Team Manager - Permanence

We are pleased to have an opportunity for Team Managers and aspiring Team Managers to join us at an exciting time in our Permanence Team in Dorset. You will play a central role in leading excellent practice, supporting confident and restorative social work, and making a lasting difference for children supporting children in care achieve stability and long-term security.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join our committed Permanence Team, where we work with children from the conclusion of care proceedings through their time in care, building lasting relationships and helping them reach their full potential. We work closely with fostering services, commissioning teams, the Virtual School, and the Children in Care Health Team to ensure every child has the support they need to thrive.

If you are a reflective, values driven leader who is passionate supporting and working with children, forming key relationships with practice grounded in high support, high challenge, we would love to hear from you. Join us in building a system where children can thrive, practitioners are valued, and strong relationships are at the heart of everything we do. 

We’re proud that DorAset Council is a rated Outstanding authority by Ofsted for our work with children, young people and families. This reflects our strong commitment to high quality, child centred practice and the positive culture we’ve built across our services. 

 A culture of development 

We take professional development seriously and have an extensive training offer, including motivational interviewing, restorative practice and strengths-based approaches. We also have a commitment to leadership training and have a leadership pathway for our managers to access.  

What you will be doing 

We are looking to recruit experienced, dynamic, energetic and strengths-based Team Managers and aspiring Team Managers to lead and manage work with our children promoting a strengths-based and restorative approach. The successful applicant will have experience of managing Social Workers, Social Work Students and/or Family workers with experience of reflective supervision.

You will bring proven experience in supervision, mentoring, and leading others, along with a track record of delivering excellent outcomes in complex children’s social care journeys. A collaborative approach, strong communication skills, and the ability to work in partnership with professionals and families are essential.

About you: 

• You will be an experienced leader and supervisor with experience of managing/supervising staff and performance.  
• You will be strengths-based with excellent communication skills. Your communication style should be restorative demonstrating your ability to offer high support and high challenge. 
• You will have experience in interpreting data and using this to drive performance and practice development.  
• You have significant skills in building and maintaining relationships and commitment to multi agency working.

See Person Specification for qualifications, experience and skills.

For an informal discussion, please contact: Sonia.Vitale-Richardson on [email protected]

This post requires significant travel. You must have a vehicle (or transport we deem suitable) available for use as needed. 

This post involves working with children and/or vulnerable adults and/or having access to significant information about them. It will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. See our policy on the employment of ex-offenders. 

At Dorset Council, it's not just about the work we do, it's about how we do it. Hear directly from our employees about what makes Dorset Council special in this short video:

At Dorset Council, we are working together to create a fairer, more prosperous, and more sustainable Dorset for everyone, now and in the future.

We:

• provide essential services that support over 300,000 residents
• work in partnership to make a real difference
• value every role and the impact it has on our communities
• support our employees to grow, develop, and thrive

You will:

• be part of a team that works together for a better Dorset
• have access to a range of benefits and support
• receive training and development opportunities to help your career progress

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation where different skills, perspectives, and backgrounds strengthen both our council and the communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. If you declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role, we will offer you an interview. We also want our recruitment process to be accessible, if you need any reasonable adjustments, just let us know on your application.

This role is UK-based, and we will need to confirm your Right to Work as part of the appointment process. We use generic job descriptions and person specifications, so the job title in any attachments may differ from the advert. If needed, we will provide additional details in a context statement.

If you’re passionate about making a difference, we’d love you to join us.

Find out more about how to apply.