Assistant Team Manager OCC616211

Job details

Salary range: £47,420 - £50,512 pro-rata, per annum (actual salary £23,710 - £25,256 per annum) 

Work location: Ron Groves House, Kidlington 

Hours per week: 18.5 - we are open to discussions about flexible working  

Contract type: Temporary until July 2025 

Vetting requirements: This role is subject to a criminal records check 

Closing date: Monday 27th May 2024

Interview date: To be confirmed

About us

Working together to help Children, young people, and families to thrive. 

Join Oxfordshire County Council on an exciting journey towards Delivering the Future Together, our ambitious transformation programme which will enable us to be an employer, partner, and place shaper of choice.  We’re seeking the right people who can help us get there while embracing our value of ‘daring to do it differently’, as we continue to strive to do better.   

In our Children, Education, & Families Directorate, we do our very best to help children, young people, and families to thrive. We know the importance of building relationships, empowering people, and building on strengths and this is reflected in our restorative, relational practice approach.  

We’ve been consistently rated as “good” by Ofsted, but we are not content with that; we are ambitious and want to do even better! Oxfordshire County Council is a financially stable local authority which is committed to investing in Children, Education, and Families, to ensure that we have the resources we need to make a real difference to the families we work with.   

About the role and the team

Working with children and families is more than just a job – its your chance to make a real difference and help shape the lives of future generations in Oxfordshire.   

We have an exciting, fixed term/secondment opportunity within the Countywide Fostering Recruitment Team for an Assistant Team Manager until July 2025. The Recruitment Team have responsibility for assessing, training, supporting, and promoting the role of foster carers in Oxfordshire. This post-holder will:  

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• contribute to the management of the Fostering Recruitment Team.  
• take lead responsibility for identified areas of service delivery and development, to include (but not limited to) Regionalisation and Skills to Foster.  
• have line management and supervision responsibility for social workers and unqualified staff  
• be available to provide information, advice, guidance and support to other colleagues.  
• Conduct monthly group reflective supervisions, individual supervisions, and mentorship to build and maintain a strong, engaged and stable team.  
• Support with Oxfordshire’s involvement in the South-East Regionalisation recruitment programme, which will soon be going live.   
• Collaborate with our Service Manager in the continual development, delivery, and review of services for foster carers, children and young people.   
• Supports the team with events and training which will involve some out of hours working.  
• Undertakes audits in line with the service’s quality monitoring requirements and establishing mechanisms, for the collection of a range of information and/or data on the team and its performance, including its analysis, interpretation, processing and presentation.   

About you

We would like to hear from you if you are…  

• Kind and caring, with an understanding of and respect for individuals’ qualities, abilities, and diverse backgrounds.   
• Advocating for equality and integrity in all you do.  
• Always learning, with a passion to grow and develop your skills.  
• Willing to take responsibility and contribute to the delivery of Oxfordshire County Council’s vision.    
• Driven to do it differently to embark on a journey of continuous improvement.  

You will have a sound understanding of fostering, safeguarding, and child development. You will be an experienced social work practitioner with the ability to work effectively in a team. You will care about the quality of foster care provided to Oxfordshire's most vulnerable children and be motivated and committed to providing high quality support, supervision, assessment and service delivery to the Fostering Service.  

To be considered for this opportunity you will have a professional Social Work Qualification or equivalent.   

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You will also have:  

• Experience of direct work with children, young people, foster carers, and the community  
• Experience of carrying out assessments of foster carers   
• Knowledge of legislation, standards and regulations relating to fostering  
• Experience of supervision  
• Experience of providing support to young people and colleagues in relation to a range of sensitive and complex issues  
• Experience of delivering programmes and training.   
• The role is based in our Kidlington office, and you would be working alongside a supportive team who are passionate about recruiting the right foster carers for our Oxfordshire children.   

Rewards and benefits

• Competitive salary from £47,420 - £50,512 pro rata per annum  
• Annual leave starting at 30 days per year (plus bank holidays)   
• A comprehensive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).  
• Flexible working.   
• Employee Assistance Programme including access to health and wellbeing support 24 x7.  
• Range of family friendly policies.  
• Childcare vouchers, cycle to work scheme, electric car scheme, range of staff discounts including travel, holidays, insurance, food, health & leisure activities.   
• Excellent learning and development opportunities.  
• Explore more here 

Would you like to know more?

Please click here to view the Job Description and Selection Criteria 

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Kate Chapman – Team Manager (fostering) on kate.chapman@oxfordshire.gov.uk 

Application Procedure

Simply send us your CV to Brenda.buttimer@oxfordshire.gov.uk and Julie.mcnally@oxfordshire.gov.uk or click ‘Apply Now’. Make sure you read the Job description first! It’s that simple and quick!  

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