Children Social Work Team Manager (Kinship Care)

Working Hours: 35 Hours per week

Contract Type: Full time / Permanent

Additional Payments: Essential car user allowance and £5,000 market rate supplement

Closing Date: 14 May 2026

Closing time: 11.59pm

Interview Method: Face to Face

This Role Is Subject To

Legal right to Work: In accordance with Home Office guidance, successful candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK before commencement of employment. 2 References - where possible we require 3 years' history. Social Work Qualification and registration with Social Work England. Medical Clearance - Pre-placement health assessment (PPHA) Essential Car Documentation- This post is a designated Essential Car User. Therefore, you must always hold a full valid driving licence and provide your own car for use at work. You will receive the Essential Car User Allowance DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance - this post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (amended in 2013). Appointable candidates will be required to apply an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Information provided by you or the DBS will be dealt with in a confidential manner and in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice which can be viewed here. We have a policy on the Employment of Ex-Offenders, and it is available upon request.

We’re looking for an experienced Team Manager to lead and develop our Kinship Care service, with a strong focus on Special Guardianship Orders (SGO) and service growth.

You’ll provide confident leadership to a skilled team, ensuring high‑quality assessments, purposeful support plans, and timely, child‑focused decision‑making. Alongside day‑to‑day management, you’ll play a key role in developing practice, strengthening SGO pathways, and shaping how kinship care evolves across the service.

You’ll Bring

Strong leadership experience in children’s social care In‑depth understanding of SGO and kinship care legislation and practice A passion for quality, learning and continuous improvement The confidence to influence, innovate and develop services

We Offer

The chance to lead meaningful, long‑term change A supportive senior leadership team Real scope to shape practice and outcomes for children and families

Because kinship care deserves leadership that believes in it.

You will be a person who has good people skills, is able to nurture and develop staff including newly qualified and more advanced practitioners, be able to work alongside a plethora of professionals in a multi-agency context and influence positive cultures within your team and the service overall. You will be a leader and someone who is brave and creative. You will work alongside the Service Lead and Assistant Director as an integral part of the leadership team in Fostering and Kinship Care. You will have excellent communication skills, good IT skills, the ability to manager performance and quality and a sound knowledge of Legislation and statutory guidance in relation to fostering and children.

We’re the local government authority for Manchester, and have teams across the city helping to make this a great place to live for everyone. We’re proud to do local government differently, in a city with an international reputation for diversity, creativity, culture and passion.

When you join us, you’re joining a team of over 7,000 council staff helping to make our ambition for Manchester a reality. Whatever your role, you’ll be supporting our residents and communities to be the best they can be, and helping to build a Manchester that's fairer for everyone who lives, works, volunteers, studies or plays here.

To Make Our Ambition a Reality, Every Person We Recruit Needs To Play Their Its Part. It Takes a Certain Type Of Behaviour, Attitude And Way Of Working To Get Manchester Where It Wants To Be. Our People And Partners Have Agreed Five ‘behaviours’ - The Grounding For How We Must Work Together And Treat One Another

We take time to listen and understand We work together and trust each other We show that we value our differences and treat each other fairly We ‘own it’ and we’re not afraid to try new things We’re proud and passionate about Manchester

A career with us means you can be yourself, thrive, and build the career your talent and ambition deserve.

Creating an inclusive team at Manchester City Council

At Manchester City Council, we strive to create a fair and inclusive workplace that is as diverse as the communities we serve. If you want to find out more about the role, our culture, flexible arrangements or any adjustments, please let us know by emailing jobs@manchester.gov.uk. If you are invited to interview we will ask you if you require any adjustments in order for you to best demonstrate your suitability for the role in the interview process.

If you would like to access the job details in another format, such as large print, audio or printed on a coloured paper, please email jobs@manchester.gov.uk or call 0161 227 3373.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

Requirements

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

Members of the Armed Forces and veterans Are currently in care, or have previously been in care If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

Accessibility

As a Disability Confident Employer, we provide support for employees with physical or mental-health conditions, a disability or neurodiversity. Our workplaces are accessible by design, and we make workplace adjustments including providing aids, adaptations and equipment. These, combined with our flexible working policies such as disability-related leave, enable our employees to perform their role, thrive and be their authentic selves in work.

We’ve also included some useful tips on how to submit the best application.

When you join us

We want everyone to be able to be themselves at work and give their best. If you need additional support to undertake the duties of the role, we’ll make every effort to source any necessary aids, adaptations or equipment. If, however, any task proves to be unachievable, we will look at redesigning parts of the role.

Other Relevant Information

Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment

Who we are - Manchester City Council

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