Assistant Team Manager

Join our Adoption service as an Assistant Team Manager and play a key role in Family Finding, supporting adopters, developing social work practice, and helping children achieve the best possible outcomes. As an Assistant Team Manager, you will support the Team Manager in leading the delivery of Adoption services, supervising social workers, promoting high-quality practice, and ensuring children and young people remain at the heart of everything we do.,

This is an exciting opportunity to combine frontline social work expertise with leadership responsibilities in a supportive and progressive Adoption service. Working closely with the Team Manager, you will help oversee the delivery of statutory services, provide professional supervision and guidance to social workers, and contribute to the ongoing development of high-quality services for children, young people, foster carers and families.

You will play an important role in maintaining high standards of practice, supporting staff development, and ensuring children's voices are heard throughout the decision-making process. The role offers excellent variety, with responsibility for case oversight, performance monitoring, adoption activity, partnership working, and supporting complex decision-making. Working alongside a range of professionals including foster carers, health professionals, education colleagues and social care teams, you will help deliver positive outcomes for children in care and those requiring support and protection.,

• Supporting the Team Manager in the leadership, management and supervision of social work staff.
• Providing supervision, guidance and professional support to qualified and unqualified team members.
• Acting as a resource for staff managing complex cases and safeguarding concerns.
• Managing elements of the team's duty system and helping ensure continuity of service delivery.
• Working collaboratively with operational teams to ensure robust care planning for children.
• Supporting induction, mentoring, training and professional development activities.
• Monitoring performance, quality standards and case recording to drive excellent practice.
• Helping to ensure the views, wishes and experiences of children and young people remain central to service delivery.

We are looking for a passionate and experienced Social Worker who is committed to improving the lives of children and young people. You will be a confident practitioner with strong leadership potential, capable of supporting and motivating colleagues while maintaining a focus on high-quality practice and positive outcomes. You will bring excellent communication and relationship-building skills, enabling you to work effectively with children, families, carers, colleagues and partner agencies.

You will be resilient, organised and solution-focused, with the ability to manage competing priorities, make sound decisions, and confidently navigate complex situations. You will have a strong understanding of safeguarding, performance management and quality assurance, alongside a genuine commitment to supporting the development of others and creating an environment where excellent social work can thrive.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• A recognised Social Work qualification.
• Current registration with Social Work England.
• A minimum of three years' post-qualification experience within a statutory children's social care environment. Knowledge of adoption would be an advantage.
• Experience of managing, reviewing or overseeing caseloads and social work practice.
• Strong assessment, decision-making and risk management skills.
• The ability to monitor quality standards and support service improvement.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and conflict-resolution skills.
• A passion for achieving the best possible outcomes for children and young people.
• A commitment to continuous professional development and learning.

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.

Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK and yet it is incredibly well connected- only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are - Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy. By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an…