Service Manager Adolescents Service

Service Manager - Adolescents Services

Surrey County Council | Guildford | Up to £580 per day | Immediate Start

Lead One of Surrey's Largest and Most Influential Adolescents Services

This is a unique opportunity for an experienced and ambitious Service Manager to lead a large-scale statutory adolescents service within Surrey County Council. We are looking for someone who genuinely enjoys building relationships, has a positive and solutions-focused approach, and can lead from the front in a complex and demanding environment.

This role is not suitable for candidates looking to step up from Team Manager level. We need an experienced Service Manager who has already led large statutory services and understands the challenges and opportunities of working with adolescents, contextual safeguarding, early intervention, and children's social care.

You will oversee a significant operational service comprising 5 Team Managers, each managing teams of approximately 5-6 Social Workers and Practitioners, making this one of the larger services within Children's Services. The ability to lead through others, develop high-performing managers, influence partners, and drive service improvement at scale is essential.

Hybrid working is available with an expectation of approximately 2 office days per week in Guildford, although there is flexibility for the right candidate.

The Opportunity

As Service Manager, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across a large adolescents service, ensuring vulnerable young people receive timely, effective and impactful support.

You'll play a key role in shaping service delivery, leading improvement activity, managing risk, driving performance, and ensuring high quality outcomes for adolescents and their families.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who thrives in a fast paced environment and is passionate about improving outcomes for vulnerable young people through effective leadership, partnership working, and innovation.

What We're Looking For

Essential Experience

✅ Current or recent Service Manager experience within a statutory Children's Services setting

✅ Experience leading multiple Team Managers within a large operational service

✅ Strong understanding of adolescents services, including:

Adolescents at risk
Exploitation (CSE/CCE)
Extra-familial harm
Contextual safeguarding
Youth violence and serious youth violence
Missing and exploited children
Edge of Care
Early Help and Early Intervention
Prevention and diversionary services
Adolescents with complex needs✅ Significant experience managing statutory social work services

✅ Proven experience of safeguarding, risk management and decision making for complex and high risk cases

✅ Experience leading service improvement, transformation and change programmes

✅ Experience managing performance, quality assurance and workforce development

✅ Budget management and resource allocation experience

Key Responsibilities

Provide leadership across a large adolescents service consisting of multiple teams and managers.
Drive excellent safeguarding practice and ensure statutory responsibilities are consistently met.
Lead and support Team Managers in delivering high-quality services and achieving positive outcomes.
Embed a culture of continuous improvement, accountability and learning.
Develop strong partnerships across Children's Services, Early Help, Education, Health, Police and external agencies.
Lead on service development, innovation and transformation initiatives.
Oversee service performance, quality assurance and practice improvement activity.
Ensure resources and budgets are effectively managed and deliver value for money.
Contribute to strategic planning and wider service development across Children's Services.

The Ideal Candidate

You'll be an experienced and credible leader who can quickly build trust and relationships across teams and partner agencies.

You'll bring:

A collaborative and positive leadership style
Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder management skills
Strong political awareness and organisational understanding
Confidence leading large teams through complexity and change
A coaching approach to leadership and staff development
Excellent communication and influencing skills
A strong commitment to improving outcomes for adolescents and families

Why Apply?

Competitive rate of up to £580 per day
Immediate start available
Opportunity to lead a high profile adolescents service
Significant strategic and operational influence
Flexible hybrid working arrangements
Chance to make a genuine difference to vulnerable young people across Surrey

Please note:

Candidates must have substantial statutory Children's Services experience at Service Manager level and a strong understanding of adolescents, contextual safeguarding, early intervention and complex risk. Applications from candidates without previous Service Manager experience in a statutory setting are unlikely to be considered.

If you're an experienced Children's Services leader who combines strong operational management with a genuine passion for adolescents and relationship-based practice, we'd love to hear from you.

Connect2Surrey is a trading style of Surrey & Kent Commercial Services LLP - A joint venture between Surrey County Council & Commercial Services Kent Ltd. Connect2Surrey is an equal opportunities Employment Agency & Business. It positively encourages applications from all suitably qualified and eligible candidates