Job title: Service Delivery Manager – Kinship Social Care

Salary: £58,605 - £64,262

Hours: 37

Contract: Permanent

Location: Leeds

As a Service Delivery Manager Kinship Social Care, you’ll be ambitious, compassionate and driven, ensuring the quality of our kinship care services is excellent and that children being cared for by family members, friends or under Special Guardianship Orders receive the right support and the best possible outcomes.

It’s about more than meeting statutory service standards. You’ll want to support your teams to exceed those standards and continually improve the service we deliver to young people in our care, ensuring they have a voice and are listened to.

You’ll draw on your excellent leadership skills to develop a consistent, outstanding service with the highest standards of safeguarding and care for young people, while ensuring your work is aligned to and directly contributing to our Best City Ambition and Children and Young People's Plan.

We are committed to the ambition of Child Friendly Leeds. We want Leeds to be a city where all children are safe, happy and healthy, do well at school, fulfil their potential and grow up to be active citizens with voice and influence.

About you

You’ll bring to the role:

• A qualification in Social Work and current registration with Social Work England
• Strong leadership skills and a commitment to leading teams that deliver outstanding outcomes for children
• Experience of working within a multi-agency environment and forging and driving successful partnerships
• Innovation, drive and a clear passion for improving the lives of the city’s most vulnerable young people
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills with the ability to influence, negotiate and establish credibility with colleagues, partners, young people and other stakeholders

About the role

As our Service Delivery Manager for Kinship Social Care, you’ll be integral to our Corporate Parenting team, using your senior leadership experience to develop and maintain a high performing workforce of Kinship Team Managers and their direct reports.

You will provide a key local leadership role for Kinship care including Special Guardianship Orders, ensuring the effective delivery of a high standard of practice centred on the needs of children and young people and ensuring our statutory duties and responsibilities are being met.

You will consistently drive service improvement, ensuring the service works effectively, innovatively and collaboratively, building strong and dynamic local relationships and networks and building trust with partners. You’ll also promote new and innovative family led and restorative approaches that empower families and communities.

We have other Service Delivery Manager positions available to apply for alongside this role. You can view the adverts on our job site to find out more.

What we offer you

We pride ourselves on offering the best employee experience, with a genuine commitment to keeping our colleagues safe and well at work. We offer:

• a competitive pay progression structure
• membership of West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
• flexible career paths with tailored personal and professional development
• hybrid working arrangements and a flexitime system (subject to needs of the role).
• a range of staff benefits to support you, your home and family, boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Please complete the online application form.

Closing date 23:59 Sunday 30^th March 2025

Assessment and Interviews 7^th and 8^th April 2025

Read our guidance for further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application.

For more information or to arrange a discussion about the role, please contact Ben Finley, Chief Officer for Corporate Parenting, on 07715 044858 or at ben.finley@leeds.gov.uk. 

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds. Leeds City Council is recognised in Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index 2024. We are also an Age-friendly Employer, a Mindful Employer and a Disability Confident Leader.

All new Leeds City Council appointments are made subject to the satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, candidates must consider their own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the 'standard' salary rate of at least £38,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. For more information visit Skilled Worker visa on the government website. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose Working as part of the leadership team you will model values and behaviours to help to achieve our ambition to become the best city council in the country, and aspiration shared across our partners to become the first child friendly city. You will deliver your own core statutory responsibilities and work with and support your colleagues in delivering our collective responsibilities of keeping all children safe.

You will support the active involvement of children and young people and families in how Children’s Services are delivered and how they contribute to the ambitions of the Council as set out in the City Plan for Leeds, ensuring that children and young people have a voice and their views are heard.

Specifically you will provide a key local leadership role for discrete teams of professional Children and Families staff within a designated area to ensure the effective delivery of a high standard of practice centred on the needs of children and young people which ensures that statutory duties and responsibilities of the Local Authority are being met. You will lead and drive on service improvement which ensures that the service works effectively, innovatively and collaboratively across the wider service and its partners.

In addition to these specific and operational responsibilities, this role will provide leadership across the social work service and the wider city to promote more restorative approaches to practice, policy and decision-making that empower families, nurture better relationships and find safe and successful alternatives to state intervention.

Responsibilities 

• Support delivery of programmes of strategic significance to the Council to deliver services in line with Council priorities.
• Responsible for the development and delivery of the service plan and drive continuous improvement initiatives through leading and contributing to cross Council projects.
• Promote new and innovative family led and restorative approaches that empower families and communities
• Develop the role of the teams to facilitate the directorate’s multi-agency approach centred around the needs of children and young people throughout the city especially those who are most vulnerable.
• Effectively lead and direct teams within prescribed political and governance processes
• Ensure the effective and timely communication of key messages to the team
• Deliver better outcomes against professional standards within a context of resource availability
• Provide direction and support and set clear objectives to immediate line reports
• Foster and develop a climate of shared accountabilities, learning and continuous improvement
• Effectively sustain a culture that consistently meets the needs of and engages with, children, families, and staff to meet the business needs of the directorate.
• To be a champion of Leeds aspiration and ambition to become a child friendly city.
• Deputise when required for the Head of Service and represent on all matters relating to the leadership, management and development of the service at a local and city wide level.
• Ensure the effective management and implementation of robust performance management processes to ensure the delivery of outcomes within an evidence based model.
• Ensure the management and implementation of regular formal quality assurance, audit and performance management and reporting through the use of effective management information systems and ensure this meets statutory requirements
• To make a significant contribution in the directorates goal to deliver ‘good’ or equivalent outcomes from external inspections, reviews and assessments
• To lead the development and implementation of local service plans as part of the overall directorate, corporate and partnership framework
• Positively and effectively, lead ,shape and influence the team to deliver the vision and goals of the Children’s and Young Peoples Plan
• Ensure that teams work collaboratively and effectively within local partnership arrangements
• Build strong and dynamic local relationships and networks and build trust with individuals and partner agencies to deliver better outcomes for all children and young people particularly those who are vulnerable and have the most complex needs
• To lead effective multi agency locality based relationships which underpin safe and effective services for children in Leeds
• Ensure all aspects of people management within the service, creating an organisational climate of high performance, shared accountabilities, learning and continuous improvement which meets the needs of, and engages with, children, families, communities and staff ensuring that excellent people management practices are embedded throughout the service
• Lead day to day service delivery and the continuous development and improvement of specified provider services in accordance with agreed targets and objectives included in council and service plans
• Lead on Safeguarding including Safer recruitment, the requirements of Children Act 1989 & 2004, Working Together 2010 and any subsequent legal version updates to ensure a child friendly and child focused approach.
• Lead and manage, both organisationally and professionally, the delivery of all services in specified service areas, which may be defined functionally and or geographically
• Deliver partnership working through integrated practice for effective service delivery, ensuring compliance with joint protocols and provide specialist advice as appropriate to partner agencies and integrated services
• Develop and promote services and practice improvements which are designed to mitigate risk and provide qualitative improvement to the outcomes for children
• In line with the Budget Management Accountability Framework to be responsible and accountable for all financial resources within the service area ensuring value for money and working within financial regulations
• Review and monitor the performance of services, systems, budget, teams and individuals against standards and agreed outcomes in a cost effective and flexible way that is responsive to a dynamic local, political and national context
• The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate to the grade.

Qualifications Appropriate professional qualification (DipSW, Degree, CQSW or equivalent).  You should be registered with Social Work England upon commencement of the post and maintain registration.

Working Context - Post holders will work flexibly both at home and at various locations across the City and region. All colleagues should work in line with our hybrid working principles and spend regular time in the workplace to support service delivery, meeting the needs of the team and the requirements of their individual role.  The hours are worked mainly Monday to Friday. However, the post holder will be expected to work outside normal working hours, including attendance at evening/weekend meetings or events if required to meet the needs of the service.

Essential requirements Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential requirements.

• Diploma in Social Work or equivalent.
• Experience of working within a multi-agency environment and forging and driving successful partnerships.
• Experience of having lead and managed professional teams leading to successful outcomes for children.
• Experience of leading, managing, supporting and developing individuals and teams, promoting a ‘can do’ attitude and an environment of continuous improvement.
• Demonstrate an understanding of relevant inspection regimes and evaluation frameworks, and experience of delivering successful outcomes.
• Knowledge of local issues impacting upon the service and demonstrate associated linkages with the needs of children and young people in the locality.
• Ability to find and implement creative and innovative solutions to complex problems.
• Demonstrate an ability to make difficult decisions, to be held accountable, and be comfortable managing targets and outputs.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence, negotiate and establish credibility for the team, enhance its reputation, and to form positive relationships.
• Ability to employ a range of leadership styles which focus on achieving results in terms of outcomes for children and young people.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the Child Friendly City concept and the voice and influence of children and young people to underpin this.
• Knowledge of restorative practice approaches within the context of services to children, young people and families.
• Understanding/knowledge of using results based accountability methodology to drive service improvement.
• Able to demonstrate examples of managing services and achieving quality transformational outcomes.
• Able to manage competing priorities, ensuring delivery on a range of programmes and adapting to changing circumstances.
• Knowledge of applicable, legislation, regulations, policies, inspections and performance information
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of economic strategy and policy, understanding of local government political systems and experience of working on politically sensitive issues.
• Experience of senior leadership and management relevant to area of service delivery
• Experience of strategic and operational resource management including the evaluation of competing priorities and managing accountabilities
• Significant experience of leading change programmes, driving up standards and performance
• Significant experience and commitment in relation to engagement in decision making processes
• Significant experience of developing productive working relationships with Council Members, trade unions and Corporate Leadership Team

Behavioural & other Characteristics required.

• Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
• Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
• Be aware of promote and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures e.g., health, safety and security, confidentiality, and data protection.
• Be aware of and support difference ensuring equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, and promoting the behaviours, values and standards of Leeds City Council.
• Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures.
• Understand and observe Leeds City Council approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.