Team Manager -Post Adoption and Special Guardianship Order Support

An exciting opportunity has arisen for the role of Post Adoption and SGO Support Team Manager with Northamptonshire Children’s Trust Voluntary Adoption Agency.

As the team manager, you will be responsible for managing both the Post Adoption Order and SGO support team within the Adoption Agency to develop and deliver high quality support to children, young people and their families subject to an adoption or special guardianship order in line with the appropriate regulatory and legal frameworks, building on the progress already made in achieving the Ofsted judgement of GOOD in January 2021.

You will be pivotal in maintaining collaborative working relationships with colleagues within the Children’s Trust, Family Adoption Links Regional Adoption Alliance and partner agencies to ensure that services are developed and delivered to meet the needs of families within the context of the modernising adoption agenda and the Kinship Strategy.

You will be joining a highly motivated and skilled team of practitioners and managers who aspire to deliver outstanding support to families and to developing and delivering services in line with learning from research, feedback and best practice models.

We welcome the opportunity to speak to any interested candidates so please feel free to email: Marie.Strydom@nctrust.co.uk and they can agree a mutually agreeable time to call you

Interviews are planned for 25th November

We are committed to continuous improvement, building a skilled, knowledgeable, and flexible workforce alongside promoting innovation and creativity whilst keeping children, young people and families at the heart of all we do.

We really value our workforce and offer you a great benefits package including:

• SWE Registration paid yearly
• Recruitment Welcome Bonus of £2,200
• Relocation costs of up to £8,000
• 28 days annual leave, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time) and an additional 5 days, after 5 years
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
• Opportunity to purchase up to 25 days annual leave
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Flexible and family working arrangements including enhanced maternity benefits
• A permanent, supportive and inclusive management team where you will be empowered to make good professional decisions
• Extensive Learning & Development and career development opportunities
• Subsidised town centre car parking scheme

As a team manager, you will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day delivery of the work of the post approval support team.

You will be providing line management supervision and support to practice managers social workers and family support workers within the team to ensure the promotion of high quality, responsive and evidenced based interventions for children, young people and their families.

You will maintain an oversight of practice standards and compliance using case auditing and monitoring of service KPI’s and work collaboratively with the service manager to develop and improve practice in line with the service plan.

You will work with the service manager to review and develop practice and policy in line with changes to regulation and legislation and in response to local and national developments including learning from research.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about developing and delivering high quality services for Children, Young People, and their Families. Northamptonshire Children’s Trust have a Relational Practice Approach and the pillars that empower best practice include Trauma Informed Approach, Systemic Practice and Signs of Safety. Post qualification and training in related methodologies and tools will be beneficial. You will have a creative and flexible approach that will support the service as we move forward.

You will have experience of supporting staff and stakeholders through change and have a commitment to maintaining a culture in which staff, children and families feel supported and are involved in practice development.

We are looking for someone who can develop and maintain respectful, collaborative working relationships with key stakeholders.

You will have had previous experience of working and managing within a social care setting including within adoption services and as such a working knowledge of the Adoption Regulations, NMS and the legislative framework within which Adoption services operate. Experience as ASA and the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) claims and measuring outcomes.

Previous experience of working within a VAA alongside a Children’s Trust would be beneficial but is not essential.

You will be a qualified social worker registered with Social Work England

At Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, children, young people and families are at the heart of all we do – in every decision we make and every action we take. Our mission is driven by the unwavering commitment to achieving the best outcomes for them. The Trust is wholly owned and funded but operationally independent from the Councils.

Our workforce are our most valuable asset and are pivotal to making the services and support we offer to children, young people and families who need us to be the absolute best we can be.

We value our colleagues and empower them to be able to do the best job of their lives every single day, working in a culture of support and kindness where achievements are celebrated and creativity is very much welcomed.

At NCT equality, diversity and inclusion are part of us and in everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and thrive in our organisation.  We are a disability confident employer and have a commitment to care leavers who we guarantee an interview if they meet the essential criteria.

Join our dedicated team and be a part of an organisation where your work makes a real difference.