Service Manager – Independent Reviewing Officers and Family Group Conferencing

How You'll Make a Difference

Great services never stand still. Jon a Children's Social Care Service rated Good by Ofsted and help shape the next phase of improvement for children and families in South Gloucestershire. As Service Manager, you will lead the Independent Reviewing Officers and Family Group Conferencing Service, strengthening care planning, family-led decision-making and statutory oversight for Children in Care and Care Leavers.

Working across Children's Services and the wider safeguarding partnership, you will provide strategic leadership, quality assurance and constructive challenge to support high-quality practice. Using performance, audit and service information, you will help ensure reviews are timely and effective, care plans progress without drift, and children, young people and families achieve the best possible outcomes.

What You Will Be Doing

• It will be your responsibility to lead, support and develop Independent Reviewing Officers and Family Group Conferencing Coordinators, promoting high standards of practice and staff wellbeing.
• You will undertake authority-wide monitoring of Children in Care and Care Leaver reviews, ensuring consistent chairing, statutory timescales and effective progression of care plans.
• Using performance, audit and quality data, you will identify concerns, challenge practice and lead policy, training and service improvements.
• Working collaboratively with senior officers, partner agencies and multi-agency forums, you will build strong professional relationships to influence practice, support improvement and achieve positive outcomes for children, young people and families.
  
  

What We Need From You

• It is essential that you hold a recognised social work qualification, such as DipSW, CQSW, CSS or equivalent, and be registered with Social Work England.
• We are looking for someone with extensive post-qualification experience managing social workers and managers within Safeguarding and Children in Care services.
• You will have the ability to lead and develop a specialist team, manage strategic change and major projects, and influence decision-making across complex partnerships.
• We require you to have a good understanding of childcare law, guidance and practice relating to Children in Care and Child Protection, including the IRO Handbook and Working Together.
• Knowledge of family-led decision-making, Family Group Conferencing and equality, diversity and inclusion principles will enable you to provide effective service leadership.
• You will demonstrate highly developed communication, negotiation and analytical skills, with the ability to present complex and sensitive information clearly to senior leaders and elected members.
  
  

What You Need To Know

• This is a limited term position, with a current end date of 17th October 2027.
• Exisiting employees wishing to apply on an acting up basis are encouraged to discuss this with your exisitng line manager ahead of application.
• Please note that due to the nature of this role, it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained.
• As you will be travelling throughout the authority and surrounding area, a full driving licence with access to a vehicle or an alternative means of travel is needed.
  
  

Interviews will be held on 3rd November 2026.

How a Career At South Gloucestershire Council Is Different

• As part of our benefits package, you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities.
• We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.
• We invest in the careers of our people, and we are recognised for the quality, breadth and depth of our training and development offer, which helps our people make the greatest long-term difference in their work.
• What’s special here is the strength of the team ethos. We are a relatively small local authority, so managers know staff well. They can plan their services to ensure teams have manageable caseloads and have effective supervision so feel supported to make decisions which are right for the children and young people they work with.
• We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Ensuring all our staff are given right skills, knowledge and support to recognise and respond effectively to potential abuse or neglect.
  
  

Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here.

• We're building and shaping communities which people are proud of.
• We’re providing essential services across our communities to ensure they are safe and well maintained.
  
  

We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference.

We’re making a difference, be part of it!

To view the full job description, please click this link: Service Manager - Independent Reviewing Officers and FGC