Experienced Social Worker

Role Responsibility

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join a high performing Children in Care Service. A vacancy has become available for an Experienced Social Worker within the Dover team. You will be joining a stable and successful team that is committed to providing high quality social work services to children and young people in care.  The work with children in care is endlessly fascinating and you will have so many varied opportunities to both enhance your expertise and make a difference.  The service prides itself on participation events across the year and enabling workers to be innovative and creative.

If you share our vision of excellent social work practice, we want to hear from you.

About you

Professionally registered with a degree in social work – CQSW, DipSW or equivalent – you will have a variety of post-qualification experience working with children and families. You will need a good understanding of legislative and policy frameworks. We are looking for the successful candidate to have a willingness to develop as a practitioner.

Important attributes include resilience and the ability to be a team player. You will act as a role model and mentor to less experienced colleagues, contributing to training initiatives. You will need to demonstrate that you can work in partnership effectively across a range of services to improve outcomes for our children.

About the area

The South Kent Children in Care Service supports children and their families from the Dover, Folkestone and Ashford areas of the county. You will be required to work across a wide geographical area. 

About the Role

You will strive for excellence for our children in care. You will manage a varied caseload, working with children and young people living in a variety of placement settings. Work will include court proceedings, work with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, progressing permanency plans for children in long-term foster care, returning home, to the care of a family member or on to adoption. You will be passionate about ensuring our children have every opportunity to succeed.

The service has a supportive, established management team. You will be provided with regular, good quality supervision and you will have excellent opportunities for professional development. You will develop areas of specialist practice and bring your professional expertise to a range of cases including complex cases.

You will share your knowledge and experience with the team in a number of ways, including; joint visits, court attendance, case audits and reviews, you will have opportunities to contribute to working groups and multi-agency forums to support the development of new initiatives.

Transport

Whilst we foster a hybrid working approach, the role requires you to be mobile throughout a wide operational area including travelling around the county of Kent and beyond to transport children and their belongings and be available to do so in an emergency.

This role is subject to holding a Full UK Driving Licence – The Council is committed to making reasonable adjustments so whilst this job requires the jobholder to drive your application will still be considered if you are unable to drive due to a disability.

Benefits

- A competitive starting salary, including market premiums subject to eligibility and criteria

- A supportive team working environment with regular supervision

- Access to a wide range of formal and informal CPD activities underpinned by a performance appraisal scheme and career progression pathway

- An annual appraisal linking your learning and development needs

- Generous annual leave allowance

- Local Government pension scheme

- Flexible working opportunities including flexi time, remote and hybrid working – dependant on your job role and business need

- Relocation Package

- You will also have a range of professional development opportunities including the exciting social care academy and routes for progression

Eligibility

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring service and registration as a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Salary is dependent on experience and progression through the career grade is based on the fulfilment of required capabilities.

About the Company

Work that works for you and us - let’s talk flexibility!

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county’s working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note – if you are interested, please apply as soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.

Contact Details

For further information on this role, please contact:

Megan Collins

Megan.Collins@kent.gov.uk

About the Company

Work that works for you and us - let’s talk flexibility!

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county’s working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note – if you are interested, please apply as soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.