Team Manager Adult Social Care

The starting salary for this position is £61,954 per annum, working 36 hours per week (pro rata for part time).

Are you passionate about delivering timely, strengths-based support that helps people live independently and stay connected to their communities. We are excited to be hiring a highly skilled and motivated Team Manager to join our Connect to Community management team (West) within our Adults, Wellbeing & Health Partnership Directorate who will provide leadership to our Mental Health and Learning Disabilities social care professionals.

If you have a flexible and adaptable management style and are excited by the opportunity to be part of our transformation, using your skills and experience to make a real difference to the lives of people in Surrey, we would love to hear from you. Guided by our values of collaboration, respect and ambition for our residents, we are looking for motivated people who share these values and behaviours and want to be part of a growing, evolving service that is committed to doing things differently and making a significant, positive impact.

Surrey offers Agile Working and, as the Team Manager, you will be able to work flexibly within the office and at home. Applicants will need to be willing to travel around Surrey in accordance with the demands of the work and the job profile. Surrey also offers excellent training opportunities for all staff and have a variety of management courses.

Our Offer to You

As a Surrey County Council employee, you'll have access to the full range of staff benefits, including

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service (prorated for part time staff)
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents.

About our Service

This is an exciting opportunity for a Team Manager to help shape a modern, transformative service that focuses on early intervention and prevention. From March 2026, our brand-new Connect to Community (C2C) operating model will reshape how residents access Adult Social Care by offering timely, strengths-based and person-centred support that helps people remain independent and connected to their communities. As the first point of response for adults seeking help, C2C will bring adult social care professionals into a dynamic multidisciplinary team, working together through daily case reviews and rapid problem solving. They will lead on urgent assessments, safeguarding, risk management and short-term interventions, with direct access to services such as reablement, housing advice and technology-enabled care to put practical solutions in place quickly.

By reducing delays, avoiding unnecessary handoffs and focusing on early, preventative action, the new C2C model enables professionals to apply strengths-based practice, clinical reasoning and functional assessment at the earliest stage. The C2C model will ensure residents receive consistent, high-quality support from professionals with the right skills in a timely manner.

C2C works alongside Area Teams to create a seamless pathway for people with complex needs, promoting wellbeing, reducing risk and maximising independence. The service collaborates closely with Area Teams, specialist Learning Disabilities and Autism teams, Mental Health teams, and Acute Hospital Teams, and Team Managers may be required to work flexibly across these services as needed.

About the Role

We are looking for a highly skilled and motivated professional who as the Team Manager will be leading a proactive and dynamic group of mental health, learning disability and autism practitioners in providing a strength-based approach to assessments and support planning. You will work alongside adults with diverse and often complex needs, including those who are elderly and frail, have learning disabilities, physical or sensory impairments, or experience mental ill health, supporting them to live meaningful lives within the community.

In this role you will ensure that Connect to Community delivers a high quality and customer focused service while taking responsibility for leading the team and managing resources. What's more, your remit will include putting measures in place for risk management and business continuity, building relationships with other agencies and service providers, and contributing to service improvement initiatives.

Specialist knowledge and/or experience in mental health and learning disabilities will be essential for this role. As a team manager you will also bring experience of successful management of staff, including managing performance and development while successfully addressing conduct, attendance and performance capability issues.

You will supervise Assistant Team Managers and Senior Practice Leads, supporting professional growth, performance, recruitment, succession and staff retention. Skilled in managing budgets, you will bring substantial experience of managing the delivery and improvement of social care. A sound understanding of personalisation will also be vital.

Shortlisting Criteria

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our values & behaviours:

• A professional qualification in Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Nursing, or another relevant health/social care field (including registration where required)
• Extensive experience in adult social care and previous experience of mental health and learning disabilities. An excellent understanding of statutory responsibilities, and a strong working knowledge of relevant legislation
• Demonstrable experience in managing, motivating, coaching and developing staff
• Ability to manage performance, support reflective practice, and lead high quality service delivery
• Experience building effective partnerships and working collaboratively with a diverse range of stakeholders
• Ability to handle complex casework issues, risk, safeguarding, and operational challenges confidently
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to monitor performance, manage resources, and support improvement
• A commitment to the personalisation agenda, strengths based practice and accessible, inclusive services

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and social care professionals will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK and access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long-term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job. An Enhanced DBS check will be required for this role.

Your Application

As part of the application process, you will be asked to upload your CV and answer the following application questions:

• Looking at our advert and the work of our C2C team, and considering Surrey County Council's commitment to ensuring that "no one is left behind", what is it about the Team Manager role that has motivated you to apply? Please reflect on how your values align with our approach to strengths based, inclusive and person centred practice.
• What three leadership qualities do you have that would make you an effective Team Manager, and how would these qualities help you foster Surrey County Council's culture of collaboration, inclusivity, learning and adaptability within your team and across partner agencies?
• Can you describe how you would support your team through a period of change - maintaining engagement, performance and practice quality, while ensuring staff wellbeing and creating a positive environment where people feel supported and safe to speak up?

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 04/03/2026 with interviews to follow.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents!

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we're committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.