of £45.20 per hour
• Opportunity to work with the London Borough of Lambeth
• Senior management role within Children's Services
• Opportunity to lead a specialist 0 to 25 social care service
• Work with children and young people with complex and varied needs
• Opportunity to influence practice quality and service performance
• Work closely with Social Workers, health, education, SEND, and partner agencies
• Gain further local authority management experience
• Full-time 35-hour working week
• 12-week temporary assignment

Benefits

• Weekly Pay
• Company Pension
• Ongoing Agency Support

Additional Information

Client: London Borough of Lambeth

Job Title: Children's Services Team Manager (0 to 25 Service) – Social Care Qualified

Location: 6 Brixton Hill, London, Lambeth, SW2 1RW

Start Date: 23 November 2026

End Date: 14 February 2027

Hours: 35 hours per week

Pay Rate: Umbrella: £45.20 per hour

Employment Type: Temporary

Number of Positions: 1

Job Types: Full-time, Temporary contract

Contract length: 12 weeks

Pay: £45.20 per hour

Benefits:

• Company pension

Application question(s):

• Are you a qualified Social Worker currently registered with Social Work England?
• Do you have significant post-qualifying experience within Children's Social Care?
• Do you have previous experience managing or supervising Social Workers?
• Have you worked with children and young people with disabilities, complex needs, or transition requirements?
• Do you have experience providing management oversight of safeguarding and complex statutory cases?
• Are you confident managing performance, supervision, caseloads, and quality assurance within a Children's Services team?
• Please confirm your current location and whether you can reliably travel to 6 Brixton Hill, London, SW2 1RW as required.

Experience:

• Children's Social Work: 5 years (preferred)
• Team Management / Social Work Supervision: 2 years (preferred)
• Disability / 0 to 25 Services: 2 years (preferred)
• Safeguarding / Child Protection: 3 years (preferred)
• Local Authority Children's Services: 3 years (preferred)

Licence/Certification:

• Social Work England Registration (required)
• Recognised Social Work Qualification (required)

Work authorisation:

• United Kingdom (required)

Work Location: In person

Disclaimer: On applying for this vacancy, you agree that your personal details will be passed onto our client for their consideration of your suitability for the role. I acknowledge that it is my responsibility to notify iWork Recruitment Limited of any hirer who I do not want my details to be passed onto.

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