Deputy Center Manager

JOB DESCRIPTION

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: PO4 £46,041 - £ 49,083

Contract Type: Full-time- Permanent

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 12/12/2024

Reference: 1513

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London's Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

The Council's preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

About the role:

We are looking for an experienced Deputy Manager to join our team. Key duties include managing and developing the Centre, supporting staff, safeguarding children, meeting the needs of children and young people, and ensuring compliance with OFSTED regulations. The role requires 36 hours per week, including alternate weekends. Candidates must have experience with vulnerable children with complex needs, strong assessment report writing skills, and excellent written and oral communication. A minimum of NVQ 3 is required; NVQ level 5 (Children and Young People) is preferred.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Key Responsibilities:

• Supporting the registered manager: Working with the registered manager to run the centre, including deputising for them when needed.
• Managing staff: Ensuring staff are properly trained and equipped to carry out their duties, and that they adhere to policies and procedures.
• Managing the Centre: Ensuring the Centre meets regulatory requirements, such as health and safety regulations, and that all incidents are reported.
• Managing the budget: Co-managing the centre budget.
• Developing plans: Developing and updating placement plans, risk assessments, and positive handling plans.
• Providing care: Ensuring a high standard of care for the children and young people in the centre.
• Liaising with others: Liaising with social workers, schools, and other agencies.
• Participating in the on-call duty system.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Level 3 Diploma

A Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare or a similar qualification is often required.

• Experience

Previous experience in a similar role in a residential setting is usually essential. This may include at least two years of experience in the social care sector.

• Knowledge

A strong knowledge of childcare, child development, and the impact of trauma is often required. You should also have knowledge of OFSTED legislation and the Children's Home Regulations.

• Skills

Strong leadership and communication skills are often required. You should also be able to use your own initiative and exercise sound judgment

Terms and conditions:

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;

Satisfactory declaration of interest;

This role is subject to safer recruitment practices as it involves work with children and/ or vulnerable adults.

Satisfactory DBS check;

As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the 'Apply' button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.