How you'll make a difference

Our social workers make a real difference. Every day they work with families to help children and young people who have had a difficult start in life to achieve their ambitions. For this role, we are actively looking to appoint an experienced worker already operating at, or ready for their progression to Senior Social Worker level.

We welcome you to join a team of Social Workers who make a real difference. You will be listening to young people and putting them at the heart of all that we do and working in partnership with families, equipping them with the skills they need to ensure young people live in happy, healthy and safe homes.

We are pleased to say that we provide an Ofsted rated 'Good' service, our Ofsted report can be viewed here; we are seeking additional driven professionals to help us to collectively maintain and build on this for the ongoing betterment of the children and young people of South Gloucestershire.

Although this post is advertised as a full time position, we encourage and welcome applications from experienced social workers who may be seeking part time, job share or flexible working arrangements.

What will you be doing?

You would be joining an established team of experienced social workers in the Locality Team in Kingswood who undertakes statutory social work in the areas of Child protection, Children in Need and the initial stages of Looked after Children, as well as working within the Public Law outline and Care proceedings. You will ensure vulnerable children and young people are identified, protected and supported to achieve positive outcomes through the provision of well planned, integrated and coordinated services
We have a strong culture of giving staff the time, freedom and support to explore new and better ways of doing things, so we’re looking for individuals keen to use their creativity to deliver high quality, child-centred practices, which ensure the best outcomes for children and families.

The Long Term Social Care team, known as Localities; undertakes statutory social work in the areas of Child protection, Children in Need and the initial stages of Looked after Children, as well as working within the Public Law outline and Care proceedings. You will ensure vulnerable children and young people are identified, protected and supported to achieve positive outcomes through the provision of well planned, integrated and coordinated services

What we need from you

A qualified social worker with relevant registration to practice and a good understanding of asset and strengths based approaches to social work - or award pending if requiring an ASYE.
A problem solver, confident about making important decisions, underpinned by a genuine passion to work collaboratively with children, young people and families to meet their goals and aspirations Innovation, positivity and dedication.
You’ll welcome challenge and embrace change. Social Workers with experience in other areas of Social Work are invited to apply as their skills are transferable and you would be offered ongoing support as part of your career development.
The proven ability to provide mentoring support to lesser experienced colleagues; and experience deputise in the absence of the Team Manager.
You will have the experience to enable you to hold more complex cases, such as court cases and higher end child protection.

Please note that due to the nature of this role it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained for this post.

You will be required to travel widely to a range of locations within the Authority so you must have a current driving licence and access to a suitable vehicle insured for business use.

How a career at South Gloucestershire Council is different

What’s special here is the strength of the team ethos. We are a relatively small local authority, so managers know staff well. They can plan their services to ensure teams have manageable caseloads and have effective supervision so feel supported to make decisions which are right for the children and young people they work with.

We invest in the careers of our people and we are recognised for the quality, breadth and depth of our training and development offer, which helps our people make the greatest long-term difference in their work.

“Staff are overwhelmingly positive about working for South Gloucestershire Council. Staff report feeling heard and responded to by senior leaders. Reduced workloads, increased stability of managers and more business support have strengthened their ability to respond to and improve the quality of practice for children. A wealth of concentrated training, including the Programme for Change initiative, has developed skill sets and expertise of staff. Staff benefit from a clear pathway of career progression, including a bespoke managers development programme..” [Ofsted Report published July 2024]

These posts attract a gross lump sum £3,000 ‘recruitment payment’ pro rata offered to enable Social Workers who have already successfully completed their ASYE to join our permanent workforce. This is payable upon successful completion of your probationary period (after approximately 3-6 months) and is subject to eligibility criteria.

These posts are currently eligible for a market factor £3,000 ‘retention payment’ pro rata, payable in November annually to those with two years’ service with the council in Integrated Children’s Services In an eligible post, inclusive of any ASYE period.

We also provide up to £8,000 relocation package, flexible working and a suite of employee benefits

We know our team work best when they have balance in their lives and we offer genuine flexibility to help them achieve that work/life balance.

We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.

If you have any specific questions, our Senior Recruitment Advisor is happy to assist, please email [email protected]

Job Description

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Senior Social Worker – Long Term Social Care (Child Protection Team)

How you'll make a difference

What we need from you

How a career at South Gloucestershire Council is different

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