Team Manager - Quality Assurance and Safeguarding

About the job

Salary: £51,802 - £54,924 a year plus £3,203 car benefit allowance and £5,000 market supplement allowance
Hours per week: 37
Contract type: Permanent

In this pivotal position, you will lead the development, delivery and continuous improvement of our Quality Assurance Framework. You’ll have strategic oversight of audit activity and practice improvement, driving a high support, high challenge culture across the service. Your role will directly influence the quality of outcomes for children and families in Luton.

You’ll:

• Lead on audit programmes and thematic reviews that inform strategic priorities and training needs.
• Provide expert consultation, coaching, and challenge to practitioners, senior managers, and elected members.
• Champion outstanding social work practice and model what “good” looks like across the workforce.
• Collaborate with the Social Work Academy Manager to enhance career pathways, CPD, and professional standards.
• Embed the voice of the child in service design and delivery and act as strategic lead on child exploitation and vulnerability.
• Represent Luton at regional forums and multi-agency panels, using data and insight to influence service direction and improvement.
• Lead the development and delivery of learning events following serious case reviews and inspections (e.g. Ofsted).
• Act as a key change agent in the implementation of high-quality standards, new service policies, and improvement frameworks.

Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.

About you

We are looking for an experienced, innovative, and dynamic leader with a passion for delivering excellence in social work. You will bring:

• Substantial experience in leading service improvement and performance monitoring in a complex safeguarding or children’s social care environment.
• Proven track record of managing audits, practice improvement plans and delivering sustainable outcomes.
• Exceptional skills in coaching, mentoring and supervising staff in matrix management environments.
• Expertise in using performance data, KPIs and research to inform best practice and service change.
• Strong partnership working skills with multi-agency stakeholders across Police, Health, Education and voluntary sectors.
• Advanced analytical skills, including proficiency in Excel and other data tools.
• In-depth knowledge of relevant legislation, statutory guidance, and best practice across 0–25 age groups (Children Acts, SEND Code, etc).
• Recognised social work qualification (DipSW, CQSW or equivalent), registered with Social Work England.
• Evidence of continuous professional development, aligned to professional frameworks and leadership competencies.

About us

Luton Council has been selected to deliver the government’s Families First for Children Pathfinder programme.

Luton is one of seven new areas in the second wave to be chosen with the aim of protecting vulnerable children from harm and improving services to help more children stay with their families in safe and loving homes.

The programme is an amazing opportunity for Luton to shape future social care practice, which includes closer working relationships with our health, police, education and voluntary sector partners.

Children are at the heart of everything we do in Luton, and we are very proud of the tremendous work that is already taking place together with our partners, including the development of our Family Hubs and working towards making Luton a child-friendly town where our children and young people can grow up feeling happy, healthy and secure.

Our ambitious Luton 2040 Vision – that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.

The people of Luton depend heavily on this council – and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?

We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough

Application process

Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare all unspent cautions and convictions; and also any adult cautions (simple or conditional), and spent convictions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020). A person’s criminal record will not in itself prevent a person from being appointed to this post. Applicants will not be refused posts because of offences which are not relevant to, and do not place them at or make them a risk in, the role for which they are applying. However in the event of the employment being taken up, any failure to disclose such offence, as detailed above, will result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the Authority.

Additional information

We offer a range of excellent staff benefits which include:

• From 25 to 32 days’ annual leave: linked to length of service and grade
• Buying annual leave scheme: buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
• Career Pathways: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
• Pension scheme: with generous employer contributions of up to 20.2 per cent (at July 2023) and 3x salary death in service grant
• Generous relocation package: up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
• Employee Assistance Programme: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
• Work/life balance: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
• Training and support: unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
• Staff offers: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
• Arriva Travel Club: great value savings on local bus travel
• Friday Funday Socials - One Friday every 2 months where we encourage our staff to get together to socialise after work

Available documents

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

• download: Quality Assurance Audit & Practice Improvement Manager JD.pdf
• download: Luton_Values_Flyer.pdf