Service Manager

• Provide effective, visible, and motivational leadership, ensuring positive outcomes for people across Medway
• Take overall responsibility for the delivery of efficient and effective adult social care services across the service area
• Ensure statutory responsibilities are met through high?quality, lawful, and person?centred practice
• Oversee and provide professional guidance to operational teams on complex safeguarding and high risk cases, ensuring timely and proportionate action to manage risk
• Act as a Designated Senior Officer (DSO) for organisational and complex safeguarding matters, chairing safeguarding meetings when required
• Develop and sustain strong multi agency partnerships across health, housing, voluntary, and independent sector providers
• Operationally manage a portfolio of services, ensuring compliance with contractual requirements, performance standards, and value for money expectations
• Lead on embedding co production, ensuring people with lived experience influence service design and delivery
• Ensure services are delivered within agreed budgets, actively contributing to financial planning, forecasting, and efficiency savings
• Manage service performance against key performance indicators, identifying and addressing underperformance and risk
• Lead service improvement, responding to complaints, SARs, audits, and feedback to drive learning and improvement
• Represent Adult Services at internal and external forums, contributing to strategic planning, service development, and commissioning decisions
• Manage and motivate individual and team performance through effective supervision, appraisal, coaching, and performance management
• Address staff wellbeing, capability, and disciplinary matters in line with council policy
• Support and develop staff through training, mentoring, and career progression pathways
• Act as a change champion, proactively identifying opportunities for service and workforce development
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve service plan objectives and corporate targets
• Maintain compliance with GDPR and data protection legislation, ensuring mandatory training is completed
• Ensure practice always protects the welfare of children and vulnerable adults
• Act as a corporate parent, contributing to improved outcomes for Medway’s care experienced children and young people
• Promote equality, diversity, and inclusion in line with the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty
• Ensure compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, council policies, and agreed safe systems of work
• Uphold responsibilities under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
• Support Medway Council’s Carbon Neutral by 2050 commitment
• Support emergency response arrangements where required

• Recognised professional qualification: Social Work, Occupational Therapy, or Nursing
• Current professional registration with Social Work England or HCPC
• Extensive knowledge of adult social care legislation, policy, and statutory guidance
• Expert understanding and application of safeguarding frameworks, risk assessment, and the Court of Protection
• Proven experience managing services within Adult Social Care or Health settings
• Experience delivering services within defined budgets and performance frameworks
• Ability to lead services through change, challenge, and improvement programmes

Level 5 (or higher) Management Qualification, or willingness to undertake