QA Team Manager – Children’s Social Care

3‑month interim contract – to start ASAP
South West
£40–£45 per hour
Inside IR35 (via umbrella)
Hybrid working 2/3 days on site

CVs are being reviewed immediately and interviews will be taking place shortly.

Reporting into the Head of Quality Assurance & Performance, you will lead the development, analysis and delivery of high‑quality intelligence, performance reporting and insight across Children’s Social Care. This role is critical to supporting service improvement, ensuring compliance with statutory reporting requirements, and providing senior leaders with clear, accurate and timely analysis to drive decision‑making.

You will work closely with Heads of Service, Team Managers, partners and corporate performance colleagues to strengthen data quality, embed effective performance frameworks, and support the service in understanding trends, risks and areas requiring intervention. You must have substantial experience working within a local authority children’s services environment and be confident translating complex data into meaningful insight for operational and strategic leaders.

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Your Role as QA Team Manager

• Lead the production and delivery of high‑quality performance reports, dashboards and intelligence products for Children’s Social Care.
• Develop and maintain effective performance frameworks aligned to national indicators, local priorities and inspection requirements.
• Provide expert analysis and interpretation of data to support strategic planning, service improvement and audit activity.
• Work closely with senior leaders to identify trends, risks, and areas of underperformance, providing clear recommendations.
• Strengthen data quality and reporting processes, ensuring accurate, reliable and timely information across all service areas.
• Support preparation for inspections, peer reviews and improvement activity, producing evidence, analysis and narrative reports.
• Collaborate with multi‑agency partners to share information, strengthen intelligence, and support whole‑system safeguarding.
• Develop Power BI dashboards, performance tools and automated reporting solutions (where applicable).
• Contribute to a learning and improvement culture through insight‑led practice and reflective performance conversations.
• Ensure compliance with statutory reporting requirements including CIN Census, SSDA903, Annex A maintenance and other DfE returns.

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Your Previous Experience as a QA Team Manager

• Strong track record in performance, intelligence or QA roles within children’s social care in a local authority setting.
• Proven ability to analyse and interpret complex data, presenting insight clearly to operational and senior leaders.
• Experience producing statutory returns and working with national datasets, indicators and DfE reporting requirements.
• Skilled in designing and implementing performance frameworks, QA systems and effective reporting cycles.
• Advanced analytical and technical proficiency (e.g., Power BI, Excel, case management systems).
• Strong understanding of safeguarding, practice standards and children’s social care workflows.
• Ability to work collaboratively with managers, practitioners and partners, influencing through insight and evidence.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate data into meaningful narrative.

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If you’re interested in discussing this opportunity in more detail or know someone who may be suitable, please contact Sarah Macrae or David Midgley on 0117 313 7110 or apply today.

(We offer a senior referral scheme upon successful placement of your recommendation, so please do get in touch.)

Our clients are passionate about creating and maintaining a diverse workforce and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant. Recruiting decisions are based on experience and skills. Any reasonable adjustments required during the recruitment process will be fully supported.