Assistant Team Manager - Fostering

Overview

Are you an experienced Social Worker ready to take the next step into leadership, while continuing to make a lasting difference to the lives of children and young people?

Join our Fostering & Adoption service as an Assistant Team Manager and play a key role in supporting foster carers, developing social work practice, and helping children achieve the best possible outcomes.

As an Assistant Team Manager, you will support the Team Manager in leading a multi-disciplinary team, supervising social workers, promoting high-quality practice, and ensuring children and young people remain at the heart of everything we do.

Take a look at our Children's Social Care Candidate Pack to find out more.

This is a Fixed Term / Secondment until April 2027

About us

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.  

Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK and yet it is incredibly well connected– only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.

We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey. You will be entitled to a range of different benefits to make sure you are happy both at work and at home.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to combine frontline social work expertise with leadership responsibilities in a supportive and progressive Fostering & Adoption service. Working closely with the Team Manager, you will help oversee the delivery of statutory services, provide professional supervision and guidance to social workers, and contribute to the ongoing development of high-quality services for children, young people, foster carers and families.

You will play an important role in maintaining high standards of practice, supporting staff development, and ensuring children’s voices are heard throughout the decision-making process. The role offers excellent variety, with responsibility for case oversight, performance monitoring, fostering activity, partnership working, and supporting complex decision-making. Working alongside a range of professionals including foster carers, health professionals, education colleagues and social care teams, you will help deliver positive outcomes for children in care and those requiring support and protection.

Key responsibilities include:

• Supporting the Team Manager in the leadership, management and supervision of social work staff.
• Providing supervision, guidance and professional support to qualified and unqualified team members.
• Acting as a resource for staff managing complex cases and safeguarding concerns.
• Managing elements of the team's duty system and helping ensure continuity of service delivery.
• Working collaboratively with operational teams to ensure robust care planning for children.
• Supporting induction, mentoring, training and professional development activities.
• Monitoring performance, quality standards and case recording to drive excellent practice.
• Helping to ensure the views, wishes and experiences of children and young people remain central to service delivery.

For a full list of responsibilities and duties, please refer to the Job Description.

Any-Desk:

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

About you

We are looking for a passionate and experienced Social Worker who is committed to improving the lives of children and young people. You will be a confident practitioner with strong leadership potential, capable of supporting and motivating colleagues while maintaining a focus on high-quality practice and positive outcomes. You will bring excellent communication and relationship-building skills, enabling you to work effectively with children, families, carers, colleagues and partner agencies.

You will be resilient, organised and solution-focused, with the ability to manage competing priorities, make sound decisions, and confidently navigate complex situations. You will have a strong understanding of safeguarding, performance management and quality assurance, alongside a genuine commitment to supporting the development of others and creating an environment where excellent social work can thrive.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• A recognised Social Work qualification.
• Current registration with Social Work England.
• A minimum of three years' post-qualification experience within a statutory children's social care environment.
• Experience of managing, reviewing or overseeing caseloads and social work practice.
• Strong assessment, decision-making and risk management skills.
• The ability to monitor quality standards and support service improvement.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and conflict-resolution skills.
• A passion for achieving the best possible outcomes for children and young people.
• A commitment to continuous professional development and learning.

For full details of the essential and desirable criteria, please refer to the Job Description.

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

Other information

If you would like to find out more about this role, please contact Rachel Farrell at [email protected]

Closing date: Midnight on Wednesday 15th July 2026 

Interview date: Monday 20th July 2026 

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

Our values

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Service Area

Buckinghamshire is a successful, growing place with fantastic natural assets, a highly productive economy and many resourceful and thriving communities. However, we are far from complacent and our new and ambitious unitary authority is well placed to tackle the challenges associated with growth, an aging population, climate change and inequalities in both opportunities and outcomes – particularly for our children and young people.

Children’s Services is on an improvement journey and as our very recent Ofsted report shows, we have continued to improve despite the pressures of the pandemic and have built solid foundations for future success. Relationships with partners are strong and our collective response to the pandemic has strengthened and deepened our work together.

We have a big, ambitious agenda for Buckinghamshire, and our teams work collaboratively and at pace to make a positive difference to the lives of children and young people across the county.

We are looking for talented and driven individuals to help us achieve the best outcomes for our children, young people and families in Buckinghamshire. Our key priorities include continuing to protect vulnerable children and young people from harm, whilst sustaining an environment where social work practice can thrive. Through our vital work with our partners, including The Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Childrens Partnership, we continue to improve our collective response to children and young people who have been exposed to domestic abuse, exploitation, substance misuse and mental health issues.

No matter what role you take on in our Children’s services, you will be part of a team who is dedicated to supporting children and their families to achieve their full potential.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements.

We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants and shops, a generous employer pension contribution in line with the Local Government Pension Scheme, discounts on gym memberships and more - https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/

Social Workers are also entitled to a generous enhanced reward package, as follows:

• Competitive salary with a market increment
• A ‘Golden Hello’ lump sum payment upon successful completion of probation
• Annual leave up to 30 days per year, as well as other types of leave and the opportunity to buy further leave
• Up to 15 days per year training, learning and development offer
• Free parking across all of our office sites 

If you are interested in relocating to Buckinghamshire and working with us, relocation packages are also available.