Salary: £33,143 – £36,363 a year pro rata
Hours per week: 18.5
Contract type: Permanent
We are looking for a dedicated and experienced Team Leader to join our Support to Live Well service at Luton Council. This is an exciting opportunity to lead a committed team in delivering high-quality, person-centred care and support that enables individuals to live independent, fulfilling lives.
Reporting to the Service Manager, you will play a key role in ensuring that services are safe, effective, and responsive, in line with the standards set out in the Health & Social Care Act 2008 and CQC Regulations. You will oversee day-to-day operations, support staff development, and ensure that care delivery is outcome-focused and tailored to individual needs.
You will be responsible for planning and managing the service to ensure it is appropriately resourced with skilled and capable staff. You will provide guidance and leadership to frontline colleagues, promoting a culture that values independence, dignity, choice, and positive risk-taking, empowering people to live a “good everyday life.”
The role also involves managing service capacity and demand efficiently, ensuring value for money while maintaining high standards of care. You will respond to urgent situations, including participating in out-of-hours and on-call arrangements, and ensure that new referrals are assessed promptly and in line with organisational expectations.
Working collaboratively is central to this role. You will build and maintain strong partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, including social care professionals, health services, safeguarding teams, families, carers, and advocates, ensuring a coordinated and holistic approach to support.
As a Team Leader, you will contribute to the ongoing development of the service, supporting change initiatives and implementing improvements that enhance quality and outcomes. You will lead by example, motivating and mentoring your team to deliver a high-performing, responsive service.
You will also take responsibility for quality assurance activities, including auditing care plans, risk assessments, and operational systems. By identifying areas for improvement and implementing corrective actions, you will help ensure that services remain safe, effective, and continuously improving.
In the absence of the Manager, you will take operational responsibility for the service, staff, and the people we support, ensuring continuity and strong leadership at all times.
Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.
We are looking for a confident and compassionate leader with substantial experience in a social care environment, supporting people with a wide range of needs. You will bring a strong understanding of person-centred practice and a genuine commitment to enabling individuals to live independently and achieve positive outcomes.
You will have demonstrable experience of supervising or managing staff, including setting clear expectations, monitoring performance, and supporting professional development. With the ability to organise and coordinate day-to-day service delivery, you will ensure the team operates effectively, even in a fast-paced and changing environment.
You will be a strong decision-maker, able to exercise sound professional judgement and respond appropriately to emergency situations. Your ability to manage competing priorities, workloads, and deadlines—for both yourself and others—will be key to your success in this role.
Excellent communication skills are essential. You will be confident in both verbal and written communication, able to adapt your approach to different audiences, and capable of producing clear reports, maintaining accurate records, and using IT systems such as Microsoft Word and email effectively.
You will have experience of undertaking assessments, developing care and support plans, and carrying out regular reviews. A collaborative approach is vital, and you will be comfortable working across agencies, using a strengths-based approach to deliver improved outcomes for individuals and the wider service.
A strong understanding of quality assurance is required, with the ability to carry out audits and implement improvements to maintain high standards of care. You will also demonstrate a clear understanding of equality, diversity, and inclusion, including the impact of discrimination on service delivery, and be confident in challenging poor practice where necessary.
You will bring in-depth knowledge of the needs of older people and individuals with learning disabilities, autism, and behaviours that challenge, alongside a sound understanding of relevant social care legislation, safeguarding, data protection (GDPR), and health and safety requirements, including risk assessment.
A relevant qualification such as QCF/NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care (or equivalent) is essential. You must also be flexible to work a shift pattern, including evenings, weekends (approximately 1 in 4), bank holidays, and participate in on-call duties.
Due to the nature of the role, you will need to be able to travel to various sites within and outside the borough and use manual handling equipment in line with health and safety guidelines.
Above all, you will be committed to delivering a high-quality, value-for-money service that makes a real difference to people’s lives.
Our ambitious Luton 2040 Vision – that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.
The people of Luton depend heavily on this council – and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?
We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough
Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare all unspent cautions and convictions; and also any adult cautions (simple or conditional), and spent convictions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020). A person’s criminal record will not in itself prevent a person from being appointed to this post. Applicants will not be refused posts because of offences which are not relevant to, and do not place them at or make them a risk in, the role for which they are applying. However in the event of the employment being taken up, any failure to disclose such offence, as detailed above, will result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the Authority.
On occasions, we may close a vacancy early due to a very high number of applications being received.
We offer a range of excellent staff benefits which include:
– From 25 to 32 days’ annual leave: linked to length of service and grade
– Buying annual leave scheme: buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
– Career Pathways: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
– Pension scheme: with generous employer contributions of up to 19.2 per cent (at April 2026) and 3x salary death in service grant
– Generous relocation package: up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
– Employee Assistance Programme: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
– Work/life balance: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
– Training and support: unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
– Staff offers: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
– Arriva Travel Club: great value savings on local bus travel
We understand that job applications take time and effort, but a high-quality application shows that you are professional with a good attention to detail. The recruiting manager may receive a number of applications for each job advertised so you want yours to stand out!
Our ‘How to apply’ page has more tips to help with your application: How to apply
