Project Manager – Families First

At Sandwell Children's Trust, we firmly believe thatthe voice of the child should be at the centre of everything we do. We are on an ambitious journey to ensure that children and families in Sandwell are safe and empowered to thrive.

Our‘Sandwell Deal’,brings together our new improved offering that make Sandwell Children’s Trust a great place to work; it also sets out our expectations of you as a member of staff.

What we can offer you:

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• Generous annual leave of up to 31 days, plus 5 additional days for long service recognition.
• Your birthday off paid in addition to annual leave entitlement and 8 Bank Holidays, plus a concessionary day at Christmas.
• You will receive a generous local government career average pension scheme with employer contributions of 21.6%.
• We recognise individual loyalty with service awards from 2, 5, 10 and every 5 years onwards.
• Flexible working patterns that suit you and all of our roles have well-defined career progression.
• We provide competitive expenses for both mileage (55p per mile) and subsistence, plus access to a comprehensive employee benefits scheme.

Please visit The Sandwell Deal via this hyperlink

Fixed Term Contract until 31st March 2026

The Families First for Children Programme aims to improve how families are supported to enable children to remain safely within their own families and communities, and to ensure children are protected from harm both inside and outside the home. To support this, Sandwell Children's Trust are seeking to recruit an experienced and dynamic Interim Project Manager, reporting to the Programme Manager to support and manage the planning, design and implementation phases of what will be Sandwell’s Family Help System and associated projects reflecting the statutory guidance and new legislation.

Key responsibilities:

• To support the Programme Manager:
• To ensure the development and enhancement of existing social care services and family support provision in Sandwell within the requirements of the government vision of ‘Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive’. By providing expertise, resilience and capacity and ensuring that risks and issues are identified, in a high-impact transformation programme (Priority 2 “Practice” and Priority 3 “Partnership / Families First”) ensuring alignment with the Trust’s vision and strategic objective.
• To ensure the delivery of a new service model by April 2026, aligning with DFE frameworks and achieving long-term sustainability.
• To develop, deliver and lead the Trust’s Families First Programme, to ensure project design and execution, ensuring relevance and impact and ensuring readiness for the future.
• To ensure that all projects within the Families First Programme (Priority 2 “Practice” and Priority 3 “Partnership / Families First” of the wider Transformation Programme) are aligned and integrated, maximising their collective impact and management of risks across the programme, ensuring prompt escalation and resolution.
• To drive cost-effective solutions, identifying and delivering significant savings whilst making sure of high service standards.
• To work within the budget restraints as set out in the Trusts MTFP.
• To work closely with the Programme Manager and other Stakeholders in establishing, agreeing, and monitoring targets for service delivery and management performance for the service.

Person requirements:

• Proven experience leading and implementing complex, multifaceted transformation projects
• Knowledge and expertise within Children Services or Social Care and understanding of DfE frameworks, compliance requirements and inspection readiness
• Comfortable working within a governance environment, regularly reporting on progress to senior executives and stakeholders and being subject to scrutiny.
• Desired - appropriate professional project management qualification (such as Prince2, APM or MSP) or equivalent experience.

When people join the team at Sandwell they say it feels like they become part of the family…they have #Come Home To Sandwell . With the work that we have done so far and with the ambitions we have for the future, it’s a really exciting time to join Sandwell Children’s Trust and to become part of our Family.

So, if you think your future could lie with Sandwell Children’s Trust, then we’d love to hear from you.

Sandwell Children's Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable groups including children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. An Enhanced DBS is required for this position.

To apply please click on the link below to complete an application form and view the Sandwell Deal:

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