Participation Team Manager (West)

Job Title: Participation Team Manager (West)
Starting Salary: £55,582 progressing to £61,460 per annum
Hours: 37
Base Location: Apsley, Hemel Hempstead / hybrid working with the expectation that you will travel around the county and attend service meetings/events.
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Childrens Services

About the team

Are you passionate about ensuring children and young people influence the services designed to support them? Do you want the opportunity to shape a brand-new service whilst leading a high-performing and innovative team?

Hertfordshire Children's Services is seeking an ambitious and inspirational Team Manager to lead our Participation Team in the western half of the county. This is a unique opportunity to build upon the fantastic work already being delivered by our established Participation Team in the east of Hertfordshire, whilst helping to develop and embed our newly created Missing Episode Service.

Our Participation Teams ensure the voices of children, young people and families are at the heart of everything we do. Working alongside young people in care, care leavers, children receiving support through Child in Need, Child Protection and Family Help services, we create meaningful opportunities for children and families to influence practice, service development and strategic decision making across the local authority.

Alongside our participation work, we are investing in a dedicated Missing Episode Service, placing young people's experiences, safety and wellbeing at the centre of our approach. This role will be instrumental in shaping how the service develops, creating effective partnerships, influencing strategy and ensuring young people who experience missing episodes receive the highest quality support.

You will lead a skilled and passionate team of Participation Workers, whilst working closely with your counterpart in the eastern team to deliver a consistent countywide offer. This is an exciting time to join us, with genuine opportunities to influence future service design and leave a lasting legacy for Hertfordshire's children and young people

About the role

As Team Manager, you will provide leadership, direction and inspiration to a dedicated participation workforce, ensuring children and young people's voices directly influence practice, policy and service development.

Key Responsibilities will see you:

• Lead and develop a motivated team delivering high-quality participation and engagement activities across the county.
• Drive the development and implementation of our new Missing Episode Service, helping to shape its vision, model and impact.
• Ensure effective delivery of return home discussions for young people who go missing, helping identify risks, reduce repeat episodes and improve outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with senior leaders, social care teams, family help services, education, police and partner agencies to influence strategic and operational decision making.
• Use data, feedback and lived experience to identify trends, inform improvement activity and champion the voice of children and families.
• Develop innovative participation opportunities, projects and campaigns that empower children and young people to influence services.
• Represent Hertfordshire locally, regionally and nationally, ensuring young people's views contribute to wider developments in children's services.

This is a role for someone who enjoys both strategic leadership and operational delivery, who can inspire others and who is passionate about creating meaningful change for children and young people.

We're looking for a confident, creative and values-driven leader who can build relationships, inspire teams and maintain a relentless focus on improving outcomes for children and families.

About you

Essential

• Significant experience of working within children's social care or related statutory services.
• Experience of successfully managing, supervising or leading teams.
• Strong understanding of the needs of children and young people, including those who experience missing episodes, exploitation or other vulnerabilities.
• Ability to develop effective partnerships across organisations and influence change through collaboration.
• Experience of analysing information, interpreting feedback and using evidence to improve services.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage audiences ranging from young people to senior leaders.
• Ability to manage competing priorities whilst maintaining a focus on quality and performance.
• Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes.

Desirable

• Experience of participation, engagement or co-production work with children, young people and families.
• Knowledge of contextual safeguarding, exploitation and missing children frameworks.
• Experience of service development, project management or leading change initiatives.
• Experience of presenting reports and influencing strategic decision making.

This is far more than a management role. It is an opportunity to help shape the future of participation and missing episode services within Hertfordshire.

You'll join an ambitious and supportive leadership team, lead passionate staff who are committed to making a difference, and work directly with children and young people whose experiences help shape the future of services.

If you are looking for a role where you can influence strategy, develop innovative services, champion the voices of children and young people and leave a lasting legacy, we'd love to hear from you.

Together, we can ensure every child's voice is heard, valued and acted upon.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is Level 13. Please locate the job profile here: Job profiles - Health and social care

To hear more about this opportunity please contact Lauren Penrose (lauren.penrose@hertfordshire.gov.uk) for an informal discussion about the role.

Interview Date: 3rd November - Face to Face (Stevenage offices). Due to a Young Person Panel compromising part of the recruitment process, this date is not flexible.

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Additional information

We are changing
Hertfordshire County Councilis undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.

LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Driving required
You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.