Walsall Council
Group Manager - Ref: SS05026
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Group Manager
Adult Social Care
Grade: G14
Salary: £72,929-£80,464
Location: Walsall Borough, with customer-focused hybrid working
Reports to: Head of Service, Adult Social Care
Contract: Permanent full time
Closing date: 18th October 2026. Interviews w/c 26th October
Lead change. Strengthen independence. Improve lives.
Walsall Council is seeking an experienced and ambitious Group Manager to provide strategic and operational leadership across our Pathway to Independence services.
This is a significant leadership opportunity for a qualified and professionally registered Occupational Therapist or Social Worker with a strong track record of leading, developing and transforming therapy-led adult social care services.
You will provide clear leadership to services that support adults to maximise their independence, choice and control. Working as part of the Adult Social Care leadership team, you will lead service improvement, strengthen professional practice and ensure resources are focused on delivering effective and sustainable outcomes for Walsall residents.
About the role
As Group Manager, you will:
- Provide strategic and operational leadership across the Pathway to Independence portfolio.
- Lead the development and transformation of therapy-led services, ensuring that occupational therapy and social work practice contribute effectively to prevention, enablement and independence.
- Develop a clear service vision and translate it into deliverable improvement plans, performance expectations and measurable outcomes.
- Lead and support Team Managers, creating a positive, accountable and learning-focused culture.
- Strengthen quality assurance, professional practice, governance and performance management.
- Use evidence, data, research and feedback to improve outcomes and redesign services.
- Manage demand, capacity, resources and delegated budgets effectively.
- Ensure services meet statutory requirements and contribute to the Council’s assurance response to the Care Quality Commission.
- Build effective partnerships across health, housing, children’s services, commissioning and other agencies.
- Represent Adult Social Care in corporate, regional and multi-agency forums.
- Deputise for the Head of Service when required.
About you
You must be:
- A qualified Occupational Therapist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council or a qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England.
- An experienced senior leader with substantial experience of managing adult social care services.
- Able to demonstrate successful leadership and transformation of a therapy-led service, including service redesign, cultural change and practice improvement.
- Experienced in leading multidisciplinary teams and supporting managers through significant organisational and operational change.
- Committed to strengths-based, person-centred and evidence-informed practice.
- Able to demonstrate a strong understanding of relevant adult social care legislation, statutory responsibilities and regulatory expectations.
- Experienced in quality assurance, performance management and the use of data to identify priorities and drive improvement.
- Able to manage resources and budgets effectively while maintaining service quality and delivering value for money.
- Confident in building partnerships and influencing across complex organisational and professional boundaries.
- Politically aware and able to operate effectively within a local authority environment.
- An inclusive, visible and credible leader who can motivate others, provide constructive challenge and build shared ownership of change.
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Why join Walsall Council?
At Walsall Council, people are at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to working collaboratively, embracing change, delivering value for money and creating services that the people of Walsall can be proud of.
This role offers the opportunity to shape a key part of Adult Social Care and lead services that help people build on their strengths, regain skills and live as independently as possible.
Additional information
This position:
- Requires an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.
- Is designated as a politically restricted sensitive post.
- Includes membership of the Senior Managers’ out-of-hours rota.
- May require some work outside normal office hours.
- This is a hybrid working role therefore attendance at the office is expected every week.
If you would like to discuss this role, please contact Tina James, Head of Service on 01922-652599 or tina.james@walsall.gov.uk
View Job Description and Employee Specification
Important note:
When completing your online application form, you will be asked to enter supporting information. You must enter a detailed supporting information statement describing how your skills, abilities and experience meet the specific criteria included in the employee specification. If you do not include a supporting information statement, you will not be shortlisted. Please also ensure that you complete the work history and qualifications sections of your application form. Please do not add a CV as we do not accept them. Please see our Information for Applicants leaflet for further information.
We kindly request that recruitment agencies do not contact us regarding this job vacancy. We are not accepting agency applications or referrals at this time.
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At Walsall Council, we appreciate that AI can be a useful tool for ideas or guidance. However, we encourage you to make sure your application reflects your own voice and experiences. Over-reliance on AI can make responses feel less personal, and we really want to understand what makes you unique. Your experiences, skills, and perspective are what set you apart, so please ensure your application as a whole – particularly your ‘Supporting Information’ – reflects your own voice.
Applicants appointed to posts that require an enhanced DBS clearance must declare any periods of time that they have lived, studied or worked abroad and be prepared to provide an Overseas Criminal Records Certificate (OCRC) or a Statement of Good Conduct (SOGC) relating to anytime they were overseas.
For this role, the successful candidates must undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) check. BPSS is the minimum standard to ensure the identity and integrity of an employee who has access to official information using secure networks linking central government and local authorities. A BPSS check involves four main elements; Identity Check, National and Immigration Status, Employment History (last 3 years) and Verification of Criminal Record (unspent convictions only).
Here at Walsall, we want to attract the best talent. That's why - as well as a satisfying and rewarding job - we offer a range of attractive benefits [https://go.walsall.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers-/benefits-of-working-for-us]. Working arrangements in most jobs are flexible (you may work flexitime, full or part time and job sharing is usually available) and you can expect generous holiday entitlements, a first class pension scheme and plenty of opportunities for training and personal development.
We advertise vacancies because we want the best talent available. If that's you, we're waiting for your application.
Living in Walsall
Part of the Black Country, famous for its enterprising and industrial past, Walsall is reinventing itself to become a progressive modern community. The borough is centred around the major town of Walsall, but also includes five smaller and distinctive district centres (Bloxwich, Aldridge, Willenhall, Darlaston and Brownhills), together with numerous villages.
Walsall Council is committed to Safer Recruitment. To achieve our commitment, we will ensure continuous development and improvement of robust recruitment processes and procedures that promote a culture of safeguarding amongst our workforce.
Social Work Matters - Children's Social Worker Recruitment
Some of our children require a special kind of support: yours. Visit our microsite [https://go.walsall.gov.uk/children-and-young-people/social-work-recruitment] to find out more about joining Walsall Council as a Children's Social Worker.
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