Team Manager

The NSPCC's purpose is to prevent child abuse and neglect of children across the UK and Channel Islands. We have been fighting for childhood for the last 130 years and our organisational strategy for 2021-2031 is enabling the NSPCC to achieve greater change for children and inspiring others to join us in the fight for childhood.

Our services help children who've been abused, protect children at risk and find the best ways to prevent child abuse from ever happening. We work directly with children and families through our national and regional hubs across the UK and Channel Islands. We also give support to thousands of adults and young people in need through the NSPCC Helpline and Childline. We work with schools up and down the country through our Speak Out Stay Safe programme, helping children to keep themselves safe. And our projects such as Together for Childhood help children who've experienced abuse, support parents, and work to transform the way communities come together to prevent child cruelty.

The NSPCC is delivering our Letting the Future In service within The Lighthouse in Camden, the UK's first Child House. This multi-disciplinary innovative service provides physical and emotional health assessment, criminal justice and advocacy support and a range of therapeutic interventions to children and young people, following the disclosure of sexual abuse.

Letting the Future In includes:-

• An Assessment of Therapeutic Need
• Intervention to the child or young person who has been sexually abused, where appropriate
• Work with parents/carers to support children through their interventions
• Bespoke interventions with siblings who have been impacted by their sister/brother's abuse.
• This whole family approach reflects the impact that child sexual abuse can have within a family.

Job purpose

Lead a team of operational staff ensuring the highest quality of delivery and expert evidence-based services to children and families in line with the defined model of service and evaluation requirements. Provide line management and reflective supervision to ensure practice standards are maintained at all times. With the Partnerships Service Manager, promote the work of the NSPCC both in the locality and the wider area of influence.

Key relationships - Internal

• Reporting to Partnerships Service Manager
• Consultant Social Workers
• Safeguarding Quality Assurance Unit
• Development and Implementation Team, Strategy and Knowledge Directorate

Key relationships - External

• Partner agencies
• Local authorities
• Childcare professionals
• Key supporters

Main duties and responsibilities

• Provide line management for all operational staff including practitioners, volunteers and practice educators.
• Provide effective leadership to staff in the centre and within the region / nation, particularly through periods of change.
• Ensure that staff understand their contribution to the NSPCC strategic objectives and their role and responsibility in relation to the Directorate's delivery model of providing evidence-based services within a safeguarding context.
• Provide professional reflective supervision to operational staff to ensure the delivery of high-quality evidence-based services to children and families, this may include group supervision and practice observation.
• Hold case management accountability for all cases within the team from referral through to case closure, ensuring all safeguarding practice and case recording conforms to NSPCC practice standards and guidance, legislation and policy.
• Conduct annual performance reviews with operational staff, managing performance issues and identifying any learning development needs including the completion of mandatory training.
• Ensure services are delivered to the highest quality as outlined in the practice guidance and associated policies and as defined by the specific model and evaluation requirements
• Contribute to the promotion of NSPCC activities to external partners and NSPCC supporters.
• Champion the importance of children and young people's contribution in ways appropriate to their age and experience and to enable their active participation in the planning and evaluation of service delivery.
• Contribute to writing annual reports, business plans and other documentation as requested by the Partnerships Service Manager.
• Keep up to date with developments in child protection/safeguarding and relevant legislation and guidance.
• Disseminate information to staff, through professional learning activities, leading workshops, organising seminars and making wider contributions to child protection within the NSPCC and when agreed externally.
• Deputise for and represent the Partnerships Service Manager as required.
• Any other job-related duties as assigned

Although core duties of the post are set out above, a flexible approach to work is essential. The postholder will be required to adapt the above duties to take account of changes in work practices. The post holder will be required to undertake business travel.

Responsibilities for all Staff within the Services Directorate

A commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people and adults at risk

To comply with all relevant NSPCC safeguarding policies

A commitment to applying NSPCC Values and Behaviours to all aspects of work

To maintain an awareness of own and other's health and safety and comply with NSPCC's Health and Safety procedures

To comply with NSPCC Diversity and Equality policies and practices and work in a manner which facilitates inclusion.

To maintain and develop competence in the use of IT systems.

To manage confidential and/or sensitive information in accordance with NSPCC policies and Data Protection and GDPR regulations

Person specification

1. A recognised social work qualification and registration with the relevant social care council within the UK.
2. Comprehensive knowledge, practice experience and skills in relation to child protection investigation, assessment of risk and need and the management of complex child protection cases evidenced through post qualification work experience.
3. Experience of delivering services in a multi-disciplinary setting to defined models/programmes and/or research projects and evidence of working effectively with staff from different disciplines and levels in organisations both internally and externally.
4. Experience of staff management through case work reviews, reflective supervision, and regular performance reviews to meet objectives and develop professional practice.
5. Knowledge and understanding of enabling the participation of children and young people in the delivery of services.
6. Ability to manage both personal and professional development through the identification of learning need and provision of learning opportunities such as training, coaching, shadowing and support.
7. Excellent verbal and written communication skills including the ability to deliver effective presentations to groups and write complex reports.
8. Ability to work as an effective member of a management team also demonstrating well-developed negotiation and influencing skills and an ability to work with a range of stakeholders at all levels
9. Knowledge and awareness of structural inequalities and experience of leading and managing within an equal opportunity and anti-oppressive framework.
10. Evidence of applying IT systems and programmes for maintaining records, and quality assurance of evidence-based services and demonstrable commitment to excellence in information management and security.

Safer Recruitment

As an organisation, we are committed to creating and fostering a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children and adults at risk.

Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work with our children and adults.

The recruitment and selection of our people will be conducted in a professional, timely and responsive manner and in compliance with current employment legislation, and relevant safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance.

Our principles:

• Always seek to recruit the best candidate for the role based on merit including their skills, experience, motivation and competencies. Our robust recruitment and selection process should ensure the identification of the person best suited to the role and the organisation.
• Committed to diversity and equality of opportunity and will interview all applicants (internal and external) who self-declare at application as having a disability and who meet the minimum requirements in the person specification of the vacancy they are applying for.
• We will make reasonable adjustments at all stages of the recruitment process in order to enable successful candidates who declare disabilities to start working or volunteering their time with us.
• Any current member of staff or volunteer who wishes to apply for vacancies and is suitably qualified will be considered and addressed fairly and objectively based on their merit.
• As an organisation committed to safeguarding, we will ensure all under 18's joining the organisation will have ongoing risk assessments to ensure their role and activities are safe and appropriate.
• All documentation relating to candidates will be treated confidentially in accordance with the GDPR legislation.