Assistant Team Manager - Assessment Team
Please apply online via the link provided.
Please note, we do not accept CVs submitted without a fully completed online application form.
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Children's Social Care Assistant Team Manager or an experienced Advanced Practitioner with existing management and supervisory experience, to join our duty and assessment team.
To learn more about what it is like to work with us, take a look at our workforce video.
About you...
You will have significant post-qualifying experience in statutory work with children and families, which includes child protection and a strong understanding of assessment, planning and intervention to ensure the right plans are in place and needs lead services and interventions are provided for children and families.
You will be a natural leader with the ability to build effective relationships, demonstrate strong analytical skills, and work collaboratively as part of a management team.
You will deputise when required for the Team Manager and work closely alongside them to deliver our vision and strategic values. You will have direct responsibility for social workers, including newly qualified social workers, students and support staff. You will support the Team Manager to drive performance and will know what good practice looks like.
In Bracknell Forest we are committed to making sure that children receive the right support at the right time.
If you can demonstrate your own passion and drive to improving outcomes for children and to support families to stay together and would like to be part of a hard-working, supportive and friendly children’s management team, we look forward to receiving your application.
About the team…
We are Ofsted rated ‘Outstanding,’ with Ofsted recognising that at Bracknell Forest Council, “Children who need help and protection in Bracknell Forest receive a consistently high-quality service”.
Inspectors concluded that social workers and other frontline practitioners benefit from manageable caseloads, good training and powerful and highly reflective supervision that ensures children are at the heart of decision making.
Bracknell Forest Council have an embedded nationally recognised practice model – the ‘Family Safeguarding Model’. Our model and our work are dynamic and impactful.
The Assessment Team acts as the front door for Children’s Social Care and carries out assessment and short-term work. Working alongside and directly with children, young people, and their families. Our ‘front door’ colleagues know good beginnings and have a better chance of making good endings.
The team predominantly undertakes child in need assessments (Single Assessments) and child protection assessments (Section 47’s) using a range of child and adult tools to enhance our analyses, to measure change and to problem solve and design and plan short, medium and long-term interventions. The team is fast paced, the work is immensely rich and varies day to day.
We are a small, welcoming, and friendly local authority. We are proud of our connected and inclusive culture, with a strong focus on wellbeing, which provides our workforce with a strong sense of belonging.
Our leadership team is visible, available and approachable.
Everything we do in Children’s Social Care is about improving the life chances of Bracknell’s children, put simply, we change lives for the better.
You can read what our team have to say about working at Bracknell Forest via this link: Children's social care jobs | Bracknell Forest Council
Because we’re Bracknell Forest.
Key responsibilities…
- To support the Team Manager with managing a team of staff, including recruitment/retention, induction, training and development, performance support and management, disciplinary/capability and succession planning.
- Providing high quality, reflective supervision (in line with the supervision policy) including providing feedback and analysis of performance.
- To lead on Strategy Discussions, Child in Need meetings, professional meetings and other forums, working together with partner agencies to conclude with safe and proportionate threshold decision and planning.
- To promote listening to children and young people at every opportunity, ensuring their views are heard, recorded and acted upon in an appropriate and timely manner.
- To actively engage with parents and carers so that their views contribute to service improvement. Including responding to complaints and feedback.
Our benefits…
- 28 days* annual leave increasing to 33 days* after 3 years’ continuous service.
- The opportunity to buy up to 10 additional days* annual leave per year and sell 5 days.
- Hybrid working opportunities to support your wellbeing and work-life balance.
- Electric vehicle salary sacrifice for an electric car at a fixed monthly cost (subject to eligibility).
- An inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff networks.
- Local government pension scheme.
- Life insurance cover (linked to the pension scheme)
- Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and fostering leave.
- Recognition of continuous service attained within the NHS and UKHSA when calculating some benefits such as annual leave entitlements, occupational maternity/paternity leave, and more. (Terms and Conditions apply – please refer to candidate pack for more information.)
- Career development through internal and external training opportunities.
- A great office location next to travel links and Bracknell Forest’s thriving town centre.
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support your health and wellbeing.
- Sports and Social Club.
- Staff dental and health plans.
- Discounted leisure centre and gym membership.
- Supermarket discount.
Our values
At Bracknell Forest Council our values define who we are and what is important to us. Our core values are inclusive, ambitious, and always learning. These values influence the way we work with each other and the way we serve our residents and engage with our communities. We make our values real by demonstrating them in how we behave every day. If you are excited about joining a diverse team that celebrates learning and strives for excellence, we would love to hear from you.
Reasonable adjustments
We are committed to ensuring an inclusive recruitment process for all applicants. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview, please let us know by contacting recruitment@bracknell-forest.gov.uk. We will work with you to support you throughout the process.
Interview date
Interviews will be held on Tuesday 12th August.
Interviews will be conducted in person, providing candidates with the chance to personally meet the team and experience our work environment.
We will be reviewing applications regularly and reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible.
Please note AI is prohibited during the interview, any candidate using AI will be withdrawn from consideration.
Want to ask us a question?
For an informal discussion or to ask any questions about this role, please contact:
Donna Barber
Team Manager
Donna.barber@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
At Bracknell Forest we champion equality, diversity and inclusion. At Bracknell Forest Council, we are always learning, ambitious and inclusive. Please see our candidate pack for more details.
Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect everyone employed with us to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check as part of our pre-employment checks process.
Candidates should be able to demonstrate experience of working within the current Social Care System and Framework.
Social Work England registration fees can be claimed back from the council.
We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK.
Candidates currently residing in the UK who require sponsorship to work are encouraged to assess their eligibility for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) based on the relevant criteria. Please be aware that sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.
No agencies please.
Salary range
- £56,657 - £59,808 per year