Are you an experienced Social Worker looking for the next step in your career? We’re looking for a Senior Practitioner to join us in the Children in Care Service on a 12 month fixed term contract or secondment. The role is hybrid with a mix of office and home working.

Our aim in Children in Care is to achieve permanence for children and young people who become Looked After and to ensure that they are in a home which meets their needs, reflects their right to safety and security, and encourage them to reach their full potential at every stage of their development. We encourage all Looked After children and young people to meet their full educational potential and to promote both their physical and mental health.

Due to the fixed term nature of this role you will need to demonstrate immediate proficiency, assuming full responsibilities from the outset. Therefore previous experience as a Social Worker in a Children in Care team is essential.

The role is based at Scott House in Huntingdon. If you are applying for the role as a secondment you must speak to your line manager BEFORE applying, to confirm that you can be released from your substantive post.

If this sounds like an role that suits your skill set, we would love to hear from you! For more information, call Nathalie on 01223 475920 or email joinus@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

Closing date 2nd June.

Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

What will you be doing?

Day-to-day responsibilities of a Senior Practitioner in Children in Care include:

• Provide leadership in high complex cases which involve risk, complexity and safety of children, young people, carers and families.
• Provide written and verbal reports for a variety of settings, including court, that are concise, informative and based on analysis of complex evidence.
• To lead, guide and direct Social Workers and Child Practitioners, supporting with their performance and development, including supervision.
• To support NQSWs in their ASYE and act as assessor; and to support Student Social Workers as their Onsite Supervisor or Practice Educator.
• Support in planning, allocation and review of cases.
• Support with the recruitment and induction of staff.
• To work closely with the Team Manager to complete case audits and participate in management tasks as delegated by the Team Manager.

About you

You will be an experienced Children in Care Social Worker able to make an immediate impact.

You will be a confident and dynamic individual who enjoys making a difference in their local community, is curious and spot things that others might not see, enjoys building relationships and likes to explore possibilities.

You must:

• Be a qualified Social Worker with a Social Work England registration
• Have the ability to work from a variety of locations and travel countywide and countrywide independently

For a full list of the requirements of the role, please check out the Job Description & Person Specification.

Our benefits

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage…

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family
• 6 days of protected time each year to support in maintaining your Continuous Professional Development
• A Refer a Friend Scheme where if you refer another Social Worker to us who is subsequently employed by us as a result of that introduction, we’ll pay you an introduction fee of £350
• Access to our Cambridgeshire Academy for Reaching Excellence (CARE) who will support your development, enabling you to become the best practitioner you can be

For more information and to see our other benefits, take a look at the benefits brochure attached to this advert.