Group Manager - Children Looked After

We are recruiting for a Group Manager, Children Looked After

Division: Supporting Families

Service: Children Looked After & Throughcare

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 35 hours per week

Salary: £62,742 – £66,084 (Grade M) + £5,020 retention allowance + Zones 2–3 travel allowance

Location: Tower Hamlets Town Hall, Whitechapel

Please Note: You will be expected to be office‑based at least 3 days per week.

We are not accepting agency applications for this role.

About the Role

Tower Hamlets is ambitious for its children, and we are proud of the strong outcomes achieved across our Children Looked After (CLA) service. Our November 2024 Ofsted ILACS, where we were judged to be Outstanding overall, highlighted:

• Timely and needs‑based entry into care
• Robust family group conferencing and kinship planning
• High‑quality assessments with clear contingency planning
• Stable, nurturing placements that prioritise sibling relationships
• Excellent Lifelong Links practice
• Skilled, creative social work celebrated by children and families
• Powerful participation through the Children Living in Care Council
• Effective multi‑agency safeguarding
• Rapid access to emotional wellbeing and health support
• A highly aspirational virtual school offer
• Meaningful enrichment opportunities
• Timely permanence and adoption planning
• Safe, thoughtful family and friend time
• Strong foster carer recruitment, training, and support

But our ambitions are even higher. We want to further strengthen:

• The clarity and consistency of case recording
• Children’s understanding of their rights
• Visit frequency and purposefulness based on need
• The quality and recording of reflective supervision

As Group Manager for Children Looked After (aged 0–16), you will lead four CLA teams, supervising Team Managers and working closely with the Head of Service and the Group Manager for Throughcare and helping to ensure that collectively, we are the best corporate parent possible for the children we care for and care experienced young people. You will play a key role in delivering the Families First for Children reforms, our commitments as corporate parents, and a range of cross‑cutting developments.

Our Restorative Practice Ethos – Better Together

Tower Hamlets is embedding a strong, relational, and restorative culture across all children’s services. Our Better Together approach is about:

• Working with, not doing to families, carers, and partners
• Promoting meaningful participation and strengthening family networks
• Focusing on relationships that build safety, resilience, and belonging
• Prioritising dignity, respect, curiosity, and collaboration
• Ensuring children’s voices shape decisions and care plans
• Embedding anti‑racist and anti‑discriminatory practice in everything we do

As Group Manager, you will champion this ethos—supporting managers and practitioners to use restorative language, tools, and approaches to achieve the best outcomes for our children.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strong, values‑led leadership to CLA Team Managers
• Drive high‑quality practice, consistent standards, and reflective supervision
• Ensure children’s voices, rights, wishes, and feelings remain central
• Lead on care planning, safeguarding, placement stability, and permanence
• Oversee quality assurance, audits, and service improvement activity
• Manage budgets effectively and contribute to strategic planning
• Strengthen multi‑agency relationships and corporate parenting ambitions
• Support workforce development and restorative leadership across the service
• Contribute to the development and implementation of the Families First for Children programme

About You

You will bring:

• A recognised social work qualification and full, unrestricted registration with Social Work England
• Substantial management and leadership experience in children’s social care
• Advanced knowledge of CLA legislation, practice, and policy
• A collaborative, relational, and restorative leadership approach
• Strong practice oversight, analytical, and quality assurance skills
• Commitment to anti‑racist, anti‑oppressive, and trauma‑informed practice
• Confidence in leading teams through change and improvement

We recognise that the use of AI tools is increasingly common. However, for this opportunity, we want to hear your authentic voice - your passion, insight, leadership approach, and personal commitment - so please ensure your expression of interest represents you, not a generated template.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary, retention allowance, and travel support
• Up to 29 days annual leave (33 after 5 years) plus bank holidays
• Access to leadership development and accredited training
• A supportive, reflective, and ambitious senior management team
• Manageable caseloads for your teams and quality supervision
• Employee benefits including cycle to work, discounted gym membership, and wellbeing support

Our Benefits

• Competitive salary plus allowances.

• Local Government Pension Scheme membership.

• Generous annual leave: 29 days, rising to 33 with 5+ years’ service, plus bank holidays and 3 additional days at Christmas.

• Flexible and agile working to support work–life balance.

• Staff money-saving schemes (e.g., rent deposit loans, season ticket loans).

• Learning and development opportunities through our Learning Academy, with clear career development and leadership pathways.

How to Apply

As part of your application, please submit a maximum 2‑page expression of interest, demonstrating how you meet the JD/PS and the role profile.

Due to the volume of applications we receive, we encourage early submission of your application if interested, as the role may close earlier than indicated.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact: Leo Major, Head of Service, by email: leo.major@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Closing date: Sunday 15 February 2026 at 11.59pm
Shortlisting: week commencing 16 February 2026
Interviews: 2 March 2026

Benefits

Tower Hamlets is a truly unique borough at the heart of London – a place where history and innovation sit side by side. From the docks and markets that shaped the East End to the global business hub of Canary Wharf, we are proud to be one of the most dynamic, diverse, and ambitious communities in the UK. We are also one of the fastest growing and youngest boroughs in the country, offering unrivalled opportunities to make a real difference to people’s lives. Our residents are energetic, creative, and resilient, and our council is committed to delivering the best possible services and opportunities for them.

Our award-winning new Town Hall in Whitechapel provides a modern, flexible workplace for our staff, right at the heart of the borough and directly opposite Whitechapel Tube and Elizabeth line station. It is more than just a workplace – it’s a hub for collaboration, innovation and community, designed to bring out the best in our people.

As an employer, we put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of everything we do. Our active Employee Network Groups celebrate and champion our workforce, helping to ensure that everyone feels a sense of belonging. Guided by our TOWER values – Together, Open, Willing, Excellent and Respect – we are building a positive, inclusive culture where colleagues can thrive.

At Tower Hamlets Council, you’ll find exciting challenges, supportive colleagues, and the chance to shape one of London’s most important and vibrant places. If you’re looking for a role where you can see the impact of your work every day, then Tower Hamlets is the place for you.