Team Manager (Social Work) - East

Team Manager – East Duty and Assessment Service (Bradford)

• Position: Team Manager (East Duty & Assessment)

• Partner Agency: Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency

• Client: Bradford Children and Families Trust

• Salary: Grade PO6 (SCPs 40-43), £51,356 - £54,495 per annum + Annual retention payment (paid monthly)

• Hours: Full-time, 37 hours per week

• Contract: Maternity Cover (9–12 months) – available as a Secondment or Fixed-Term Contract

  (Note: For internal secondments, please secure your line manager’s approval before applying)

• Location: Bradford East Locality

• Closing Date: Sunday 26th July 2026

• Interviews: Week commencing 3rd August 2026

Introduction

At Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency, we excel at connecting bold, nurturing leaders with roles where they can make an immediate, tangible impact. We are proud to partner with Bradford Children and Families Trust to recruit an innovative and dedicated Team Manager to lead the East Duty and Assessment Service on a fixed-term or secondment basis.

Bradford is a vibrant, culturally diverse city, and the Trust is deeply committed to a restorative, relational practice model. This maternity cover post offers a fantastic opportunity for an experienced social work leader to step up, guide a dedicated front-line team, and ensure that children remain at the absolute heart of every safeguarding assessment and intervention.

About the Role

As the Team Manager for East Duty and Assessment, you will lead a fast-paced, critical service. You will be responsible for ensuring that assessments, early support, and crisis interventions are completed to high standards, keeping children safe and helping families reach their full potential.

With a supportive leadership team behind you, you will hold the responsibility of keeping your team of frontline professionals energized, focused, and aligned with statutory timescales.

Key Responsibilities:

• Team Leadership: Manage a multi-disciplinary team comprising 6 Social Workers of differing experience levels, a Practice Supervisor, and a Community Resource Worker.

• Supervision & Mentorship: Provide high-quality, child-focused, and personal reflective supervision to support staff progression and proactively manage team performance.

• Risk Management & Decision Making: Support social workers to navigate complex, high-risk cases while chairing multi-agency meetings and making robust decisions grounded in a thorough understanding of safeguarding thresholds.

• Quality Assurance: Lead audit activities, group supervisions, and quality assurance exercises to drive continuous practice improvement and disseminate key learning.

• Change & Development: Drive localized practice development projects, implement service-wide changes, and champion a nurturing, restorative leadership style.

What You Will Need to Succeed

We are looking for a confident, decisive social work manager who thrives in a dynamic front-door environment and is passionate about staff development.

• Qualifications: DipSW or equivalent qualification with active registration as a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England.

• Experience: Minimum of 4 years post-qualifying experience in children’s services, with previous experience in a supervisory or management capacity.

• Knowledge: Expert, up-to-date working knowledge of relevant statutory, legal, and safeguarding frameworks.

• Relational Skills: Strong interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to build trust and negotiate effectively with families, multi-agency partners, and colleagues.

• Secondment Criteria: If applying as a secondment, you must currently be employed by Bradford Children and Families Trust on a permanent contract.

What’s in it for You?

Bradford Children and Families Trust is committed to supporting its workforce with an extensive package designed for your financial stability, professional development, and personal wellbeing:

• Retention Bonus: Eligibility for the Trust’s annual retention payment (paid in 12 monthly instalments).

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

• Financial Stability: Excellent Local Government Pension Scheme.

• Wellbeing Focus: Full access to Occupational Health, confidential counselling services, and supportive staff networks.

• Work-Life Balance: Family-friendly working policies and enhanced parental leave schemes.

• Career Growth: Manageable workloads, structured coaching, and extensive training opportunities.

Our Commitment to Safeguarding

Bradford Children and Families Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All preferred candidates will undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (including the Children’s barred list) and will be required to disclose relevant criminal history prior to interview.