Operations Manager

Service Manager – Adult Social Care
Location: Medway
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £57,555 – £62,218 per annum
Working Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm
Working Style: Hybrid
Reporting to: Head of Service
Line Management Responsibility: Yes

Service Care Solutions are recruiting on behalf of Medway Council for a highly experienced Service Manager to provide strategic and operational leadership across a portfolio of Adult Social Care services.

This is a senior leadership role with accountability for service delivery, safeguarding, workforce development, performance, budgets, and partnership working, ensuring positive outcomes for people with care and support needs across Medway.

Role Overview The Service Manager will be responsible for leading and managing Adult Social Care services to ensure statutory duties are met through high quality social care practice, effective risk management, and strong professional leadership.

You will develop and maintain a confident and competent workforce, embed a culture of learning and reflective practice, and lead services through periods of change and challenge. The post holder will also ensure services are delivered efficiently, within budget, and in line with performance expectations.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide effective, visible, and motivational leadership, ensuring positive outcomes for people across Medway
• Take overall responsibility for the delivery of efficient and effective adult social care services across the service area
• Ensure statutory responsibilities are met through high?quality, lawful, and person?centred practice
• Oversee and provide professional guidance to operational teams on complex safeguarding and high risk cases, ensuring timely and proportionate action to manage risk
• Act as a Designated Senior Officer (DSO) for organisational and complex safeguarding matters, chairing safeguarding meetings when required
• Develop and sustain strong multi agency partnerships across health, housing, voluntary, and independent sector providers
• Operationally manage a portfolio of services, ensuring compliance with contractual requirements, performance standards, and value for money expectations
• Lead on embedding co production, ensuring people with lived experience influence service design and delivery
• Ensure services are delivered within agreed budgets, actively contributing to financial planning, forecasting, and efficiency savings
• Manage service performance against key performance indicators, identifying and addressing underperformance and risk
• Lead service improvement, responding to complaints, SARs, audits, and feedback to drive learning and improvement
• Represent Adult Services at internal and external forums, contributing to strategic planning, service development, and commissioning decisions

Workforce Leadership & Management

• Manage and motivate individual and team performance through effective supervision, appraisal, coaching, and performance management
• Address staff wellbeing, capability, and disciplinary matters in line with council policy
• Support and develop staff through training, mentoring, and career progression pathways
• Act as a change champion, proactively identifying opportunities for service and workforce development

Corporate & Statutory Responsibilities

• Work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve service plan objectives and corporate targets
• Maintain compliance with GDPR and data protection legislation, ensuring mandatory training is completed
• Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility; ensure practice always protects the welfare of children and vulnerable adults
• Act as a corporate parent, contributing to improved outcomes for Medway’s care experienced children and young people
• Promote equality, diversity, and inclusion in line with the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty
• Ensure compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, council policies, and agreed safe systems of work
• Uphold responsibilities under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
• Support Medway Council’s Carbon Neutral by 2050 commitment
• As a Category One responder under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004), support emergency response arrangements where required

Essential Qualifications & Registration

• Recognised professional qualification: Social Work, Occupational Therapy, or Nursing
• Current professional registration with Social Work England or HCPC

Desirable:

• Level 5 (or higher) Management Qualification, or willingness to undertake

Knowledge & Experience (Essential)

• Extensive knowledge of adult social care legislation, policy, and statutory guidance
• Expert understanding and application of safeguarding frameworks, risk assessment, and the Court of Protection
• Proven experience managing services within Adult Social Care or Health settings
• Experience delivering services within defined budgets and performance frameworks
• Ability to lead services through change, challenge, and improvement programmes

Service Care Solutions benefits and interested candidates should send their CV to:
andrew.wiles@servicecare.org.uk