Location
London Borough of Lewisham, primarily based in Laurence House, Catford. Hybrid working approach with a requirement to work both in the office and from home regularly.

Hours
Full Time

Salary
£62,634 - £64,815 per annum (PO7). All appointments will be offered at the minimum spinal column point (SCP) for the grade of the role unless matching current salary (up to the maximum of the scale) with evidential proof.

About the Role
Discover yourself in Lewisham where your work makes a difference to vibrant and culturally diverse communities. Lewisham is proud to be the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, championing the rights of refugees and migrants. We are seeking an ambitious and motivated Care Funding and Support Manager to lead the Care Funding and Support Team within Family Help and Care, part of Children and Young People Services. This pivotal role involves overseeing the service provisioning of care packages including Child Looked After, Leaving Care, and Family Help services. You will manage provider payments, invoicing, and payment queries for internal and external carers and providers, ensuring decisions are driven by need, outcomes, and value for money. You will assist services in making the best use of their budgets by ensuring timely and systematic oversight of departmental spend and realising efficiencies where possible.

Key responsibilities include leading the day-to-day operation and development of the Care Funding and Support Team, managing Operational Leads, and fostering a high-performing culture. You will oversee care funding, brokerage, provider services, and financial processes including robust budget monitoring, forecasting, controls, and value for money. Strengthening provider oversight, improving data quality, and utilising systems such as LCS, ContrOCC, Power BI, and Oracle to identify trends and opportunities for improvement are essential. Collaboration with social care managers, providers, finance colleagues, health, education, and partner agencies to maximise joint-funding opportunities is a key part of the role. You will also contribute to shaping the team’s operating model and wider transformation programmes across Children’s Social Care.

Benefits include excellent training and development opportunities, generous holiday allowance, Local Government Pension scheme, flexible working and family friendly policies, season ticket and bicycle loans, a range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships, and supportive staff networks.

Experience
Proven experience as a manager with a strong track record in financial management, service improvement, and leading high-performing teams. Significant experience in children’s social care, commissioning, or care funding is essential. Experience in financial and budget management, service improvement, and analysing financial, performance, and service data is required. Experience with LCS, ContrOCC, Oracle, Power BI, or similar systems is valuable.

About you
Solution-focused and confident in resolving complex operational or financial issues with providers. Ability to produce clear reports for operational and senior management audiences. Skilled in working across professional boundaries to support quality, safeguarding, value for money, and better outcomes for children and young people.

Qualifications
Project Management or Programme Management qualification such as Prince 2 or MSP is required. The role is subject to an enhanced DBS check.