Family Solutions Team Manager Maternity Cover (9 months) P016: £54,802 - £57,965 Full Time 37 hours per week Family Solutions is a specialist team which is key to delivering our Family First agenda. The team's primary focus is to reduce/prevent children from becoming accommodated by the local authority and wherever possible, ensure that children and young people have the chance to grow up safely in their family environment. The underlying principle of our Permanency Strategy in Telford and Wrekin is that every child has the right to grow up in their birth family, where it is safe for them to do so, and in their best interests. This principle is grounded in Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 – right to a Private Family Life. Therefore, the lens of our practice when working alongside families is first and foremost how we can support parents to make this happen. We consider how we can aid the capacity of birth parents to make changes to their parenting to meet the needs of their child or children, utilising professional support complemented by a framework of support available from their extended network of family and friends. If you would like to work for an ‘Outstanding’ local authority – one with an established management team, committed to developing excellent practice and ensuring that our staff receive the best support we can offer - then maybe this is the role for you There has never been a more exciting time to join our service: alongside making a difference to the lives of individuals and families, we have adopted exciting new strengths-based approaches and are passionate about delivering continuous service improvement. In 2021, we implemented a new approach to Child Protection services developed by Hertfordshire County Council, and began to deliver their innovative and pioneering practice model of Family Safeguarding. Family Safeguarding is a model of system change where specialist adult practitioners are embedded within Family Safeguarding teams of Social Workers. This involves: Establishing multi-disciplinary teams where specialist adult practitioners in domestic abuse, mental health and substance misuse are co-located with Social Workers under a unified management structure. This enables a multi-disciplinary whole family response through direct assessment and support from specialist adult practitioners as well as multi-professional group case discussions and sharing of knowledge and skills across disciplines. Use of Motivational Interviewing (MI) as a framework for practice for all staff. Staff undergo training and ongoing skills development workshops and follow a structured solution-focussed intervention programme with families which aims to work collaboratively with families and increase engagement. Our brilliant practitioners are at the heart of our ambitious approach to improve outcomes for children and families in Telford and Wrekin: that’s why from tailored in-house training to the West Midlands Teaching Partnership, we will ensure that you have access to the best development opportunities. We value our practitioners and offer staff rewards and plenty of opportunities for personal development and career progression including: Free on-site parking Relocation allowance Flexible and mobile working policy - we are well adapted to a hybrid model of working which includes a combination of time spent in the office and at home – our approach is to promote greater level of flexible working around personal and family commitments Here at Telford and Wrekin Council, we have been judged to be outstanding overall in terms of effectiveness (the only Authority in the West Midlands with this judgement). Here’s just some of the great things Ofsted had to say when they visited us in 2020 and 2024: Children are cared for and cared about All practitioners who support children are very committed and they are exceptionally well trained Children are listened to, and their experiences are well understood Senior Leaders aspire to a service for every child that they would welcome for their own Children benefit from a stable workforce which is highly committed and experienced Staff experience a wide range of development opportunities If you share our passion for making a difference, we would be delighted if you joined us. Please click on the links below to view the job description and person specification. At Telford & Wrekin Council, we know that having a diverse workforce is key to providing the best possible services to our community. We celebrate having a diverse and inclusive culture where people are able to be themselves at work, and everyone has a voice. Posts working with children or vulnerable groups will be subject to an appropriate criminal records check. It is an offence to apply for a role that involves engaging in regulated activity with children and adults in vulnerable circumstances if you are barred from working with one or both of these groups. We value our employees and offer staff rewards and plenty of opportunities for personal development and career progression including: Competitive rates of pay Automatic access to a secure, flexible and tax efficient Local Government Pension Scheme Staff benefits and discounts including salary sacrifice schemes Free on-site parking Generous leave entitlement (24 days rising to 32 days) plus 8 bank holidays and an additional concessionary day Free access to our employee assistance programme and confidential counselling Flexible and mobile working policy - we are well adapted to a hybrid model of working which includes a combination of time spent in the office and at home – our approach is to promote greater level of flexible working around personal and family commitments Find out further information about working at Telford & Wrekin Council including our full list of benefits. A CV template is available if you do not already have a CV. Please note that Telford & Wrekin Council do not hold a sponsorship licence for visas. Attached documents Job Description & Person Specification