Job Description
Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities! We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.
It's an exciting time to join us - Lewisham is a wave 2 Pathfinder authority and is leading the way on national reforms to social work practice through the Families First for Children programme.
Introduction
An exciting opportunity is available as a Business Support Operational Lead within Children's Social Care. This role will lead on providing an effective business function within our Workforce Development team and provide direct support to the Director for Children’s Social Care. We are looking for someone who can contribute to project improvement work, lead and motivate others, develop and maintain core business processes. You will be highly organised with experience of diary management at a senior level.
Lewisham is recruiting to the role of Business Support Operational Lead, for Workforce Development & Director support.
What’s the role?
You will lead on specific projects and improvement work providing highly organised support to the Director. Also support the senior leadership team in Children’s Social Care to undertake their duties and drive service improvements. You will have responsibility to lead on the maintenance, review and implementation of effective business processes, manage staff within the business support team and provide support and cover for line management across the hub.
About You
You will be the first point of contact for the Director of Children’s Social Care, provide high level administrative support, manage calendars, meetings and communications with efficiency and discretion. Be proficient in supporting the preparation and review of key documentations and reports for the wider service areas, KPIs and inspections, such as Ofsted.
The ideal candidate will have a good understanding of business support functions, be able to lead on project work and contribute to key performance standards within children’s services.
You will support with arising operational issues and enquiries from the services. You will need to use your problem-solving skills and emotional intelligence to work swiftly towards positive resolutions working in conjunction with the business support team as well as internal and external partner agencies and providers. The successful candidate should be able to manage resources and motivate staff to ensure that business support processes, administration and financial tasks are effectively managed in line with regulations and requirements.
You should be an effective communicator who is able to develop and maintain good working relationships, working closely with Senior Managers. You will act as a liaison between the Director and internal and external stakeholders, to ensure requirements are met. You should be confident in using your own initiative and be a flexible and effective team player with a solution focussed outlook.
You will help coordinate projects and therefore will have proven project and/ or programme management skills and be able to deliver projects to timescale and budget in line with the Workforce Development strategy within Children’s Social Care. You will also need to be able to operate within a changing landscape where there can often be uncertainty or ambiguity and a need to adapt approaches within this context.
You will also have sound knowledge of a range of Microsoft Office suite of applications including MS Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
You will have experience in:
- Organising confidential meetings and complex schedules
- Managing changing work streams and commitments, to meet changing priorities
- Leading and managing others
- Communicating effectively at all levels
- Developing and managing business processes
- Supporting the development and maintenance of line of business systems including LCS
- Managing financial processes and payments
What’s in it for you?
Our Vision - What Good Children’s Social Work Looks Like in Lewisham
In Lewisham Children’s Social Care, we know what good social work looks like, and we are passionate about creating the right conditions and culture for good practice to thrive.
- Families are respected and supported to stay together, whenever there is safety.
- Families will tell us they understand why we are involved.
- Children will tell us their social worker has made a difference to their lives.
- Children who are in our care know we care, and we won’t give up on them.
- Young people who have been in our care feel confident about their future.
We have taken a whole system approach to improving our services to children and young people in our borough using Signs of Safety as our practice model. Ofsted recognised the progress we have made noting that:
- Staff talk positively about their manageable caseloads, regular supervision, team meetings and access to a range of training, including the social work model of practice.
- Senior leaders demonstrate a clear focus on hearing the voices of children to develop and improve services.
- Leaders know the service well. They have a clear understanding of areas for development that are being appropriately addressed.
In January 2024, Ofsted's report lauds significant improvements in our children's services. Praised areas include strong leadership, high-quality support for families and children, and positive outcomes across all criteria.
- The Executive Director for Children and Young People and his team are credited for driving these improvements, with particular focus on enhancing workforce stability, early help services, and partnerships with stakeholders.
- Noteworthy practices include creative life-story work and culturally sensitive social work approaches, crucial in a diverse borough like Lewisham.
- The Council's anti-racist practice network and safe space platform also garnered praise for supporting staff from black and global majority backgrounds.
- Overall, the report highlights a commendable commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and young people in Lewisham.
Why choose Lewisham?
Our business support staff benefit from working in small, supportive teams that work in collaboration with a variety of service areas within Children's Social Care.
The social work Signs of Safety family-led practice framework means we are committed to working in a relationship-based way with children and families, focussing on strengths in the family network to effect change. Our vision and values in business support include a commitment to working in a relationship-based way with others and across the workforce. We are approachable, friendly and supportive, priding ourselves in providing excellent customer service, that contributes positively to service improvement and our working environment. We have a positive learning culture which promotes opportunities for learning and reflection. We are committed to developing our service using regular one to one supervisions, team meetings and service meetings as well as thinking spaces and group supervision.
Our permanent and stable senior management team are visible and approachable. Our dedicated workforce team supports professional development across the service so that you will;
- be supported through our learning and development offer, which includes subscription to ‘Research in Practice’
- receive regular supervision and appraisal.
- have access to regular Signs of Safety training
- have access to external leadership development opportunities such as the Black and Asian Leadership Initiative (BALI).
- have opportunities for professional development
What we’re looking for
If you want to work in a thriving borough, and our vision based on the social work vision connects with your professional values, then we are interested in hearing from you. We are looking for people to join our team who:
- value the importance of communication and seeking feedback
- can inspire and motivate those they work with, manage and lead
- are committed to developing their skills and expertise to deliver an excellent service
- are professionally curious and value thinking slowly and calmly in a balanced way
- work inclusively, collaboratively with others recognising their strengths
- take responsibility and make a positive contribution by focusing on solutions
- are transparent, are appreciative in enquiry, reflect and learn.
In return, we’ll offer excellent development opportunities, the opportunity to make a real difference to our local community plus a range of benefits including:
- Generous leave entitlement
- Local Government Pension scheme
- Flexible working and family friendly policies
- Season ticket and bicycle loans
- A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
- Supportive staff networks
Location
The job is primarily based in Laurence House in Catford SE6. There are 2 local train stations 3-5 minutes’ walk from the office, and the train journey from London Bridge is approximately 15 minutes. There are also numerous bus routes that stop right by the office.
We operate a hybrid approach where you will be required to work both in the office and from home on a regular basis.
Special conditions
- The job is subject to a DBS check (Standard)
Applicant handbook - please read the guidance in this handbook when applying. It is essential that you complete the application fully and that your supporting statement covers how you meet each of the person specification criteria listed.
For an informal discussion about this job, please contact Daniel Owusu-Frimpong: 07795677052, Business Support Team Lead or Rhea Willoughby: 07767 561761, Business Support Operational Lead
Please click here to view the Letter from the Director
Please click here to view Our Vision and Values
Please click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification
Salary
£44,430 - £46,437 per annum (P02)
N.B: All appointments will be offered at the minimum spinal column point (SCP) for the grade of the role. The only exception to this will be when matching current salary (up to the maximum of the scale), which is subject to evidential proof.
Creating an Inclusive Lewisham
A core value of Lewisham Council is to 'draw on the diversity of our communities to create a more inclusive Lewisham'. We believe that freedom from discrimination and equality of opportunity are fundamental rights, and that each person should be valued regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, or age. Social inclusion lies at the heart of everything we do as a Council in our roles as an employer, a provider of services and a community leader.
Diversity
Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme, further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply
The Council has a dedicated employment support service, Lewisham Works , which offers Lewisham residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you want to join Lewisham Works, please email
[email protected] and an advisor will be in touch with you.
The Council reserves the right to close adverts early if there is a large response.
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