Classifications
Job Information
Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us click here.
Social Work Team Leader - Leaving Care/UASC
Join a team that's officially Outstanding! Achieving for Children's Child Services have now been rated Outstanding by Ofsted in both Richmond and Kingston. Our overall services are praised for exceptional care and a workforce that puts children at the center of everything we do. We are proud of this success and note that our specialised Fostering Service has been separately inspected and graded ‘Good’ by Ofsted, highlighting the quality of our dedicated fostering provision.
We are looking for an experienced and motivated Team Leader to join our Leaving Care Service, supporting young people to achieve positive, safe and independent futures. As a Team Leader within the Leaving Care and UASC service.
Your leadership will be pivotal in operational management where you will assist in implementing team priorities, manage delegated budgets and deputise for senior leadership to ensure seamless service delivery.
About the role
You will provide expert casework oversight and professional supervision to a multidisciplinary team of Social Workers and Personal Advisors. Reporting to the Head of Leaving Care you will:
- Drive high practice standards by facilitating critical reflection.
- Conducting robust risk assessments.
- Ensuring all interventions prioritise the safety and welfare of young people.
- Proven experience of using statutory powers based on social work assessments that show a child is at significant risk of harm.
- An extensive and up to date knowledge of relevant legislation and case law.
- Experience of helping other practitioners to make decisions based on observations and analyses that are also ambitious for those children involved.
- Ability to effectively challenge practitioners' approach to how they work with families, ensuring that it is the best way to achieve the desired outcome for the child.
- Ability to deliver reflective supervision and able to adapt style dependent upon the individual and the form supervision may be held i.e. peer group supervision, caseload, etc.
You will be a confident leader with strong safeguarding knowledge, excellent communication skills, and a commitment to delivering high-quality, inclusive services for young people.
The role requires flexibility, participation in the EDT rota, and the ability to work across services in line with business needs.
For an informal discussion on the role, please contact Shaira Makorie via email: Shaira.Makorie@achievingforchildren.org.uk
About you
We are looking for a dedicated professional with a deep-seated passion for the Achieving for Children vision. Guided by our core values of trust, respect, and empower and committed to ensuring children and young people lead a safe, happy, and successful life. Safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do and that you bring the personal drive and energy necessary to meet challenging objectives and deliver excellent, strength-based outcomes.
Beyond your commitment to young people, you are a highly organised multi-tasker who thrives on creative problem-solving and efficient time management. You are digitally savvy, confident using Microsoft and Google software to streamline your work. An exceptional communicator, you possess the negotiation and influencing skills required to be persuasive and pragmatic, ensuring your interactions are always open, honest, and impactful.
Qualifications required:
- Educated to a degree level with a relevant professional qualification in social work.
- Postgraduate qualification in a relevant field i.e. social work, leadership and management.
- Active Social Work England registration and proven evidence of continuing professional development.
About our benefits
We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:
- 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)
- Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
- Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
- Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
- A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
- A range of staff benefits and discounts
- An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway
To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children click here. For our social work offer click here. For our Recruitment Journey, click here.
Important Information
Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.
Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.
Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
