Corporate Parenting Service Manager

Location: Aylesbury Overview Are you passionate about making a real difference in the lives of children and young people? We’re looking for a Corporate Parenting Service Manager to lead and shape services that support children in care, care leavers, and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. This is a pivotal role within Children’s Services, where you’ll drive excellence, champion best practice, and ensure every child and young adult has the opportunity to thrive. Salary up to £75,600 per annum Take a look at our to learn more about working with Children’s Services at Buckinghamshire Council. About us Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally. We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey. You will be entitled to a range of different benefits to make sure you are happy both at work and at home. About the role We are looking for a dedicated and passionate Service Manager to join our Corporate Parenting Service in our drive to achieve outstanding. In Buckinghamshire, we recognise the importance of being the best Corporate Parent possible to our children in care and care experienced young adults and to achieve permanence for all of your children who cannot live with their parents via long-term care. We are committed to developing robust teams and services to provide nurturing and positive relationships with our children, young people and their carers, whilst managing the complexities that arise for many of our young people in alternative care arrangements. We are passionate about achieving the very best for the families and young people that we work with across our community. As a Service Manager your role will be central to providing exceptional and creative leadership for the Corporate Parenting part of our Service and making a positive difference to children, young people and their families. You will be required to plan, organise and manage your teams, providing effective operational management and support, as required, delegating to your Team Managers as necessary, and driving high performance and timely outcomes for children. You will support your Head of Service to deliver on the Service improvement plan. In addition to this, you will oversee recruitment, service development, quality assurance and individual casework undertaken by your teams Your work will include: Driving service improvement and embedding best practice. Leading teams responsible for Children in Care (Under 16), Leaving Care (16-25), and UASC. Building strong partnerships across agencies to deliver seamless support. Managing budgets effectively and identifying efficiencies. Championing safeguarding and ensuring a proactive culture across the service. This is a role where your leadership will directly impact outcomes for children and families, helping them feel supported and empowered. Please see the job description attached for a full list of duties and responsibilities. About you You are a social work qualified manager with extensive experience in working with children in long-term care and Care Leavers, who is passionate, caring and dedicated as well as being someone who is able to think outside the box and develop creative solutions. You are committed to relationship-based practice in all your interactions with staff and service users. As a skilled communicator you will have the ability to work with a broad range of people and partners, including working respectfully with children, young people and their families/carers to ensure that children remain stable and nurtured. You will consistently ensure the views, wishes and feelings of our children, young people and their families/carers are used to inform their care plans. You will have a strong record in managing Corporate Parenting teams and meeting improvement outcomes. You will know how to provide management oversight in order that all cases are safely managed in a timely way and to agreed practice standards. You will have an acute appreciation for the Council’s budget and associated pressures on spend, and will know how to work within a budget envelope and provide best value for money. You will need to be a qualified social worker and registered with Social Work England. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and a comprehensive screening process will be undertaken on successful applicants including an Enhanced Children’s Department of Barring Services check. If you share our vision and have the enthusiasm and commitment to succeed despite the challenge of high demand and complex needs, then this job is for you.