Group Manager; Children and Families

This is a Gloucestershire County Council job.

• Job Title:
  
  Group Manager (Children and Families)
• Job Location:
  
  Gloucestershire
• Salary: £63,132- £68,342 per annum
• Hours per Week:
• Contract Type:
  Permanent
• Closing Date: 22/02/2026
• Job Requisition Number: 13468
• This post is open to job share

We are currently recruiting for 2 Group Managers to join our Children and Families Leadership team.

• East area
  - Cotswolds and Stroud

• West area
  - Forest of Dean and Gloucester 

Reward and Support

For all your hard work, you will receive the following:

• between £63,132- £68,342 per annum subject to experience (pro rata for part-time staff)

• up to £8,000 relocation package**

• flexible and agile working opportunities

• 25.5 days annual leave rising to 30.5 days after 5 years continuous service (pro rata for part-time staff)

• option to purchase 10 days of additional leave per year (pro rata for part-time staff)

• family friendly policies and benefits to help support you and your family

• supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision

• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

• access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides free, confidential, counselling and advice for employees, available 24 hours a day, online and by telephone

• an in-house Occupational Health service

• employee discount scheme

• links to employee networks such as Prism (LGBT+) and the Young Employees Network

• career development and qualification opportunities

• access to our Social Work Academy

• Cycle to Work scheme (eligibility criteria and t&cs apply)

• Green Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme (eligibility criteria and t&cs apply)

* Please note that our relocation policy is subject to terms and conditions

Right child, right support, right time, every time

In our recent inspection in June 2025, our Children’s Services have been officially judged as ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ elements. Ofsted also said ‘Leaders have set out a clear vision for delivering success for children, by modelling values and creating a culture where the workforce, children and families feel valued and heard; risk is managed confidently with bottom lines clearly set out.’

This marks an important step in our journey to improve outcomes for our children and young people, and we remain focused on our mission: to continue building on this success and ensure that every child and young person in our county has the opportunity to thrive. 

Gloucestershire offers a range of opportunities to develop your career, supported by a phenomenal Social Work Academy offer, a developing systemic practice methodology, an ambitious leadership team and an award-winning workforce.

We are a local authority adopting, and training all colleagues in, systemic social work practice. If you would like to be part of an authority that takes a relational approach to working with families and focuses on what needs to change in the system around a child and family to enable children to thrive, then consider a role with GCC.

About the team

This role sits within our senior leadership team, you will report directly to the assistant director responsible for your area.

You will play a key part in children’s services leadership to provide oversight of the following:

• leading and embedding systemic practice with children and families

• enabling children to remain with birth families wherever possible

• protecting children who experience or are at risk of significant harm

• acting as corporate parent to children unable to remain within birth families

• providing help and support to disabled children and their families

• providing system leadership as a statutory safeguarding partner

About the role 

You will lead your teams in delivering a culture of high-quality practice that achieves good outcomes for vulnerable children and young people, you will establish clear goals and expectations in line with GCC priorities, provide challenging and supportive line management to ensure these are met, and hold your direct reports to account.

You will:

• line manage several managers who support children subject to child in need and child protection plans and pre/care proceedings.

• be accountable for the rigorous implementation of…