Leadership
Management roles
Sara has effectively and efficiently managed a Deaf Services Team (incorporating social work, home care services and equipment provision), a Disabled Children’s Team (incorporating social work and occupational therapy), various Children’s Community Teams and a 15 Plus Children in Care Team (incorporating the Leaving Care Service). Furthermore she has extensive experience of leading multidisciplinary teams within her medico-legal case management capacity.
Leadership skills
Sara has effective leadership skills having developed these through experience and through the completion of the Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership and Management for Social Work. Sara has a proven track record of being able to manage teams that were underperforming and turn them around to become efficient and effective teams that bring about positive outcomes for children and families. Sara has achieved this through a firm, fair approach that is underpinned by good systems and clear processes.
Knowledge and experience
Sara has experience and knowledge of all elements of leadership including chairing meetings and reviews, performance management (including conduct and capability matters), sickness monitoring, budget management, risk assessment, health and safety, dealing with complaints and managing grievances.
Strategic and developmental processes
Sara is competent in strategic & developmental processes. She has experience of writing & implementing business plans, tendering processes and has lead a project to redesign the transitions process between Children’s Services & Adult Care for young care leavers with disabilities. Furthermore, alongside senior management, Sara was involved in reviewing access to services for disabled children and their families and developing an ‘eligibility matrix’ to ensure equal access to services. The majority of Sara’s experience is at Team Manager level, however she is also able to perform at Service Manager level, having regularly provided cover at this level.
Partnership and motivation
Sara believes in partnership working between herself, colleagues and the wider multi-disciplinary team. Through identifying individuals strengths and abilities, as well as their development needs, Sara feels the power imbalance is more equalised, thus enhancing the manager-worker relationship. She considers herself to be an individual who has developed a good balance in relation to the importance of the wellbeing of individual employees, with the need for good team outcomes and believes that employee motivation and wellbeing is closely linked with quality performance.
What the clients say
“Sara has worked for NCC as a team manager for a number of years. Sara manages a very busy Childcare team, which holds a high number of complex cases. Sara is a very hard working team manager who manages all of the processes well. Sara manages CIN, CP and CiC work to a good standard and provides management oversight and supervision in line with the required standards. Sara is also supportive of her staff group but does manage poor performance well when required. Sara is also reliable and has integrity. Sara is approachable, flexible and adaptable moving across a number of teams during her time working for NCC. Sara is a skilled, experienced team manager open to new challenges and NCC would certainly re-employ Sara again in the future”
Head of Service, Nottingham City Council
“Sara has been an excellent team manager working under difficult circumstances to safeguard children whilst ensuring performance in her team remains at a high standard. Sara is a pleasure to manage with a 'can do' attitude”
Service Manager, Nottingham City Council
“Sara took over a team that were under performing and within a short space of time had managed to “turn it around” to ensure young people and their families were receiving a good service. I cannot state how highly I commend her hard work, knowledge, skills, passion for social work. She is highly professional at all times, completely honest with high integrity and values. She is a team player but can work on her own initiative. Always an asset to any team”
Service Manager, Nottingham City Council
“Sara has the very rare skill of a middle manager of being able to balance, absolutely equally, the needs of the team, the task and the individual. She manages the team with absolute fairness, professionalism and with unparalleled diplomacy skills”
Colleague, Nottingham City Council obtained anonymously through a 360 degree feedback process
“I have found Sara to be a very supportive and empathetic manager. I have found her to be approachable, open to suggestions and helpful in linking in with other services. In respect to my own personal development I have found Sara to be very helpful via encouragement and excellent advice within supervision – on the latter I found Sara’s style to be very open minded and relaxed which put me at ease and allowed me to discuss my cases without any apprehension”
Colleague, Nottingham City Council obtained anonymously through a 360 degree feedback process
“Sara is a visible manager and always takes time to support colleagues with anything she can. I feel able to come to Sara for support and knowledge which I feel is so important”
Colleague, Nottingham City Council obtained anonymously through a 360 degree feedback process