Job Description

The starting salary for this full-time, permanent position is 73,317 per annum based on 36 hours per week.

Lead a specialist service that makes a lasting difference to the lives of children with disabilities and their families.

We are looking for an experienced and passionate leader in children's services to join Surrey County Council as our Service Manager for Children with Disabilities (CwD) within Family Help in East Surrey. This is a unique opportunity to shape and lead a specialist service at a time of significant national reform, ensuring that children with disabilities and their families receive the right support, at the right time, from the right professionals.

Our Offer to You

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service plus bank holidays
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

The Surrey Context

The national Families First Partnership Programme (FFPP) represents one of the most significant changes to children's services in recent years. Placing earlier intervention, stronger partnerships, and better outcomes for children and families at the heart of practice, FFPP aims to create a more joined-up system that strengthens relationships and ensures families can access help before challenges escalate.

At Surrey, we are ambitious for children and families. We are committed to ensuring children with disabilities receive high-quality support that enables them to thrive within their families, communities and local networks wherever possible.

As a key member of Surrey's Family Help leadership team, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring children with disabilities and their families benefit fully from this approach, helping to shape how specialist services work alongside Family Help, education, health, and wider children's social care services to deliver seamless, coordinated support.

About the Role

As Service Manager, you will provide both strategic and operational leadership for Surrey's Children with Disabilities Service, creating the conditions for excellent practice, strong safeguarding and improved outcomes for children and families.

You will lead a multidisciplinary service that includes specialist social work, occupational therapy and early support functions, ensuring children and young people receive coordinated support from early intervention through to statutory services where required.

Working across the wider Family Help system, you will ensure that children with disabilities and their families experience clear and effective pathways into, through and out of services, with support that is relationship-based, responsive to need and focused on promoting safety, wellbeing and inclusion.

You will also oversee services supporting children and young people who require complex care packages, short breaks, respite provision and, where necessary, care away from home. Through strong leadership and quality assurance, you will ensure statutory responsibilities are met, safeguarding decisions are robust, and regulated and commissioned services continue to deliver high-quality support.

Alongside operational leadership, you will work closely with senior leaders and partners across Surrey to influence service development, support commissioning decisions, drive continuous improvement and ensure the voice and needs of disabled children and their families are embedded across the Family Help system.

Key areas of responsibility:

• Providing strategic leadership for Children with Disabilities services within Surrey's Family Help model
• Leading and developing high-performing multidisciplinary teams to deliver excellent outcomes for children and families
• Ensuring timely, proportionate and effective support that reduces unnecessary escalation and promotes stability for children and young people
• Maintaining oversight of statutory social work practice, safeguarding decision-making and quality assurance activity
• Developing strong partnerships with families, education, health colleagues, foster carers, providers, voluntary sector organisations and other stakeholders
• Providing leadership and oversight of regulated services, commissioned provision and inspection readiness
• Promoting a culture of accountability, learning, innovation and continuous improvement
• Supporting wider service transformation aligned to the Families First Partnership Programme and Surrey's ambition to deliver integrated, family-centred support

About You

You will be an experienced children's social care leader with a strong understanding of the needs of children and young people with disabilities and their families.

You will bring credibility, sound professional judgement and a proven track record of leading services that deliver positive outcomes, whilst creating an environment where practitioners can thrive and do their best work.

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

• A recognised Social Work qualification, current registration with Social Work England and significant post-qualification experience within children's social care
• Substantial experience of working directly with children, young people and families, alongside a proven track record of leadership at Team Manager level
• A strong understanding of safeguarding, statutory responsibilities and regulatory frameworks
• Evidence of delivering purposeful, high-quality supervision that has improved outcomes for children, families and staff
• Excellent communication, influencing and partnership-building skills
• The ability to lead through change, inspire others and drive service improvement
• Strong analytical skills and professional judgement when making decisions in complex situations

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and candidates will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.

This role offers the opportunity to shape a specialist service at the forefront of national reform, working alongside talented colleagues and partners to deliver meaningful change for children and young people across Surrey.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on Wednesday 23rd September with interviews planned to follow.

If you are an experienced leader who is passionate about improving outcomes for children with disabilities and want to play a key role in the future of Family Help, we'd love to hear from you.

Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum shortlisting criteria as displayed on the advert, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we're committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.