Team Leader - Children's Services (Child Protection Team)

Vacancy Information

Hourly rate of pay: £30.02 - £33.79

Days and Hours of Work:
Monday - Friday, 09:00-17:00
Starting and finishing times are flexible, and flexi time is applicable.
To start 1st February 2027.

 East Lothian Children’s Services have an exciting opportunity for a Team Leader to join the Child Protection Team. The team currently consists of 1 team leader, 4 senior practitioners, 1 social worker, family support workers and administrative support. Please note there will be a 6-month transition period where the exiting team leader will be on part-time hours as part of their flexible retirement plans.

Children’s Services is located in an open plan office with onsite parking and we promote an open, trusting and communicative culture at all levels of the organisation.

Applicants should have a sound value base, excellent communication and report writing skills, a comprehensive knowledge of Child Protection processes, as well as knowledge regarding legislation and the social work role and responsibilities. We prioritise the use of Signs of Safety assessments with an emphasis on relationship-based interventions.

The successful candidate will work well under pressure and be able to manage the competing demands of the role. This includes being part of the duty team-leader rota, screening and allocating new referrals, supporting staff, providing supervision and ensuring we provide high-quality interventions with children and families.

East Lothian Children’s Services are absolutely committed to keeping The Promise and keeping children, young people and their families’ voices at the heart of everything we do. We are keen to recruit a leader who is passionate about achieving the best possible outcomes for children, young people and their families.

We are committed to promoting an open and trusting culture at all levels of the organisation and prioritise continuous professional development and learning. Our staff are our greatest asset and we strive to be supportive and inclusive by prioritising effective supervision, manageable caseloads and a healthy work life balance.

Our vision is to support children and young people to live with their families when it is safe to do so. We have redesigned our services to ensure that the right support is offered at the right time and our staff are involved in developing services and implementing improvement activity around this goal.

We benefit from access to a clinical psychologist who supports our staff with complex work. We recognise the emotional impact of the role and strive to promote staff resilience.

We have an accessible senior management team who are committed to recruiting the best people to compliment the wide range of knowledge and experience that exists throughout the service.

If you wish to discuss this job vacancy or working for East Lothian Council, please feel free to contact the recruitment manager on: David Fenwick 01875824309

Home / Hybrid Working Consideration
Applications for home or hybrid working will be considered for this post in accordance with East Lothian Council’s Home Working and Worksmart Policies which can be found here. Home or Hybrid working options can be discussed with candidates invited for interview.

Please Note:
All home/hybrid workers must live in the UK. Where an application for home-working is supported, it will be subject to a satisfactory trial period. Employees will be expected to attend Council offices for the duration of induction, and be on site in East Lothian workplaces, as required. Employees with a hybrid working arrangement in place will be office based and able to work from home, with permission, on an ad hoc basis.

Job Details

To provide management and leadership within Children’s Services (social work), in accordance with the Service Plan, Children and Families legislation, early intervention and prevention and joint working with partners in Adult Services, Education, Police, Health, Housing and other professionals as appropriate.

Please download the Job Outline/Person Specification (available under 'Job Attachments') for the full range of tasks and duties associated with this job. You will need to refer to these in order to complete the application form. You must ensure you meet every 'essential' criteria stated on the Person Specification to be considered for interview.

The ‘East Lothian Way’– values and behaviours we expect our employees to demonstrate in their everyday work. Should you be invited to interview, you may be asked questions based on these behaviours. Please refer to the document via the link to familiarise yourself with them.

Job Requirements

Relevant Qualifications
Approved qualification in Social Work, and SSSC Registration.

Certificate in Child Protection or Post Qualifying award in Practice Teaching or Mental Health.

SSSC registration is an essential requirement of this role. If you are appointed and are not already a member of the relevant section of the SSSC Register, you will be required to apply for registration within 3 months of your start date to ensure that you are registered within the required 6 months.

Driving Licence
As the duties of this role require you to effectively travel to successfully undertake the full remit of the role, you must hold a current driving licence and have access to a vehicle.*
(*Where a disability precludes you from obtaining a driving licence, ELC will take into account its responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to allow for your disability.)

PVG Membership
This post is considered as a Regulated Role with vulnerable children and/or protected adults, as specified in the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020.

All preferred candidates for posts carrying out regulated work with these groups will be required to become a PVG Scheme member, or undergo a PVG Scheme update if they are already a member, prior to any formal offer of employment being made by East Lothian Council.

Please note: PVG member’s records are constantly updated with any new vetting information that arises. Any information that is disclosed on a PVG membership or update check, if relevant to the post being applied for, will be discussed with the applicant and investigated prior to any formal offer being made.

Please note:
If you have spent more than 3 months working or living out with the UK in the last 5 years then you will be required to present a copy of an overseas criminal record check. Details of how to apply and contact details can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Additional Information

For additional East Lothian Council employment information please click on the following link:
www.eastlothian.gov.uk/nonteachinginfo

If you have any difficulties creating an account on MyJobScotland or applying for this post please contact the MyJobScotland support team via this link https://myjobscotland.gov.uk/contact-us.

If you require further information about this vacancy, please call 01620 827868, or email us on recruitment@eastlothian.gov.uk

Please note: We do not accept CV's (either electronically or by mail). All our vacancies must be applied for by fully completing the on-line application form. Although there is an ‘import data from my CV’ function on MyJobScotland, this only imports very limited data and should not be relied upon to complete the application form. If, for example, due to a disability, you are unable to complete the on-line application form you can contact us for a paper application via the telephone number or email address above.