Court Progression Manager - Family Support & Safeguarding

About this job

We are recruiting to an exciting and influential leadership opportunity within Children’s Care & Support. As our Court Progression Manager, you will lead and oversee the quality, performance and strategic direction of court and pre-proceedings practice across Children’s Services.

This is a key leadership role at the heart of safeguarding, permanency planning and family justice reform. You will work closely with senior leaders, social work teams, Legal Services and partner agencies to ensure children experience timely, high-quality interventions and the best possible outcomes.

This role offers the opportunity to shape practice, drive improvement and lead a culture of excellence across a complex and high-performing service.

As the Court Progression Manager, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across court-related practice, ensuring that services are effective, compliant and focused on achieving positive outcomes for children and families.

You will:

• Lead and manage a service area within Children's Care & Support, ensuring high-quality performance and continuous improvement.
• Provide strong professional leadership, supervision and support to managers and practitioners.
• Oversee pre-proceedings and care proceedings activity, ensuring compliance with Public Law Outline (PLO) requirements and court timetables.
• Drive excellent social work practice, quality assurance and performance management across the service.
• Lead on Family Support & Safeguarding reforms and transformation programmes.
• Chair complex legal planning, pre-proceedings and strategy meetings.
• Monitor service performance, case progression and permanency planning to minimise delay for children.
• Work collaboratively with Legal Services, the Family Court and external partners to improve outcomes across the family justice system.
• Ensure statutory responsibilities for children in need, children subject to child protection plans and children in care are delivered effectively and within required timescales.
• Provide strategic advice and performance information to senior leadership and deputise for Children’s Leadership when required.
• This role is critical in ensuring children receive timely interventions, robust legal planning and effective permanency arrangements that support them to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Special requirements for this post

• This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and a comprehensive screening process will be undertaken on successful applicants including an Enhanced Children’s Department of Barring Services check
• Hold a recognised Social Work qualification.
• Be registered with Social Work England.
• Have significant post-qualifying experience within Children's Social Care.
• Successfully complete the required Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for this post.
• Meet all safer recruitment requirements applicable to the role.

About you

• We are seeking an experienced and inspirational social work leader who:
• Has substantial management experience within Children's Social Care.
• Has extensive knowledge of child protection, safeguarding, court work, Public Law Outline processes and care proceedings.
• Has a strong track record of performance management, quality assurance and service improvement.
• Can successfully lead and develop managers and multidisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrates excellent analytical, strategic and decision-making skills.
• Is confident working in complex, high-pressure environments and providing professional challenge where required.
• Has experience of working effectively with courts, legal services and partner agencies.
• Is passionate about improving outcomes for children and delivering high-quality services.

About us

Barking & Dagenham is changing. It Starts Here.

Think you know Barking and Dagenham? Think again. While this small corner of east London might have a reputation for needing development, scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find active communities and a place that consistently punches above its weight. The borough is changing – and changing for the better. And It Starts Here.

Yes, the borough has its challenges. But it’s on the cusp of something exciting. With one of the youngest populations in the country, ambitions are high and rightly so. 98% of our schools are rated Good or Outstanding and every year more of our talented teenagers get into Russell Group Universities and hotly sought after apprenticeship schemes.

We have award winning parks, centuries old manor houses full of relics and artifacts you can go and see, and the ruins of one of Anglo-Saxon England's most powerful and wealthiest religious sites. We’re even bringing beavers and white storks to the borough to help rewild the local landscape and boost biodiversity.

Over the past few years, we’ve been working hard to improve how we deliver services and support our community. From tackling inequality to making sure our services are the best they can be, we’re focused on what matters most to local people.

We’re creating the conditions for people to thrive - so everyone can enjoy a good quality of life, feel proud to call this place home, and be part of something bigger.

#ItStartsHere - with our streets, our schools, our neighbourhoods. And with your application to join our determined team who are passionate about doing what’s best for the future of Barking and Dagenham.

As an Investors in People Gold Award employer, we’re serious about supporting our staff. From flexible working, professional training and career development to wellbeing initiatives, we want our people to feel valued and supported in everything they do.

Our values, known as

• DRIVE, shape how we work: Deliver our best every day – and do what we promise
• Respond in a prompt, positive way to our community’s needs
• Inspire others with our attitudes and actions
• Value people for who they are and what they can do
• Engage with others to improve our resilience and flexibility We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences.

We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences.

Additional Information

Interview will be scheduled for:

• Thursday 30th July
• Friday 31st July