Job Title: Service Manager – Quality Assurance and Performance
Hours: 37
Salary: HC12 £55,594 - £61,655 (plus £5,000 market rate supplement per year £60,594 - £66,655)
Contract: 6 months fixed term
Closing date: 12 January 2025
Come and join us on our Restorative Journey of Improvement to gain the best for children and families in Herefordshire
The Role
We are looking to recruit a fixed-term Service Manager for the Children’s Social Care Quality Assurance Team to cover staff absence within Herefordshire Council. The successful candidate will be working in an ambitious and improving service.
To be considered for this post, you will be a qualified, experienced social worker manager who is in embedded in good practice, and committed to the development of social workers’ practice. The Quality Assurance Service Manager will play a key role in driving our service improvement through the implementation of our quality assurance framework for determining how well we deliver our services and support to the children and families we help. This requires the Quality Assurance Service Manager to coordinate with managers and senior leaders on delivering the quality assurance activities such as monthly collaborative audits and moderations, service complaints and individual services’ audit programmes. If this post excites you and you feel you have the right skills, knowledge and experience, please apply.
What we require from you:
- Social Work Degree or equivalent Social Work Qualification; current registration with Social Work England
- Staff management experience
- A commitment to working transparently; in partnership with children, families, and partner agencies in a restorative way
- Knowledge of childcare legislation, statutory guidance, and best practice research
- Analytical report writing skills and the capacity to support the development of others in this area
- Ability to make child centred, complex decisions, using evidence-based tools and analysis
- Experience of managing complaints in a restorative manner
- Ability to understand and demonstrate a commitment to equality and diversity
- Ability to use your own initiative as well as ability to work as part of a senior management team work
We welcome applicants whatever their personal characteristics or social identity. All requests for flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments will be considered.
If you would like to discuss the position further please contact the Head of Service, Dylan Harrison at [email protected]
Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you would like to obtain details regarding feedback on your application please contact [email protected]
We Offer
A competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:
- Service Manager starting salary: £55,594 - £61,655 per annum
- Market rate supplement: plus £5,000 per year
- Pension Scheme Enrolment in the Local Government (LGPS)
- Professional development: protected time and budget to support social workers develop themselves and their careers.
- Generous Annual Leave: 31 days’ annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum
- Flexible working: flexi-time, job-share, part-time hours and, in some instances, home working
- Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
- Payment of professional membership fees
- Pick your perks – our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.
About Us
Herefordshire is a beautiful, historic county located in the heart of the Marches on the border with Wales. We are one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England with a wealth of unspoilt countryside, distinctive heritage, and lively and attractive market towns.
Our priority in Herefordshire is to keep children safe and give them a great start in life. It’s the priority for the council, our partners and for all of us who work with Children & Young People.
How do we do this? By having dynamic, dedicated, passionate and professional staff who work in a culture that focuses on what we can achieve with children, what they can achieve themselves, and the relationship we build with families and partners to enable this. We have invested heavily in training and developing staff in our relational practice approach with our improvement partner Leeds City Council, so it's an exciting time to join Herefordshire – we believe in investing in you so you can be the best you can be!
Herefordshire has a really strong team ethos. Our teams are passionate about the work they do and the positive difference they and the teams they are in make to people’s lives. This is all underpinned by the focus and support from their managers and the council as a whole.
We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond.
Therefore, we take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.
Come to Herefordshire and join the journey.
Herefordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service enhanced check and further pre-employment checks.
We welcome applicants whatever their personal characteristics or social identity. All requests for flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments will be considered.
The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:
- Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme;
- Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant; and
- Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.
Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for more details of this role.
To apply, please submit your CV and complete the supporting statement within the application form, referring to the job description & person specification, detailing how you meet the specific requirements of the role.