Quality Assurance Manager

Job introduction

Are you able to assure that our Social Work service embodies relationship-based practice and outstanding outcomes for children?

Can you provide support a Social Work system to know itself and drive for continual improvement and best practice?

Can you help us to become an anti-racist organisation?

The role of Quality Assurance Manager is to lead on the Quality Assurance Framework to create a culture of continual learning and development in Social Work. To provide a ‘window into practice’ that understands and evidences current Social Work practice and performance. Supporting Social Work teams to deliver high quality safeguarding and care services, to children in need and their families.

For further information on this role please contact Justin Grantham (Head of Safeguarding & Performance) on justin.grantham@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Closing date: 12th Jan

Interview date: 23rd Jan

About the role

“Social workers’ morale is high and they enjoy working in Brighton & Hove.”

(Ofsted’s ILACS Brighton & Hove Ofsted March 2024 )

We have developed a whole system that provides containment for social workers so that they can build ongoing relationships with families and use these relationships to make a difference for children and young people. This system is made up of small teams, or pods, of workers who get to know each other and the families they are supporting. 

Nine years ago, we re-designed our Children’s Social Work service based on feedback from families, young people and our practitioners. The changes we introduced have had a positive impact for social workers and their ability to provide consistent and purposeful support to children and young people.  The principles behind our model and how we have brought about positive change are subject to an ongoing evaluation. This was published as a report with the University of Sussex’s Centre for Social Work Innovation and Research in July 2017 – ‘Empathy, tenacity & compassion'.

We are seeking to appoint a QA Manager who can promote our relationship-based model of practice, in their management and leadership of our Quality Assurance Framework.  You will be responsible for our Audit processes. Including regular audit cycles and thematic reviews.

You will need to have extensive social work experience, as well as experience in management and driving best practice. You will need to be able to support the learning and development of social workers, focus on outcomes for families, and help to embed our relationship-based model of management.

Our pod model is based on providing emotional containment for social workers and, as well as not using agency social workers, we have developed a supervision model which includes weekly group supervision, 1:1 supervision, and Reflective Practice Groups for practitioners and managers at every level. 

We have recognised that we need to do further work to support families and communities who experience racism in the city and to support our staff from Black, and Global Majority communities.  As a council we have made a commitment to being an anti-racist organisation and we have set up an Anti-Racist Project to make sure we achieve this within children's social work services.  We have a Strategic Lead and a Lead Practitioner for Anti-Racist Practice and we are one of the Local Authorities implementing the Workforce Race Equality Standards for social care.  We would particularly encourage applications from candidates who identify as Black or from the Global Majority.

Please read our Apply for a job at the council pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.

As part of your application, you will need to upload your Application Form and a supporting statement. Your supporting statement is the most important part of your application as it will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our guidance here (Application Form guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) and (Supporting statement guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.

Additional information

Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.

We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining. Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.

For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us

Company information

Encouraging a diverse workforce

Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.

Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and How we create a fair and inclusive workplace.

Please note that this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and is subject to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check.