Assistant Team Manager, Children We Care For

Assistant Team Manager, Children We Care For

Ref: RNR002583-2

Salary £53,886 p.a. plus benefits

37 hours per week.

At Swindon Borough Council, we want our town to be the best it can be. Our ambitious vision in the new Swindon Plan is supported by realistic transformation programmes, with the people of Swindon at their heart. Because that's who we're doing it for - the communities and businesses that make our town great. As part of the Council, you'll support a friendly local authority making decisions with real impact. It's all for better public services. Better processes. And a better quality of life, for everyone. Join us, and Swindon will be better with you.

Are you

Committed to high quality supervision and management ?

Ready to provide high support and high challenge whist we continue to improve ?

Passionate about getting the best outcomes for children we care for?

In Swindon we are committed to supporting our children to have a stable , loving home. Where ever possible we work to return children home to their family . If this is not possible then we seek to provide permanence for children through long term foster care, adoption or living within their wider kinship network.

We have recently reviewed the service and it confirmed the commitment of our staff to building strong , supportive relationships with children and families . Our practitioners know their children well and demonstrate warmth and care for them.

About Us

In Swindon we implemented the Family Safeguarding Model in 2022, a new multi-disciplinary approach that supports a whole-system change to child protection for children up to adolescence, focusing on supporting the needs of children and adults so that children can safely remain within their families. This is a great opportunity to join us now and be part of this implementation from the start.

In addition, we have an established and growing ASYE programme, linked to our Social Care & Leadership Academy, offering mentoring support, fostering a culture of learning and challenge, manageable caseloads and good quality supervision, as we commit and invest in growing our own talent, as well as our experienced social workers.

We have invested in developing our to offer to Special Guardians for children and an integrated service with CAMHS to support the emotional well- being and mental health of children we care for.

About the role

As an Assistant Team Manager, you will be responsible for managing a pod of four social workers. We know from feedback from young people that the relationship that social workers have with our children is pivotal to achieving the best possible outcomes.

The ability to provide those you manage with reflective supervision, which focuses on the importance of the relationship between social worker and the child or young person is vital in ensuring our children and young people's needs are met. You will be supported by a team and service manager and an extensive induction and training offer that will enable you to develop and progress your career.

The Children We Care For Team works with children and their families who are under 16 years old in the care of Swindon Council. Many of the children have experienced trauma and loss associated with their experiences. We have manageable caseloads of between 14 and 16 children for a full-time practitioner. We have additionally qualified staff who deliver therapeutic life story work to support our children.

You will have experience and knowledge of safeguarding practice and planning for children we care for and the associated legislation and practice guidance. Ideally you will already have management experience or be ready to take that next step in your career .

Your aspirations should be limitless and you will be as determined and passionate about Children's Services as we are. As a local authority, we are committed to our children experience permanence and security. This is what we seek from you . We continuously drive forward creativity and improvements in our services. We want our Managers and Social Workers to be part of our transformation, contribute to improving the safeguarding of our children, and we will make sure you have the full support network and training to do it. You will have strong collaboration and relationships with all services, including our Fostering Service, Virtual School, health partners and Positive Futures - our service for care experienced young people aged 16-25.

Candidates must be fluent in the English language (as a requirement of Part 7 of the Immigration Act - for the effective performance of a customer-facing role).

Our commitment to your development

We are dedicated to ensuring that you can progress your continued professional development and access training and learning opportunities linked to the Childrens Social Care National Framework 2023 .

We have an established Social Work & Leadership Academy. The Academy aims to celebrate the best in professional practice in Social Work and Social Care Leadership. The Academy represents an opportunity for us to demonstrate how we support, develop and value the professional disciplines in Social Work and Social Care through a targeted framework of career development and learning opportunities.

Your next package

• Relocation allowance of up to £8,000 (eligibility criteria applies)
• Competitive salaries
• Free car parking at our central Swindon campus and easy commuter links to many locations

Please see our Rewards and Benefits offer for more details.

As an employee, you will receive a diverse and exciting environment in which to work, encouraging creativity and innovation whilst recognising the need to support ongoing personal development and a flexible work life balance.

For Swindon to thrive in the future, we need to lay the foundations now. It's why our regeneration and transformation programmes are already underway. So, you'll be joining us at an exciting time on our journey. We'll look to you to share your knowledge, influence decisions and drive real, positive change. With your contributions, we'll achieve our vision of a prosperous, re-vitalised Swindon together. And you'll be proud to say it was made better with you.

Please see our Vision and Values page for more details

Your next steps

To be eligible for this role, you must be a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England registration.

As an inclusive employer, we welcome applications from a diverse range of communities, and in particular disabled people and people from ethnic minorities. Read our statement of commitment to equality & inclusion .

Read the role profile and select the Apply button where you will be redirected to the Swindon Borough Council website to complete our online application process. Clicking the 'Apply' button on this job website is not an application, you must register on the Swindon Borough Council website in order to be considered for the role.

For further information about the role, please contact Michelle Freeman Team Manager , at

If you are experiencing technical issues submitting your application please email

Closing date: 2 June 2025

Interview date: 10 June 2025