Team Manager - Care Experienced Support

Fixed Term 2 Years Full Time 37 hours per week Staying Close is a model which provides an enhanced support package for young people leaving care from children’s homes or fostering and is designed to be a comparable offer to the option to Stay Put, which supports young people in foster care to remain with their former foster carers until age 21. Staying Close provides an offer of move-on accommodation, alongside a package of practical and emotional support, provided by a Personal Adviser and support staff. These bespoke packages of support help develop their confidence and skills for independent living, and for their emotional health and wellbeing. Devon County Council have recently made being Care Experienced a protected characteristic. This is a huge achievement for those who have been in the care of the local authority, but there is still a long way to go. Now is the time to ‘bridge the gap’ in the support and guidance provided to Children and Young People who are Care Experienced. So… do you want to be involved in a new and exciting opportunity? Do you have what it takes to make a difference to the lives of Care Experienced Young People. We have a new project named Staying Close, and are seeking highly motivated, resilient, innovative individuals to join our team, providing support and guidance for those that are Care Experienced across the County. This project is currently funded for 2 years, with hopes of this being successful and becoming permanent. This is a fantastic Department of Education initiative, to improve the outcomes for Care Experienced People when transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. Your role will take a high profile lead in enabling Devon County Council to meet its statutory obligations regarding the involvement, engagement and consultation of Care-Experienced adults, aged 18-25 years - as well as those aged 16-17 who are transitioning to adulthood. You will also ensure that the Children’s Services meet its statutory and other obligations regarding equality and diversity, including equality of access and customer service; with particular regard to the inclusion of vulnerable groups. You will ensure that Care Experienced Young People are supported and encouraged to make informed life choices which enable them to lead successful adult lives, as well as improving the life chances of Young People living in, and leaving local authority care. This role involves the line management of a team of Support Workers and Personal Advisors. It is an expectation that you will have, and maintain, up to date knowledge of legislation, guidance and regulatory standards pertaining to the involvement of Children and Young People in the service. Your role will be fully focused on the needs of the Care Experienced, and be led by those needs in the decisions you are making. You will be passionate about making a difference to the lives of Care-Experienced people. If you wish to be a part of this projects success, and feel passionately about helping others and making a change, we would love to hear from you! Now is the time to Stand Up, Speak up! Additional information The salary range for this role is £48,474 to £52,566 per annum Devon County Council We offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of young people and their families in Devon. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available: * We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home. * Generous annual leave allowance. * Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services. * Auto enrolment onto our Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme. * A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain benefits such as, ‘cycle for work’ and health screenings. DBS information This post requires a criminal background check via the Disclosure procedure. Interviews for this role will be taking place on Friday 3rd May 2024. Please ensure, when completing your application form, that you provide a supporting statement which demonstrates how you meet the essential and desirable criteria as described in the job description. Applications may not be taken forwards if the supporting statement is not adequately completed. Note: We do not sponsor Visa’s for this post. UK Right to Work is required. Please note that the ability to drive with access to your own vehicle, a valid UK driving licence and business insurance is essential to the role. Please click Apply Now to see further information. * DCC embraces the positive benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to providing an environment that is inclusive and safe. We welcome applications from people who share our commitment to stop discrimination, challenge inequality and promote diversity across Devon. More information can be found on our Equality and Diversity webpages. * Happy to Talk Flexible Working - The Council offers flexible working arrangements in terms of when and where people work e.g. hybrid working, part-time, condensed hours etc. * We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. * This role requires the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English. * Personal data we collect from you will be processed in accordance with the Applicant privacy notice. * For more information about Working for Devon please visit our Working for Devon page