Knowsley Council is an award-winning Local Authority, named Local Authority of the Year in the Municipal Journal Awards 2024.

We are an Accredited employer under the Liverpool City Region Fair Employment Charter, demonstrating that we are committed to the principle of fair employment and we are dedicated to providing a healthy, fair, inclusive and just workplace.

Assistant Team Manager – MASH

Knowsley Council – Children’s Services

Are you passionate about safeguarding children and ensuring they receive the right support at the right time?

Do you have the skills and experience to deliver strong management oversight, confident threshold decision-making, and effective support to practitioners within a busy front-door service?

Do you enjoy working in a fast-paced, multi-agency environment where high-quality information sharing and collaboration improves outcomes for children and families?

If so, you may be the perfect candidate for this role.

Be part of what we are building

Our Children’s Social Care Services (CSC) department are on an improvement journey - one we would love you to join us on!

Want to work with:

• a friendly, supportive team who genuinely cares about their employees?
• a smaller local authority in easy commuting distance from across the North West with hybrid working options?
• Somewhere you can really make a difference to the lives of our Children and Young People

Then this may be the role for you...

We have high aspirations for our children and young people and are determined to work together to make the necessary improvements and get to ‘good’ whilst always aiming higher. This is an exciting time to join our service - improving CSC is one of the Council’s main priorities; there’s significant investment in the service, expertise on-hand and opportunities for you to make a real difference; helping to shape the future delivery of CSC for the benefit of our children and young people.

If you choose to join us, you will be coming to an inclusive, supportive, and friendly team.  We have a new engaging and ambitious leadership team in place, who will ensure that you work in an environment where you feel recognised, valued, and listened to.  As a service we offer flexible working, manageable caseloads and a vast array of employee benefits details of which can be found below.  We welcome you to come and join us on this exciting journey– in return we promise to support, develop, and help you achieve your goals.

Don’t just take our word for it though, see what our current social workers have to say.- watch here

About Us

Knowsley is a borough with a strong sense of community, and we are ambitious for our children and families. Our Children’s Services are on a clear and ambitious improvement journey, with a strong focus on strengthening practice, developing our workforce, and delivering consistently high-quality services.

We are committed to embedding relationship-based practice, improving outcomes for children, and ensuring that children’s voices are central to all decision-making.

Our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) is a vital part of our front door, bringing together key partners including Police, Health, Education and Early Help to ensure timely, informed decisions and effective safeguarding responses.

Who Are We Looking For

We are looking for a passionate, experienced, and motivated social work professional who is ready to take the next step in their leadership journey or further develop their management experience. The successful candidate will be committed to safeguarding children and improving outcomes for families, and will thrive in a fast-paced, decision-making environment such as a MASH or front door service. You will be able to provide clear, confident, and defensible management oversight, demonstrating strong analytical skills and the ability to assess risk effectively. You will also have the ability to support, challenge, and develop practitioners to drive high-quality practice, and be confident working within a multi-agency setting, valuing collaboration and effective information sharing. As part of a service on an improvement journey, you will be committed to contributing to positive change and embedding best practice, leading by example to promote a culture of accountability, learning, and continuous improvement. You will bring resilience, curiosity, and a proactive approach, alongside a strong commitment to making a meaningful difference to the lives of children and young people in Knowsley.

About You

You will be a confident, resilient, and motivated practitioner who is ready to contribute to service improvement and lead practice.

You will bring:

• A recognised Social Work qualification and Social Work England registration
• Significant experience within children’s safeguarding
• Strong knowledge of thresholds, statutory guidance, and legislation
• Experience of working in a MASH or front-door setting (desirable)
• The ability to make sound, timely and defensible decisions
• Experience of supporting, coaching or supervising staff
• A commitment to high standards and continuous improvement
• Strong partnership-working and communication skills

Our offer to you:

• We are a Disability Confident Employer, meaning we offer Inclusive & accessible recruitment, offering an interview to disabled people, providing reasonable adjustments, & supporting existing employees. 
• Flexible working, Hybrid working arrangements & family friendly initiatives; Our flexible working scheme allows you to manage your hours & plan your life more easily. We will consider requests for flexible working.  For most roles, the following types of flexibility are usually possible: flexible hours, working from home, compressed hours, part-time.
• Generous Holiday Entitlement: starting at 28 days leave with an option to buy additional 10 days leave 
• Manageable Workloads - directors of our service work closely with the Heads of Service & Team Managers to ensure caseloads are manageable & you are supported. 
• Differentiated sickness absence for individuals living with a disability. 
• Menopause policy supporting women in the workplace. 
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• High Quality IT Kit supporting agile working arrangements 
• Learning & Career Development: We have a wide range of blended learning opportunities available to all employees, which will be relevant to your job & progression 
• Supportive Practice Improvement Team – we have a team of experienced staff who build positive working relationships with staff to work alongside you to embed learning from audits or reviews.
• A range of Workers Groups, , Black & Minority Workers' Group, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Forum, Neurodiverse Staff Support Group. 
• Well-being Support: We want to improve the well-being of our employees both in & out of the workplace 
• Apprenticeship Offer
• Secondment Opportunities
• MyTime – our monthly supervisions scheduled with you. This is your one-to-one time solely focused on your career development 
• Reflective Supervision - 4 weekly
• Newly Developed Progression Pathway
• Learning at Work Week: A yearly celebration awards to recognise & celebrate individual practice across the council.
• Visible and accessible Leadership including Monthly Principal Social Worker (PSW) drop-in sessions
• Themed Practice Learning Week: Providing a range of bitesize learning opportunities. 
• Currently Offering Free Parking
• Cycle to Work Scheme: We are committed to greener transport solutions. Our scheme entitles you to significant discounts on the price of a new bike & safety equipment. 
• bank holidays. 
• Eye Tests: We provide all display screen users with a free eye test on request. We have a corporate eye care scheme which includes a contribution to the cost of glasses
• Free Refreshments– Tea, Coffee and Milk
• Discounted Gym Membership
• Credit Union Membership
• VIVUP Discounts & Savings The program offers a staff discount scheme. 

At Knowsley Council we will consider requests for flexible working.  For most roles, the following types of flexibility are usually possible: flexible hours, working from home, compressed hours, part-time. There is a requirement for you to attend your work base at least 3 day’s per week.

We welcome applications from residents and beyond, regardless of background, belief, or identity, recognising the value that diversity brings to our organisation. We particularly welcome applications from individuals from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and candidates with disabilities as we acknowledge their underrepresentation in our workforce.

Please note sponsorship is not available for this role.

See the benefits of working for Knowsley MBC https://www.knowsley.gov.uk/yes.

Curious about how much a pension with Knowsley Council could be worth? Take a look at this to find out -  Pension comparison tool | Jobs Go Public

We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applicants.

At Knowsley we value our applicants and want them to feel well-informed and welcomed. If you have any questions about this specific job role or what it is like to work at Knowsley, please contact: 

Brigid Gribbin-Bartlett Brigid.gribbin-bartlett@knowsley.gov.uk 07553621471

Selina Kent Selina.kent@knowsley.gov.uk