Team Manager - Independent Guardians Service

BARNARDO'S

35,390.46 per year

Belfast

Full-time

8th March 2026

Listed today

Are you a compassionate leader with a passion for social justice and youth empowerment? As a social worker, do you thrive in dynamic environments where your work makes a real difference? Join our dedicated team and help shape brighter futures for asylum-seeking young people.

The Independent Guardian Service exists to provide specialist knowledge, advice and support to safeguard and promote the welfare of child victims or potential victims of human trafficking and/or those who have been unaccompanied or separated.

Independent Guardians are skilled practitioners who are qualified to support and assist Unaccompanied and Asylum-seeking children (UASC) through their asylum journey within Northern Ireland.

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.

The Role

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.

Key Responsibilities

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

About You

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

Why Join Us?

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

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

Please ensure that you outline in your application how you meet the essential criteria detailed in the Additional Information Sheet.

Location: Belmont Road, Belfast

This is a regional service and at times there is the expectation that the post holder will have to travel to fulfill the role.

Salary: £35,390.46 - £43,392.02

Hours: 37

Contract Type: Commencement 1 July 2026. Although this contract has a permanent status, please be aware that this post is subject to funding currently to 31st 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 31st March 2029.

Closing Date: Midnight, 8 March 2026

Contact details: recruitment.support@barnardos.org.uk

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 also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

For all these reasons, 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.

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

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 Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
Service related sick pay from day 1
Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
Cycle2work scheme
Interest free season ticket loans
Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
20% discount at Barnardo's stores
Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

Reference number:22556
Job Title:Team Manager - Independent Guardians Service
Location:Belfast
Locality:Northern Ireland
Contract type:Permanent (Fixed term funded post)
End date:31/03/2029
Hours:37
Salary:£35,390.46 - £43,392.02
Closing Date:8 March 2026
Interview Date:26th & 27th March 2026

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Team Manager - Independent Guardians Service

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