Service Leader for MASSH and OOH (Multi-agency safeguarding and support hub and out of hours)
MB2 (£59,395 - £67,990)
37 hours, Full-Time
Temporary (maternity leave cover until 31st July 2027)
Hybrid: Stopford House and homeworking
Application Deadline: 11th June 2026, 11:59pm
Please be aware that we may close this vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Shortlisting Date: 12th June 2026
Interview Date: 19th June 2026
Interview Type: Face to Face
Join us at Stockport Council MJ Local Authority of the Year 2025
Your Role
This role is a leadership opportunity at Stockport Council, providing strategic and operational oversight of the Multi Agency Safeguarding and Support Hub (MASSH) and Out of Hours services to ensure children, young people and families get the right support at the right time. You will be a passionate and experienced social work leader who is used to working in a fast-paced environment, alongside having experience of high-level partnership working, safeguarding expertise and service development with responsibility for quality assurance, performance, workforce leadership and inspection readiness, all within a restorative, multi-agency model. You will be expected to lead integrated practice across agencies, drive continuous improvement, champion the voice of children and families, and ensure services are safe, effective, evidence-based and responsive to need.
About You
You will be passionate about relationship-based work with children and families, proud of your social work profession and be able to reflect and think both creatively and strategically about how you can build relationships to make a difference with children and families.
You will be experienced at reviewing performance, quality assurance and associated action planning to improve service delivery and activity.
You will be a highly experienced leader, who has experience of leading or coaching staff within children services, including offering supervision and support to practitioners to thrive in their role.
You will be committed to your professional development, take up the vast amount of learning opportunities on offer and be excited about being a part of Stockport Family as a Service Leader.
In Stockport Family we value diversity and the unique perspectives that each of us bring and are committed to recruiting a workforce that is representative of the diverse needs of our communities.
About us
What do social workers say about working in Stockport?
“Working in Stockport makes you love social work again. From the moment I started as a Senior Practitioner in Stockport, I fell in love with my job again. This is real social work. If you miss direct work with children, life story work, systemic genograms, family network meetings, reflective practice, relationships, this is the place for you. The term ‘restorative practice’ genuinely means something here and everyone from front line workers to senior management care about keeping families together and management care about their staff”.
As a Service Leader in Stockport Family you will benefit from:
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A model of restorative practice relationships are the key to how we work together with our families and each other restorative practice training offered to all
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Systemic social work practice to help bring about the change that families need to be safe and thriving access to systemic practice training and foundation year, including systemic supervision skills
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Co-located, integrated working bringing local authority, health and education services together so you can get the help you need quickly for families
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High quality and regular supervision, recognising we are humans first, professionals second
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Innovative and creative ways of working so that there are always opportunities for your personal development and to learn how to do things differently
- Supportive senior leadership team that listens and responds to feedback
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Regular informal learning circles to keep your knowledge and skills up to date
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Dedicated workforce development managers for every stage of your career
Genuine commitment to your Continuing Professional Development with regular opportunities across Stockport Family for short and long training courses tailored to your needs and interests.
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We can also offer you an opportunity to work alongside a skilled and experienced integrated leadership team with a high level of support and development opportunities. You will receive regular supervision, access to training and development opportunities and work in a supportive culture where we are ambitious about delivering excellent social work practice and supporting you to be the very best you can be.
About our model
In Stockport, our model is different to lots of our neighbours. Our focus is on relationships, and we have sought to reduce the number of times that children and families have to re-tell their story and make new relationships with professionals, by taking out the transition points within our social work teams. This offers a unique opportunity for you to lead a team who will be working with children and their families from the point of assessment, throughout their journey within the social care process.
We have adopted a model of Restorative Practice in Stockport, not just with our children and families, but also in our professional relationships. We work ‘with’ children and families and in collaboration with each other, to enable positive and sustained change; helping families to overcome difficulties, repair harm and achieve the best possible outcomes. We practice in a way which offers ‘high support and high challenge’ and build relationships so that there is mutual understanding and trust between professionals, services and families.
We are continuing to develop our team around the school model and a key part of the role will be to ensure that you and your team build relationships particularly with our special schools, to understand the needs of children and families and offer support at the earliest possible opportunity.
Our relentless focus is on striving for the best outcomes possible for our children and families. You will play an important part in delivering outstanding practice and ensuring that children and families are at the heart of all decision-making and service delivery each day.
At Stockport Council we are one ambitious team on a mission to create opportunities for everyone who lives, works and spends time in the borough. Working at Stockport Council means contributing to one of the most thriving towns in the North. We’re keen to recruit people with the right values and behaviours that can help us ensure our workplace values are at the heart of everything we do.
We are proud to be recognised under the Good Employment Charter as an organisation committed to the wellbeing of our colleagues. As members of the charter, we have been recognised as a great place to work for all colleagues and pledge to pay the real living wage, engage staff in key decisions and endorse fair and flexible working conditions.
If you would like to discuss this role further, please contact Head of Service:
Rachel Rollings [email protected] or 07800 618661 to arrange an informal discussion about the role.
The successful applicant’s appointment will be subject to satisfactory pre-employment clearances including a Disclosure and Barring Service check.
Stockport Council holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not currently qualify.
Please note that we have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers and ex-military personnel. As part of the Guaranteed Assessment Scheme you will therefore be guaranteed to be shortlisted for Assessment if you meet both the criteria for the scheme and the essential job role criteria.
Find out if you meet the criteria here: https://www.greater.jobs/our-guaranteed-assessment-scheme
If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application. Please also email [email protected].
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