Local Government Jobs

The Royal Borough of Kingston’s has a national reputation as one of the very best places to live and work, which we want to sustain. The Service Manager Looked After Children will have a major contribution to make to the delivery of that vision and the strategic priorities set out in the Kingston Plan and Children and Young People’s Plan, by providing effective strategic management of services to children and young people who are looked after and leaving care, including unaccompanied asylum seekers. The main service objective is to pursue the best possible outcomes for children and young people who are in and leaving care through arrangements that provide value for money.

This is an exciting time to join the team, as we are working closely with the London Borough of Richmond on a joint partnership with the potential to integrate some of our services.

The Service Manager Looked After Children will support the Head of Children’s Social Care by contributing to the overall strategic planning and policy development of the division. Other responsibilities include:

• To act as the lead on services to looked after children, unaccompanied asylum seekers and care leavers, ensuring coherency and consistency across the Borough.

• To develop and maintain a Placements service that is able to fully meet the placement needs of children who require emergency, short-term, long-term, and permanent placements, including fostering, residential care, and adoption.

• To develop effective commissioning and procurement, including market development, facilitate opportunities for joint commissioning and recommissioning, negotiations with potential providers, contracts specifications and robust contract management.

• To ensure court assessments, care plans, reviews, PEPS and Health Assessments, are undertaken to high standards and within timescales.

• To development and maintain systems (communications, personnel, budgets, financial and management information, supervision, training and development) in order to secure the effective functioning of the service, enabling staff at all levels to deliver services to the required standards of quality, sensitivity and responsiveness.

• To participate in the out of hours on-call manager rota for the CEDT service. Applicants will have a proven track record in managing a team, experience in improvement of delivery of service and extensive experience in the area of Adoption and Fostering, as well as significant and demonstrable knowledge of legislation and guidance, practice and procedures in this area.

All applicants must be fully GSCC registered and due to this post having access to children and/or adults at risk, candidates will be required to undertake a Criminal Record Check.

If you would like to further discuss this opportunity, call Anne Chapman on tel: 0208 547 5221

Closing date: 05 February 2012 Provisional interview date: To be confirmed