Team Manager

About the role

This is a key leadership role within Children's Services, Fostering. As Team Manager Fostering you will lead and manage a team of staff to deliver high quality fostering, kinship and supported lodgings services across Dorset. The role exists to ensure children and young people in care experience safe, stable and supportive homes where they can thrive, be happy and achieve the very best they can.

You will play a vital part in shaping and developing fostering provision so that it meets the current and emerging needs of children and young people, while ensuring practice is informed by research, and evidence. Working closely with carers, staff and partner agencies, you will help build resilient fostering and kinship networks rooted in local communities.

What's in it for you

This role offers the opportunity to lead meaningful work that makes a real difference to the lives of children, young people and families across Dorset. You will be part of a service that is committed to listening to children and families and keeping their voices at the heart of everything it does.

You will work within a leadership approach based on trust, accountability and valuing employees, supported to learn, develop and continually improve practice. The role offers the chance to work collaboratively with a wide range of partners and communities, helping to shape services that are strength based, restorative and focused on getting it right first time.

What you can expect to be doing

• lead and manage a team delivering fostering, kinship care and supported lodgings services
• provide regular reflective supervision and oversight of complex work
• develop and expand foster family provision, support good matching and placement stability
• oversee processes relating to standards of care and allegations
• work as part of a multi agency partnership, contribute to holistic planning for children and young people, particularly those with complex needs
• use management information and performance data to support service development, forward planning and continuous improvement

The role involves being active within local communities, building sustainable networks and services that strengthen resilience and support ongoing recruitment and retention of carers.

About you

You will be highly motivated to work with all aspects of the community and committed to building cohesive, lasting relationships that support children, young people and families. You will be able to role model best practice, share new guidance and legislation, and promote restorative and strength-based approaches across services.

Qualifications

• be registered with Social Work England
• be able to meet DBS requirements
• have the ability to communicate clearly and confidently in spoken and written English
• have access to a suitable vehicle (or transport we deem suitable) available for use as needed
• must undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

This role is UK-based, and we will need to confirm your Right to Work as part of the appointment process.

Equal Employment Opportunity

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