Team Manager - Independent Guardians Service

About Us

We are committed to supporting young people seeking asylum as they navigate the challenges of displacement, trauma, and integration. Our services provide holistic support ranging from housing and education to mental health and advocacy, ensuring every young person feels safe, heard, and empowered.

As Team Manager
, you will lead a passionate team of Social Workers. You'll oversee service delivery, ensure safeguarding standards, and drive continuous improvement in how we support young people aged 16-21.

• Lead, support, and develop a multidisciplinary team
• Ensure high-quality, trauma-informed support for young people
• Manage service delivery, budgets, and reporting requirements
• Build partnerships with local authorities, schools, and health services
• Champion the voices and rights of asylum‑seeking youth

• Hold a recognised Professional Social Work qualification and have a minimum of one year post‑qualifying Social Work experience with children and families, including direct work with children and inter‑agency working
• Experience in team leadership within youth, social care, or refugee services
• Deep understanding of the asylum process and the challenges faced by displaced young people
• Strong safeguarding knowledge and commitment to anti‑oppressive practice
• Excellent communication, organisational, and problem‑solving skills
• Empathy, resilience, and a belief in the potential of every young person

• Be part of a values‑driven organisation making real impact
• Supportive, inclusive team culture
• Ongoing training and development opportunities
• Generous annual leave and wellbeing support

Apply now and help us build a future where every young person seeking asylum is safe, supported, and thriving.

Belmont Road, Belfast. This is a regional service and at times the post holder may need to travel to fulfil the role.

£35,390.46 - £43,392.02

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Commencement 1 July 2026. Although this contract has a permanent status, please be aware that this post is subject to funding currently to 31 March 2029 and therefore, should this funding not be extended further, you may be subject to a redundancy consultation or a TUPE arrangement. This contract is due to expire on 31 March 2029.

Midnight, 8 March 2026

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A waiting list of reserve candidates will be held in the event that similar vacancies arise during the next 12 months.

The successful candidate will also be required to undertake enhanced Access NI with Child and Adult Barred List check and be registered with NISCC.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy.

It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid‑point of the pay band - this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our…