Team Manager - Family Support & Protection

Role: Team Manager – Family Support and Protection

Salary: Grade L - £58,551 - £61,686 plus retention allowance of £4,971 per annum and zones 2&3 travel card

Contract: Permanent

Location: LBTH Town Hall, 106 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1BJ

About Us

We believe that the best place for children is to be raised within their own families, immediate or wider, wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so.

In Tower Hamlets we are committed to building relationships and strengthening families by working with people in a compassionate and understanding way.

We are ambitious for Tower Hamlets children and families and endeavour for every child and young person to be healthy, safe and successful.

Tower Hamlets is a progressive, ambitious and diverse place to work. We place children and families at the heart of everything that we do and are relentless in our pursuit of positive outcomes for all.

Our Better Together Practice Framework is based on the ideas and concepts which underpin Restorative Practice and draws from other strength-based approaches, such as Systemic and Trauma Informed Practice

Our C-Change approach: Connect, Curious, Community, Co-Produce, Collaborate, Check, sets out “6 Cs ” for our work with children, young people their parents and carers, and each other.

Team Managers are integral to our offer. They empower, provide high support and challenge along with motivating our social workers so we can collectively achieve best outcomes for children, young people and their families in Borough.

In Tower Hamlets we are keen to use Language that Cares in how we talk and write about children and their families. Applicants are encouraged to make use of the Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Partnership Practice Guidance around Language updated Nov 2025

The Role

We are recruiting Team Managers in the Family Support and Protection teams in the Supporting Families Division. We provide the longer term service for children in need and those in need of protection.

We have 10 Family support and protection social work teams, and as the Team Manager for one of the teams you will be responsible for leading Social Workers and Advanced Practitioners in your teams in their intervention with Child in Need, Child Protection or Children in Care family’s. You will ensure that the team is supported and all interventions being undertaken are planned, purposeful and focussed. Fundamentally making sure that risk is managed well and intervention is in the child’s best interests.

• You will manage and support workers who work with our most vulnerable children, young people and families. Your expertise will support families; help keep children safe and enable them both to thrive.
• You will oversee and manage the team with a clear emphasis on purpose, outcomes, and adherence to the no-delay principle.
• Ensure the team meets desired outcomes, maintaining attention to children and families, and continually identifying the needs of the client group.
• Achieve positive outcomes for children within the social care system, ensuring that children are safeguarded through effective decision making and practice
• Ensure social work intervention in the lives of children and families is of a consistently high standard and meets the needs of Tower Hamlets diverse communities.
• You will work to ensure equality of access to social work services

See JD for full details

About the Role

• Provide leadership and management of the Team ensuring there is a clear focus on purpose and outcomes
• Ensure the Team(s) achieve the required outcomes, including a strong focus on children and families, to include the ongoing identification of the needs of the client group.
• Achieve positive outcomes for children within the social care system, ensuring that children are safeguarded through effective decision making and practice
• Ensure social work intervention in the lives of children and families is of a consistently high standard and meets the needs of Tower Hamlets diverse communities.
• Contribute to the development of the service and assist team manager colleagues when need arises.

About You

• Have a good knowledge of legal frameworks and understanding of child protection practices, including public law outline requirements as well childcare proceedings.
• Provide direct line management and supervision to practitioners including ASYEs who work with children and young people under statutory obligations
• Manage and lead staff to achieve high performance and effective operational delivery, including developing and improving staff capability
• Be responsible for and report upon the teams’ budgetary position, ensuring effective use of resources
• Establish and maintain positive relationships with key partner agencies in order to develop and support children and families who are in need
• Support children to achieve permanency when children become looked
• Commitment to your own personal development and professional growth
• Support the team and the organisation through change.

Requirements

• Working knowledge of the legislative framework within which Social Care operates, inclusive of regulation, national guidance and procedures specific to this post.
• Thorough understanding of quality assurance an ability to integrate this understanding into practice
• A nationally recognised or other Social Work England recognised social work qualification
• Social work experience and experience of supervising/mentoring others
• Proven experience in long term child protection work with a strong understanding of the importance of timeliness and maintaining child focused approach
• Demonstrated experience and expertise in working within Child Protection teams.
• A commitment to working transparently; in partnership with children, young people, families, and partner agencies

See JD for full details

Our Offer

We've been working hard to make Tower Hamlets a great place to practice social work. We are committed to developing excellent managers and practitioners and making Tower Hamlets an employer of choice.

If you choose to work with us, you will benefit from:

A competitive salary - £58,551 - £61,686 plus retention allowance of £4,971 per annum and zones 2&3 travel card

• Up to 31 days annual leave rising to 32 days with 5 years continual service and 8 bank holidays
• Zone 2-3 travel card, season ticket loan
• Opportunities to develop your practice, with a clear framework for career development/leadership programme
• Good quality, regular, reflective supervision
• Manageable caseloads for your team
• Enhanced sick pay scheme, maternity/adoption leave pay and maternity support leave
• Opportunities for agile/flexible working
• Cycle to work scheme/Rent deposit scheme/Access to free eye tests
• Discounted gym/Costco membership & You at Work discounts and many others

We have fantastic transport links –Tower Hamlets Town Hall is directly opposite Whitechapel Station, which is a minute away. Whitechapel is an interchange station which serves Hammersmith & City, District, Overground, with quick access to central line DLR and Jubilee lines. We also have the Crossrail Elizabeth line with links to Canary Wharf, Shenfield/Abbey Wood/Heathrow and Stratford, which is the best-connected hub in London.

How to Apply:

Please complete our online application form stating how you meet the criteria from the JDPS person specification.

Closing date: 20th April

Shortlisting: 24th April

Interviews: 6th May

Please hold these dates.

If you would like any further information about the role, please contact Jaishree Bisht at jaishree.bisht@towerhamlets.gov.uk or Priti Soni at priti.soni@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Additional Details

Tower Hamlets vision for our borough is that: people are aspirational, independent and have equal access to opportunities; we are a borough that our residents are proud of and love to live in; and we are a dynamic, outcomes-based council using digital innovation and partnership working to respond to the changing needs of our borough. We want people who aspire to our TOWER values: Together; Open; Willing; Excellent; Respect.

Tower Hamlets has a zero-tolerance approach to, and works to eradicate, all forms of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital status, status as a civil partner, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and maternity and looks to employ a diverse workforce representative of those groups. We recognise that people can also be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class.

Benefits

Tower Hamlets is a truly unique borough at the heart of London – a place where history and innovation sit side by side. From the docks and markets that shaped the East End to the global business hub of Canary Wharf, we are proud to be one of the most dynamic, diverse, and ambitious communities in the UK. We are also one of the fastest growing and youngest boroughs in the country, offering unrivalled opportunities to make a real difference to people’s lives. Our residents are energetic, creative, and resilient, and our council is committed to delivering the best possible services and opportunities for them.

Our award-winning new Town Hall in Whitechapel provides a modern, flexible workplace for our staff, right at the heart of the borough and directly opposite Whitechapel Tube and Elizabeth line station. It is more than just a workplace – it’s a hub for collaboration, innovation and community, designed to bring out the best in our people.

As an employer, we put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of everything we do. Our active Employee Network Groups celebrate and champion our workforce, helping to ensure that everyone feels a sense of belonging. Guided by our TOWER values – Together, Open, Willing, Excellent and Respect – we are building a positive, inclusive culture where colleagues can thrive.

At Tower Hamlets Council, you’ll find exciting challenges, supportive colleagues, and the chance to shape one of London’s most important and vibrant places. If you’re looking for a role where you can see the impact of your work every day, then Tower Hamlets is the place for you.