Service Manager

Salary range: £66,305 - £74,213 p.a. inc. London Weighting

Contract: Permanent

Hours of work: 36 hours per week

Location: Willesden Library, Civic centre and other locations from time to time

Lead Change. Shape Futures. Support Families.

At Brent Council, we are committed to ensuring every child and family has the opportunity to thrive. In line with the Government’s ambitious Families First agenda, we have undertaken a major redesign of our family support services.

This has led to the creation of integrated Family Support teams that combine the expertise of social workers and early help practitioners, alongside dedicated Child Protection and Court teams — all working together to provide seamless, child-centred support.

Your Opportunity to Lead Brent’s Family Support Transformation

We are seeking an experienced, passionate and committed Service Manager to lead and oversee these multi-disciplinary teams. You will play a crucial role in delivering high-quality, timely support to children and families, ensuring that our services meet and exceed the expectations set out in the Families First agenda.

About the Role

As Service Manager, you will:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across two Family Support teams and three Child Protection and Court teams, ensuring consistent delivery of excellent social work practice.
• Oversee assessments and interventions, ensuring they are timely, thorough, and informed by the latest research and best practice.
• Lead service development by embedding the redesigned multi-agency approach, fostering innovation, and strengthening collaboration with key partners such as health services, education, the police, and voluntary sector organisations.
• Ensure compliance and performance management, meeting key performance indicators and regulatory requirements while managing budgets effectively to deliver services within agreed financial limits.
• Chair and contribute to key decision-making forums, including the Entry to Care Panel, providing leadership and oversight on critical cases and safeguarding concerns.
• Support your teams’ professional development through excellent supervision and performance management, motivating staff to achieve their best.
• Promote equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of service delivery, ensuring that our families receive fair and equitable support.
• Deputise for the Head of Service as needed, representing the service in senior meetings and across the council.

About You

In addition to being committed to providing the best possible outcomes for our young people and their families, you will have:

• Significant post-qualifying experience with a proven track record in social work management, preferably within child and family services.
• Strong leadership skills, capable of managing multiple teams and complex caseloads under pressure.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to build supportive, positive cultures within your teams and foster collaborative relationships with external partners.
• Effective performance management abilities, with experience in supervision, appraisal, and addressing performance issues constructively.
• Sound financial management skills to oversee budgets and ensure cost-effective service delivery.
• A commitment to the principles of the Families First agenda and a clear vision for multi-agency working to improve outcomes for children and families.
• Resilience, adaptability, and a problem-solving mindset in a fast-paced, demanding environment.

Application Process

Ready to Lead the Future of Family Support?

If you are a skilled, visionary leader who wants to make a tangible difference in the lives of Brent’s children and families, we want to hear from you.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact:

Amanda Jales, Resourcing Business Partner: 📧 [email protected]

Apply now to join Brent Council and be a key part of our Families First vision. Your leadership will help transform lives!

Closing Date: Sunday 17 August 2025 (23:00)

Interview & Assessments are expected to take place: W/C 1st September 2025

Our Offer to You

At Brent, we don’t just offer jobs—we offer careers that matter alongside a competitive benefits package.

Here’s what you can expect:

• 27 days annual leave from day one, rising to 31 and then 33 days with service + 8 bank holidays
• Generous employer pension contributions
• Hybrid working – up to 2 days per week from home (role-dependent)
• Flexible working hours
• Supportive family-friendly policies
• Affordable local parking & access to Zipcar
• Employee Assistance Programme – 24/7 free counselling support
• Cycle to Work Scheme & excellent on-site facilities
• My Brent Rewards – save on shopping, dining, travel and more
• Financial wellbeing support – including season ticket and childcare deposit loans and more (eligibility applies)

Our Commitment to You

At Brent, we’re proud to reflect the community we serve. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and encourage you to share your identity in our diversity survey.

We’re also a Disability Confident Employer—we guarantee an interview to all disabled applicants who wish to apply under the scheme and meet the essential criteria. If you need any reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process, just let us know at [email protected].

This role is subject to an Enhanced DBS check and employment clearances in line with our safeguarding commitments.

Additional Info

Brent Council values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this and therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community. We positively encourage all applicants to self-identify their characteristics in the diversity survey section in the application.

We are committed to safer recruitment and safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants should be aware that posts working with children, young people and vulnerable adults are subject to an Enhanced DBS check as well as other employment clearances.

Brent has a positive approach to flexible working.

As a disability confident employer Brent welcomes applications from people with all disabilities, including hidden disabilities and mental health conditions. We will interview any disabled applicant who meets the essential criteria. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made to any part of the recruitment process due to your disability, please contact us on [email protected]