East Midlands

400 - 400 GBP Per Day

Children's Services

Contract

Reference 3021

Service Manager – Leaving Care
Nottingham City Council
£400 per day (Umbrella) | Locum/Interim Contract | Full-time (37 hrs) | Hybrid working

Nottingham City Council is looking for an experienced Service Manager to lead its Leaving Care service, supporting young people as they move from care to independence. This is a senior operational role where you’ll set direction, drive performance, and make sure care leavers get consistent, high-quality support that actually changes outcomes.

If you’re confident leading teams in a fast-paced statutory environment and you’ve got strong knowledge of leaving care duties, this is a brilliant opportunity to take ownership of a vital service area.

About the Role

You’ll be responsible for the day-to-day leadership and development of the Leaving Care service, ensuring the Council meets its statutory responsibilities and delivers a strong corporate parenting offer to young people (typically ages 16–25). You’ll work closely with internal teams and partner agencies to improve practice, strengthen pathways, and keep a sharp focus on measurable outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Lead and manage the operational delivery of the Leaving Care service, ensuring statutory duties are met and young people receive consistent support.
Provide strong leadership to Team Managers, Personal Advisers and practitioners, driving performance, accountability and a positive team culture.
Ensure Pathway Plans are timely, high-quality, outcome-focused, and reviewed in line with legislation and local expectations.
Oversee safeguarding practice for care leavers, including risk management, escalation and multi-agency planning.
Drive quality assurance activity (audit, oversight, learning) to improve standards of practice and recording.
Work closely with partners (housing, education, health, police, DWP and commissioned providers) to remove barriers and strengthen the local offer.
Manage service resources effectively, including staffing, service development priorities and (where applicable) budgets/commissioned arrangements.
Contribute to wider service planning, inspection readiness and continuous improvement activity.

Practice Model

Nottingham’s approach is rooted in relationship-based, strengths-led practice. The Leaving Care service works as part of the Council’s wider corporate parenting responsibility—keeping the focus on stability, identity, safety, and long-term independence. You’ll champion reflective supervision, purposeful planning, and multi-agency problem-solving that keeps the young person’s voice at the centre.

Requirements

Significant management experience within Children’s Social Care, ideally including Leaving Care / Care Leavers / Through Care services.
Strong working knowledge of leaving care legislation and guidance (including Pathway Planning duties and corporate parenting responsibilities).
Proven experience leading multi-disciplinary teams, driving performance and improving outcomes.
Confident decision-maker with strong risk management and safeguarding oversight.
Excellent stakeholder management skills across internal services and external partners.
Social Work qualification and Social Work England registration (preferred) or a clearly relevant equivalent professional background aligned to the remit.