Social Work Team Manager – Life Beyond Care Team (Children’s Services) | 10719 | Permanent Contract | 37 hours per week | £50,166 to £54,277 per annum | Grade L | Dereham
Hi, I am Shannon Willimott, Service Manager for the Life Beyond Care Service at Norfolk County Council. We are proud to have recently received an Ofsted grading of ‘Outstanding’, with recognition of our ‘aspirational senior leadership’. This reflects the commitment and strength of our services and the dedication of our practitioners.
This is an exciting time to join our management team in Norfolk. Our recent Ofsted inspection highlighted that care leavers receive meaningful, ambitious support through the Life Beyond Care service, helping them to build independence and achieve positive outcomes into adulthood. Norfolk is a child-centred authority where children and care leavers are at the heart of everything we do, and where support is focused on enabling them to thrive, succeed, and move confidently into their future.
This is a service that consistently strives to improve outcomes for young people as they move towards independence. We promote a culture that encourages innovation, professional growth and practice that remains firmly centred on the needs and aspirations of young people. Our Team Managers provide strong, supportive leadership, enabling staff to deliver high-quality work and achieve positive, lasting outcomes.
We are seeking a Team Manager with a recognised Social Work qualification to join our Life Beyond Care service. In this role, you will lead work with young people aged 15–18 who are in care, as well as care leavers and young adults aged 18+. A strong understanding of the challenges young people face as they transition to independence and adulthood is essential. Experience of working with care leavers would be beneficial; however, we are committed to developing our leaders and will provide the necessary training and support.
You will demonstrate strong leadership and mentoring skills, working collaboratively as part of a wider management team. We are looking for someone who models relational and creative practice, and who shares our ambition to achieve the best possible outcomes for young people and their networks. For those looking to progress their career, we welcome evidence of strong performance, relationship-based practice, and a willingness to grow in areas such as recruitment, performance management and resource oversight.
You will be joining a committed, supportive and energetic county-wide management team. As a Team Manager, you will lead a diverse group of staff, managing a busy locality team focused on delivering a high-quality service to care leavers. You will be well supported through regular supervision and development opportunities, and we are keen to welcome enthusiastic, motivated and aspirational social work professionals to our service.
Norfolk is a fantastic place to live and work. You will be based in Dereham and work within our West and Breckland area. We are a hybrid service although have mandatory office days and encourage team managers and workers to meet regularly in office spaces which are hybrid friendly. Therefore, a driving licence and access to a vehicle is essential.
Before you apply , we recommend reading the full Job Description and Person Specification to help you demonstrate you meet the criteria.
These are some benefits you can enjoy by working for Norfolk County Council:
- Competitive salary
- Generous holiday entitlement
- Health and Wellbeing services including fast-track physiotherapy and a free counselling service
- Flexible working opportunities including flexi-time, part time, remote and hybrid working – dependant on your job role and business need.
- Financial benefits such as:
- ‘ Norfolk Rewards’ our employee discounts programme which helps you save money on almost anything, from everyday groceries and clothes, to holidays, new technology, gym membership, trips to the cinema and days out.
- A Blue Light card for Fire Service and Social Care Workers
- Relocation expenses (where applicable)
- An advance of your expenses if you travel for work
- Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution, life assurance, death in service payments and dependants’ pensions.
Tax efficient ways of getting extra pension and new bikes
Access to our tax efficient car lease scheme for greener travel enabling you to lease a brand new, ultra-low emission vehicle (subject to eligibility)
A payment if you refer someone you know to a hard to fill job
You can also find information on our Terms and Conditions here.
Already a Norfolk County Council employee? See and apply for internal and external vacancies in myOracle using your @norfolk.gov.uk or @nccal.ac.uk email.
We would like to make you aware that priority consideration for this post may be given to current employees who are at risk due to restructure within the organisation or are in a redeployment position.
Redeployment closing date: 25 June 2026 at 23:55
All other applicants closing date: 2 July 2026 at 23:55
We have miles of beautiful coastline and our unique Broads, thriving market towns and a city with a proud cultural heritage. Our economy is growing and driven by innovation in a number of sectors, including energy and food. We also have ambitious plans for new housing and a building programme for schools across Norfolk. Our county a great place to live, work and visit, and is an excellent environment for businesses to start, grow and innovate.
We are the main local authority for Norfolk providing services countywide to more than 850,000 Norfolk residents. We take the lead in critical policy areas, working with 84 elected Members responsible for the strategic local government services in the county.
We provide a high quality service through involving people who use our services to shape and comment on them and by promoting efficiency and innovation.
We work in partnership with local businesses, voluntary organisations and other local authorities such as District and Parish Councils to provide the people of Norfolk with excellent services.
