Lifelong Links Team Manager

The Role

Do you see yourself leading an innovative service that helps children and young people build lifelong connections?

Can you use your leadership and partnership skills to grow a service that puts relationships at the heart of practice?

If yes, we have the perfect roles for you!

Southwark Council’s Family Group Conference Service is looking for a passionate and dedicated Lifelong Links Team Manager to join our amazing team and help make a real difference for children in care and care experienced young people.

About the Role:

Partnering with the Family Rights Group (FRG) and funded through the Department for Education’s Stable Homes, Built on Love strategy, Southwark’s Lifelong Links Service was established in 2024 and continues to grow.

As Lifelong Links Team Manager, you will lead the promotion, development and delivery of high-quality Lifelong Links interventions across Children’s Social Care. You will work collaboratively with colleagues across services including Children in Care, Leaving Care, Fostering, the Clinical Service and the IRO Service to ensure children and young people are identified and referred at the right time.

You will:

• Line-manage the Lifelong Links Social Worker, part-time Clinical Practitioner and Lifelong Links Project Officer
• Support and manage a pool of self-employed Lifelong Links Coordinators, including chairing Initial Planning Meetings for each intervention
• Work closely with the Leaving Care Service to support care-experienced young adults to develop as Lifelong Links Coordinators
• Lead on performance management, data collection and reporting, including quarterly reports to the DfE and FRG
• Represent Southwark in local and national practice development forums and peer support networks

This is a 12 month Fixed Term Contract / Secondment.

About You:

You are an experienced and values-driven leader, passionate about supporting children in care and care-experienced young people to build and sustain meaningful relationships.

You will bring:

• Strong leadership and people-management skills, with experience of managing multidisciplinary teams
• A sound understanding of children’s social care and relationship-based practice
• Experience of partnership working across services and with external organisations
• Confidence in performance management, data oversight and reporting
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to provide consultation, advice and professional support
• A commitment to reflective practice, learning and continuous service improvement

About the Team:

The Lifelong Links Team is a developing and ambitious service embedded within Southwark’s Family Group Conference Service. We are relationship-focused, collaborative and committed to innovation and learning.

You will join:

• A supportive and passionate team with a strong focus on outcomes for children and young people
• A service that values creativity, reflection and professional development
• A council that actively supports learning, progression and opportunities to influence practice locally and nationally

This is an exciting opportunity to shape a growing service and make a lasting impact on the lives of children and young people in Southwark.

Contact Information:

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Jonathan Dirks at Jonathan.Dirks@southwark.gov.uk.

Additional Information:

• This is a 12 month Fixed Term Contract / Secondment
• Enhanced DBS required

Benefits and more information:

For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.

Recruitment timetable

Advert close date: 11:59pm on 18th January 2026

Shortlisting date/s: w/c 19th January 2026

Interview date/s: w/c 26th January 2026

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme:

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

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

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