Adults Team Manager – Early Help

About The Role
Adults Team Manager – Early Help & Wellbeing
Fixed Term, Full Time

£54,001 to £66,899 per annum

Location: Harlow / West Essex

Working Style: Community-based worker

This is a 10 month fixed term contract or secondment opportunity.
The Role
The Early Help & Wellbeing Team is a welcoming, compassionate and innovative team to work in, offering preventative and early help to connect people who are experiencing difficulties with their mental wellbeing and/or neurodivergent conditions to opportunities in their own communities and provide support that enables them to achieve personal ambitions, goals and aspirations.

Mental health social care is transforming into a new operational delivery model improving our early intervention and prevention offer to Essex residents with a focus on people currently not receiving services or falling through existing gaps. The offer is to ensure care act compliance across the system offering information advice and guidance and providing support to improve wellbeing outcomes. Within this service there will be a mixture of the team carrying out direct work alongside people and completing care act assessments relevant to wellbeing outcomes and the completion of care act reviews.

This post is to deliver the management of the West Essex Early Help and Wellbeing team and will support the formation of this team. We are looking for someone with management experience to support leading these changes but with the ability to work across the county whilst the implementation is taking place.

The Role
The role will lead a social care team, holding them accountable for performance and delivering improvements. Working with the Service Manager, contributing to the development of strategy and ensuring a service which adapts responsively to change, in particular in how adults are supported out of hospital and supported within the community admission avoidance.

With proven ability to focus on results, develop innovative solutions and build strong working relationships with partners, this leader will possess a deep understanding of working in an extremely challenging financial environment.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Providing leadership and support across a team of professionals to deliver a high-quality service with positive outcomes which enables people to live healthily and independently.
• Enabling the development of individuals with the team
• Delivering expertise and professional knowledge to provide advice and guidance for complex cases in line with legislative and organisational standards.
• Providing an escalation point for complaints and other feedback from service users in accordance with policy, in a way that fosters positive relationships.
• Implementing effective approaches to integrated working with partners, communities, and the voluntary sector to achieve successful outcomes for service users.

About You
We're looking for a dynamic and forward-thinking leader with established experience in mental health. You'll bring strong and progressive leadership and behavioural skills, with at least 2 years management experience at Deputy Team Manager level and above within Adult Social Care.

You'll bring a strengths-based approach to leadership within a multi-disciplinary environment that is both challenging and deeply rewarding. Your ability to inspire and empower others will be key in building a high-performing, motivated team that delivers exceptional outcomes for those who use our services.

We're also looking for your experience of working in a social care setting, along with the ability to deal with challenging social situations and develop strong relationships with partner agencies and the local community to provide a supportive framework for the people we work with.

You'll also bring:

• Educated to degree level in Social Work or Occupational Therapy with current professional registration.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and capability of practice in accordance with current professional standards.
• An understanding of budgetary responsibilities and how they impact upon a service.
• An in-depth understanding of the financial implications of commissioned care packages.
• Experience of leading change in a complex environment, and ensuring the organisation delivers best practice within financial constraints.
• The ability to make clear decisions, to highlight and limit potential risks associated with intervention.
• Evidence of working within a fast-paced complex team
• The ability to make evidenced based decisions within the context of competing resources and high-risk environments.

This role involves travelling around Essex. A driving licence and car - or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means - is essential.

Why Join Us?
In June 2025, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated our Adult Social Care services as "Good" with a score of 73%

"The local authority had a good structure and processes in place to enable people to be supported successfully, and support people to remain independent and live healthy lives. The workforce was passionate about supporting people to achieve these outcomes and the local authority had good knowledge of their area, the people living there and the demographics."

You can read the full report on the CQC website here.

Our teams are busy but warm, friendly and supportive. We take your career just as seriously as you do, and we have a continuing professional development offer that's second to none.

We welcome diversity because it makes us grow and we're determined to become a fully inclusive and an anti-racist organisation.

What We Offer
We'll support you to be your best and will offer:

• Ongoing opportunities for continuing professional development
• Flexible working options
• Employee wellbeing and counselling
• Lease Car scheme
• Life assurance of three times annual salary
• Local Government Pension Scheme. View Key Facts and FAQ's about the LGPS.
• Volunteering leave
• 27 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), rising with service
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - access to free and confidential information, support, and guidance from a team of highly qualified professionals.
• Employee Networks – communities to support you, connect you and help influence change at ECC
• Payment of your Social Work England registration fees

Whatever you want to achieve in your social work career, you can do it here.

• T&Cs Apply.

Apply now.
For more information contact

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government's devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR)) on our careers site

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We're committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We're also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you've secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
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