Team Manager – Care Leavers Service

Team Manager – Care Leavers Service (Bradford)

• Positions: Team Manager (2 Vacancies: 1x Permanent, 1x Maternity Cover)

• Partner Agency: Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency

• Client: Bradford Children and Families Trust

• Salary: PO6, £51,356 - £54,495 per annum + £3,000 annual retention payment (paid monthly)

• Hours: Full-time, 37 hours per week

• Location: Odsal, Bradford (BD6 1AT) – Office/Hybrid Arrangement

• Closing Date: Sunday 26th July 2026

• Interviews: Week commencing 3rd August 2026

Introduction

At Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency, we are passionate about matching visionary leaders with organizations where they can drive real, meaningful change. We are proud to partner with Bradford Children and Families Trust to recruit two exceptional Team Managers for their Care Leavers Service.

In May 2026, Ofsted rated the experiences and progress of care leavers in Bradford as "Good." The inspectors highlighted strong leadership, a highly supported workforce, and excellent relational practice. This is your chance to lead a team that is already thriving and making a profound difference in the lives of care-experienced young people.

About the Role

As a Team Manager in the Care Leavers Service, you will champion a restorative and relational approach to corporate parenting. You will inspire and lead a dedicated team of Personal Advisors and a Practice Supervisor, helping care-experienced young people build the confidence, skills, and support networks they need to transition successfully into adulthood.

To meet the growing needs of the service, the Trust is recruiting for two managerial openings:

1. Permanent Post: Lead a newly created Leaving Care Team, shaping its culture, workflows, and success from the ground up.

2. Maternity Cover Post: Step in to lead an established, mature, and highly stable Leaving Care Team, ensuring seamless continuity of excellent practice.

Key Responsibilities:

• Aspirational Care Planning: Ensure pathway planning and care plans are robust, creative, and explicitly focused on improving long-term outcomes for care leavers.

• Practice Leadership: Drive practice improvement and quality assurance through regular case audits, direct practice observations, and reflective supervision.

• Service Development: Contribute to the continuous development of the Care Leavers Local Offer and design innovative service-wide initiatives.

• Multi-Agency Partnership: Collaborate with key partners across housing, education, training, and mental health to ensure young people receive holistic, timely support.

• Team Wellbeing: Cultivate a nurturing and supportive learning environment, championing the professional development and emotional wellbeing of your staff.

What You Will Need to Succeed

We are looking for a confident, proactive social work manager who is deeply committed to corporate parenting principles and relational social work.

• Qualifications: A recognized professional social work qualification and active registration with Social Work England.

• Experience: Significant post-qualifying experience in children’s social care, specifically working with children in care and care-experienced young people.

• Leadership Skills: Proven experience leading and managing teams, offering high-quality reflective supervision, and driving performance.

• Knowledge: In-depth knowledge of safeguarding, permanency planning, and leaving care legislation.

• Interpersonal Strength: Outstanding communication, negotiation, and partnership-working skills, with the ability to build collaborative relationships across complex multi-agency networks.

What’s in it for You?

When you join Bradford Children and Families Trust through our agency, you will be part of an organization that actively invests in its leaders:

• Financial Benefits: A competitive salary scale and an annual retention payment of £3,000 (paid in 12 monthly instalments).

• Generous Annual Leave: 31 days of annual leave, rising to 34 days with continuous service (plus bank holidays).

• Pension Scheme: Excellent Local Government Pension.

• Work-Life Balance: Comprehensive family-friendly policies, enhanced parental leave, and hybrid working options.

• Wellbeing Support: Access to Occupational Health services, confidential counseling, and diverse staff support networks.

• Career Development: Abundant training, leadership development, and clear internal progression opportunities.