Group Manager, Family First Contact Point

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.

Introduction

We are seeking an experienced Group Manager to join our senior leadership team within the Family First Contact Point (FFCP). This is a key strategic and operational leadership role at the front door of Children and Young People’s Service, with responsibility spanning safeguarding, early help, assessment, short-term interventions, and multi-agency partnership working.

The role includes oversight of the Emergency Duty Team (EDT), ensuring effective out-of-hours safeguarding responses, and leadership responsibility across the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) function, including providing cover where required.

You will bring significant experience above Team Manager level, with responsibility for overseeing practice, performance, and service delivery across a complex and high-profile service area.

What’s the role? ……

This is a central leadership role providing strategic and operational oversight of the FFCP, including front door decision-making, safeguarding responses, assessment, and multi-agency arrangements.

You will lead a multi-disciplinary service made up of Team Managers, Advanced Practitioners, Social Workers and Family Practitioners, ensuring high-quality triage, timely decision-making, and the completion of proportionate, high-quality assessments and short-term interventions for children and families at the front door.

A key part of the role is ensuring alignment between daytime services and the Emergency Duty Team (EDT), maintaining continuity of safeguarding decision-making and ensuring robust out-of-hours responses.

You will also play a central role in partnership working, providing senior leadership across multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, and working closely with partners including police, health, education, and housing to ensure coordinated responses.

You will -

- Provide visible leadership across FFCP, including EDT, ensuring consistent safeguarding responses
- Maintain oversight of performance, thresholds, demand and service flow
- Ensure high-quality triage, assessment, short-term intervention, and statutory decision-making
- Maintain oversight of the quality and timeliness of assessments and interventions
- Lead multi-agency partnership working and safeguarding arrangements
- Oversee statutory processes including safeguarding pathways and EHC contributions
- Provide oversight of LADO activity and undertake LADO duties where required
- Drive practice improvement and quality assurance across the service

What’s in it for you?

Excellent training and development opportunities, plus a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday allowance
• 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

What we’re looking for

We are seeking an experienced leader who has substantial management experience across children’s social care, including front door services, and a strong understanding of safeguarding thresholds, statutory responsibilities, assessment, and early intervention.

You will have experience of overseeing or working alongside EDT services and demonstrate strong multi-agency partnership working at both operational and strategic level.

You will be confident managing multiple teams, leading service improvement, and ensuring high-quality practice, including timely and effective interventions for children and families.

You will be a skilled and reflective leader with a clear understanding of good practice and the ability to translate strategic priorities into operational delivery.

Location

Based at Laurence House, Catford, SE6, with hybrid working arrangements.

Special conditions

- Social Work qualification required
- Social Work England registration required
- Enhanced DBS required

The recruitment process is anonymous and we don’t accept CVs.

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.

Please click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification

Salary

£64,938 - £69,660 per annum (SMG1)

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.

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 reserves the right to close adverts early if there is a large response.

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