Overview
Service Manager – Quality Outcomes Families and Children’s – Trowbridge, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Salary: £64,844- £68,987 per annum
Hours per week: 37 hours
Interview date: Wednesday 05 August 2026
As part of the extended leadership team within Families and Children’s Services, this key role sits within the Performance, Outcomes and Quality Assurance Service and provides strategic leadership for Wiltshire’s statutory quality assurance functions. The postholder plays a critical role in maintaining a culture of learning, continuous improvement and inspection readiness, ensuring children, young people and families receive safe, effective and outcome-focused services. Working collaboratively across the council and with partners, you will provide independent assurance, strategic challenge and performance insight to strengthen safeguarding arrangements and improve outcomes for children.
As Service Manager – Quality Outcomes, you will provide operational leadership to Child Protection Chairs, Independent Reviewing Officers, the Independent Visiting Service, partnership scrutiny functions, the Children and Young People’s Voice Team and supporting quality assurance staff. You will maintain oversight of Child Protection, Children in Care, Care Planning, quality assurance systems, complaints and escalations, ensuring statutory requirements are met, risks are identified and services operate effectively and consistently.
The role combines strategic influence with operational leadership. You will lead the development and delivery of a robust quality assurance framework, incorporating audit, performance intelligence, feedback and learning to provide clear evidence of service effectiveness. Through analysis, scrutiny and independent challenge, you will identify strengths, risks and areas for improvement, supporting leaders and partners to deliver sustainable change. You will oversee key statutory review processes, drive data-informed improvement, strengthen inspection readiness and provide authoritative assurance to senior leaders, elected members and partnership boards on the quality and impact of practice.
You will champion the voice of children and young people within assurance processes, promote permanence and stability, and contribute to regional and national sector-led improvement activity. Working in complex and politically sensitive environments, you will build strong partnerships, influence strategic decision-making and help ensure that services remain focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for children and families.
If you are an experienced and inspirational leader with a strong background in quality assurance, safeguarding, performance and service improvement, and can translate assurance activity into meaningful improvement for children and families, we would welcome your application. This is an opportunity to shape practice through independent assurance, drive continuous improvement and make a lasting difference to the lives of children and young people across Wiltshire.
Why us?
Wiltshire Council is a friendly, welcoming place to work, with a ‘One Council’ ethos. Find out more about Our Identity, staff networks, and employee benefits here.
Our hybrid working model means office staff are on site for at least half their hours, community-based staff carry out at least half their admin time in a workplace, and customer‑facing roles work entirely from their service location.
We are committed to creating a workplace where positive relationships thrive and everyone feels engaged, supported and able to do their best. We do not tolerate discrimination, bullying or harassment. Everyone is expected to promote a culture of inclusion, dignity, trust and respect, guided by our vision and Our Identity.
Contact Details
Tim Sandle, Head of Service QA Performance and Sector Led Improvement, tim.sandle@wiltshire.gov.uk or call 01722438918 x58918.
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Application Criteria
Please download and read the role description and person specification carefully before you apply
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We are firmly committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and to the principles of inclusion and diversity in both employment and the delivery of services.
Statement of commitment to equality and inclusion
Wiltshire Council does not accept unsolicited CVs or candidate details from recruitment agencies that are not appointed under a current, valid contract or approved supplier arrangement (including through our neutral vendor, Comensura).
Submission of unsolicited CVs or candidate details to the Council, whether directly or to individual employees, will not be considered as an introduction and will not create any obligation on the Council to pay any fees. If a candidate whose details have been submitted speculatively is subsequently appointed through a compliant route, no agency fee will be payable in respect of the unsolicited submission.
Agencies wishing to work with the Council must do so only via our approved procurement processes and neutral vendor arrangements.
IMPORTANT: Before applying for this role, please make sure you have the right to work in the country where the role is based. Unless it clearly stipulates within in the job advert above that the hiring company is looking to or able to sponsor applicants it is deemed that the hiring employer will only consider applications from those able to comply with and work in the country where the role is based.
