Locum Safeguarding Team Manager

Team Manager (Children’s Services – Disabled Children’s Service)

Location:

 
Mid & East Devon – Devon County Council  

Brief Job Overview

 
We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Team Manager to join Devon County Council’s Disabled Children’s Service, supporting children and young people with disabilities across Mid & East Devon.  

This is an exciting opportunity to play a leading role in shaping high-quality, restorative social care services for children and families. Working within a supportive management structure, you will lead a skilled team of practitioners, ensuring effective service delivery, high professional standards, and the best possible outcomes for children and young people.  

Key Responsibilities

• Provide operational and professional leadership to the Disabled Children’s Service, managing a team of dedicated social workers and support staff.
• Champion restorative and relationship-based practice across the team, promoting a culture of trust, reflection, and collaboration.
• Ensure high-quality supervision and support is provided to staff, enabling professional development and consistent standards of practice.
• Oversee and quality-assure complex casework, ensuring that statutory responsibilities and best practice standards are met.
• Work in partnership with families, carers, and external agencies to develop innovative, person-centred plans that meet the needs of disabled children and young people.
• Promote effective risk management and safeguarding practice, ensuring timely and proportionate responses to concerns.
• Contribute to service improvement and performance monitoring, identifying areas for development and implementing change where needed.
• Represent the service in multi-agency meetings, panels, and forums, ensuring the voice of children and families is heard and acted upon.
• Support the continued rollout of Devon’s restorative practice model, embedding training and reflective supervision across your team.

About You

 
You are a confident and compassionate leader who can inspire others to achieve excellence in practice. You bring extensive experience in children’s social care, ideally within a setting that supports children with disabilities, and you’re committed to delivering high-quality, person-centred services.  

You’ll have strong interpersonal and organisational skills, with the ability to balance strategic oversight with the day-to-day operational demands of the role. You are resilient, reflective, and passionate about improving outcomes for children and families.

Requirements

• Qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England.
• Substantial post-qualifying experience within Children’s Social Care, including management or leadership experience.
• Proven experience in managing services for children with disabilities or children with complex needs.
• Strong knowledge of Children’s Act 1989, Care Act 2014, and SEND legislation.
• Excellent communication, analytical, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and support practitioners to deliver positive outcomes.
• Commitment to restorative practice, reflective supervision, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to work on-site in Devon at least twice per week and travel across the area as needed.

Contract & Salary

• Job Type: Locum / Fixed-term
• Location: Mid & East Devon, Devon County Council
• Service Area: Disabled Children’s Service
• Contract Length: 3 months (with potential for extension)
• Salary: Negotiable, dependent on experience
• Working Hours: Full-time, 37 hours per week
• Working Pattern: Hybrid – minimum two days per week on-site

About the Service

 
Devon County Council’s Disabled Children’s Service provides specialist support for children and young people with disabilities, ensuring that their needs are met with care, creativity, and compassion. The service promotes independence, inclusion, and positive life outcomes through a strengths-based and relationship-focused approach.  

We are proud to be embedding restorative practice across all our teams, investing heavily in staff training and leadership development to ensure that both practitioners and managers are equipped to deliver the best possible service.

How to Apply

 
If you are an experienced and dedicated Team Manager who is passionate about supporting children with disabilities and leading a team committed to restorative, high-quality practice, we’d love to hear from you.  
Please apply using the form on the page.