About Southwark:
Southwark is a large, ambitious and progressive council with a ‘can do’ attitude and enviable reputation.
At Southwark, we cover an area that stretches from the vibrant riverside around London Bridge to Canada Water in the east and through Camberwell and Peckham to the peace of Dulwich Woods in the south. With more than 290,000 residents and a rich variety of communities, the Borough enjoys a unique cultural and social diversity. The redevelopment of the housing estates around Elephant and Castle is evidence of the rapid progression.
It is this diversity that makes Southwark so special, and we are working with local people, communities and businesses to innovate, improve and transform public services, from housing and education to green spaces and leisure. As we continue this ambitious regeneration and growth programme, you will play a key role, providing legal advice and guidance on a range of potentially complex issues.
The Council is determined to continue the regeneration of the Borough and central to this is the commitment to build more Council homes. Many of these will be sited in the areas around Old Kent Road and Canada Water which have both been designated by the Mayor as Opportunity Areas and this has led to significant development proposals.
Our vision is a ‘Fairer Future for All’ in Southwark, and this applies to our employees as well as our residents. It is an exciting time to join us as we set out to improve and transform the lives of people across our diverse borough. You’ll find an exciting, vibrant and supportive environment where you can continue to develop your skills and expertise.
The role:
An opportunity exists to apply for the role of Audit and Practice Development Service Manager on a permanent basis.
This is an exciting role and new opportunity within Quality Assurance (QA). The Audit and Practice Development Service Manager will work across Children and Families’ Services and we need a person who is child centred, has strong practice values and who has resilience, ambition, creativity and leadership experience, to help continue to lead on and assure the quality of practice across the whole of the Division. The person we have in mind will be committed to making Southwark more equal and just, standing against all forms of discrimination and racism.
The role has responsibility for line managing the Audit and Learning Lead, the ASYE programme and Practice Educators, and the business support function for the Audit and Learning Service. The role will assume the Principal Social Worker function for the whole service. The post holder will report directly to the Assistant Director for Quality Assurance and Practice Development.
About you:
The collaborative and supportive nature of the work requires excellent communication, interpersonal, analytical and influencing skills. You will lead on ensuring that we have robust and effective audit and learning programmes and processes in place, and that these processes generate appropriate and targeted learning to improve practice and service delivery to children and their families in Southwark. You will have had experience in this area as well as strong analytical and systems thinking skills, excellent practice knowledge and strong organisational skills, all of which will be used to best effect in helping to instil a reflective and open learning culture across the service and beyond.
You will need an excellent knowledge and contemporary awareness of the social work professional agenda, relevant legislation, and be able to critically examine and deploy research and any evidence base on what works and makes a difference. You will be part of the Service Management Team within Quality Assurance working together with all of the Service Managers across QA to provide high quality leadership.
A key aspect of the role will be to lead the strategic development of Quality Assurance as it relates to audit, learning and workforce development as a whole, to ensure that this functions well and that Southwark continues to be a learning and developing organisation focused exclusively upon responding well to children, young people and families' needs. So while you will have key responsibility for their area, they must work beyond the boundaries of their service, with other services, agencies, and groups that represent the voices of children and parents, to continue to develop the best possible services for children.
You will need to demonstrate a commitment to the values of the council as most recently set out in the Borough Plan, as well as be child-centred and family minded in their practice, focused on improving lives and building a fairer society.
If you are interested in this role and have any further queries, please contact steve.liddicott@southwark.gov.uk for an informal discussion.
Additional details:
Our offer includes:
- Basic salary up to £65,697 per annum, plus JNC financial benefits package of £2,724 per annum, pro-rata
- Bespoke learning and development program
- Peer support from experienced colleagues and Assistant Director
- Executive coaching and service development planning support and budget
- External critical friend evaluations to support service development
- Monthly formal one to ones with availability as needed at other times
- Dedicated administrative support for the Audit and Learning function
All applicants are welcomed. It is recognised that applicants may not have had recent experience within this service but may be suitable in many other respects and bring other understanding to the role.
Recruitment timetable:
Closing date - 10th April 2022 at 23:59
Interview & Assessment date - 20th April 2022
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
Attachments
