Senior Manager - Children and Young - WMF

This permanent senior management post sits within Children's and Families at Westmorland and Furness Council, overseeing Support and Protect services, the Multi-Agency Children's Hub and the Emergency Duty Team. The role centres on strategic leadership of safeguarding and child protection, making sure children and families get timely, proportionate responses and that statutory duties are met. It also covers inspection readiness, pre-proceedings and court practice, and close working with health, police and education partners.

Social Work England registration and a degree-level social work qualification are required.

• Provide strategic leadership across safeguarding and child protection services
• Oversee Support and Protect services, the Multi-Agency Children's Hub and the Emergency Duty Team
• Ensure children and families receive timely, effective and proportionate responses to safeguarding concerns
• Ensure statutory responsibilities are delivered effectively and consistently
• Champion a culture where children's needs are central to decision-making
• Work with partners across health, police, education and the wider safeguarding system
• Lead on pre-proceedings and court-related practice
• Lead inspection readiness and drive continuous improvement
• Embed excellent social work practice across services
• Shape the strategic direction of services
• Provide visible leadership and support to the workforce

• Social work qualification at degree level or equivalent

• Registration with Social Work England

• Significant senior management experience in children's social care and safeguarding
• Proven track record of leading large teams and managing substantial budgets
• Delivering service improvement
• Extensive experience of partnership working across agencies and influencing strategic outcomes
• Experience of leading services through inspection and regulatory scrutiny

• Strong knowledge of safeguarding, child protection, pre-proceedings and court work
• Communicating effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, including elected members, senior leaders and partners
• Commitment to high performance, continual improvement and excellent social work practice

• Enhanced DBS check with Children's and Adults Barred List check

• Exemplifying the leadership behaviours of Westmorland and Furness Council

• Competitive pension scheme
• Enhanced annual leave allowance
• Perks and discounts schemes