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Service Manager – Mid Cornwall Children and Family Services
The Service & Team
Mid Cornwall Children and Family Services are seeking an experienced and passionate Service Manager to lead children’s social care services across Family Help teams. The role involves:
- Collaborating with the Head of Services to support service delivery and development across mid-Cornwall for children requiring support, help, or protection.
- Providing strategic and operational leadership to managers and practitioners.
- Driving high-quality safeguarding practice, service improvement, and strong multi-agency partnerships.
- This opportunity is ideal for a registered social worker with significant leadership experience to deliver relationship-based, strengths-focused practice.
Service Managers must:
- Be a Registered Social Worker with Social Work England.
- Ensure compliance with legislation, national minimum standards, and associated safeguarding regulations.
The Role
Service Managers are responsible for:
- Developing, supporting, and monitoring the professional capabilities of social workers and lead professionals at a strategic level.
- Championing specialist practice expertise within the organisation.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading the day-to-day delivery of statutory and non-statutory children’s social care and Family Help services.
- Ensuring safeguarding, support, and positive outcomes for children through timely, proportionate, and well-informed decisions at critical stages (referral, assessment, escalation, and closure).
- Driving continuous improvement via audit, performance data, learning, and reflective practice.
- Championing relationship-based, trauma-informed, and strengths-based approaches, including responses to adolescent risk and extra-familial harm.
- Strengthening multi-agency collaboration with police, health, education, and voluntary/community partners.
- Contributing to children’s social care reform, strengthening Family Help, and early intervention aligned with national expectations.
- Involvement in service planning, workforce development, budget management, and inspection readiness.
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This is a public-facing role subject to:
- Statutory English language requirements.
- An enhanced criminal record disclosure check.
Working Pattern
- 37-hour working week, Monday to Friday.
- Flexible working options available (e.g., compressed hours, term-time-only, hybrid work arrangements).
What You’ll Need to Succeed
We seek an experienced and values-driven social work leader with:
- ** Recognition by Social Work England**
- A registered social work qualification.
- Significant post-qualification experience in children’s social care.
- Leadership experience:
- Strong commitment to relationship-based practice, social justice, and ED&I (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion).
- A focus on staff wellbeing and workforce development.
- Proven Team/Service Manager experience with responsibility for statutory services.
- Strong track record of leading teams, improving performance, and enhancing practice standards.
- Subject-matter expertise:
- In-depth knowledge of children’s legislation, statutory guidance, and safeguarding frameworks.
- Experience in multi-agency collaboration and partnership leadership.
- Leadership qualities:
- Confidence in leading change, managing risk, and making sound professional judgments.
- Ability to inspire teams to deliver best possible outcomes for children and families.
Why Join Us?
Cornwall Council offers:
- A commitment to being an employer of choice with high performance standards.
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance while ensuring service delivery.
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Core Employee Rewards & Benefits Include:
- A competitive salary.
- Access to a defined benefit pension scheme (with optional extra voluntary contributions).
- Generous annual leave entitlement (with potential for additional leave purchases).
- Award-winning employee health and wellbeing programmes.
- Benefits scheme with access to discounts on local/national goods and services.
Additional Information
- Cornwall Council does not offer visa sponsorship or transfers existing sponsorship for this role.
- Refer to the full role profile for detailed expectations (including references current advert).
- Existing employees must apply via the Cornwall Council Opportunity Marketplace (Oracle) using their university email.
Application Process
Submit an application with:
- A supporting statement (or upload a CV).
- Use the application form or attach documentation demonstrating suitability against marked ‘Application’ points in the Role Profile.
- Examples from experience (work or personal) that illustrate responses to each criterion.
Note: Applications cannot be edited after submission. For queries, contact careers@cornwall.gov.uk.
About Cornwall Council
We serve over half a million locals and five million annual visitors, delivering essential services.
Core values:
- Flexibility: Supported via formal flexible work opportunities (e.g., part-time, hybrid).
- Inclusivity: Commitment to a diverse, equitable, and disability-confident workforce.
- Safeguarding: Prioritising the safety and wellbeing of children, young adults, and at-risk groups—a safer workplace expectation.
For further details or an informal discussion, contact: *Note: [Hiring Manager to provide direct contact redress.]
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