Job Title: Senior Practitioner (Children & Young People in Care)
Hours: 37 per week
Salary: HC9 £38,223 – £42,403 (plus £5,000 market rate supplement per year £43,223 - £47,403)
Welcome payment: £5,000 after 6 months completion in post
Relocation package of up to £10,000 available
Contract: permanent
Closing date: 12/05/2024
The Role
We are looking for dynamic and passionate Senior Social Workers to help us on our improvement journey.
As a Senior Practitioner, you have the opportunity to help us with the ongoing development of our staff in their knowledge, experience and practice.
Herefordshire Council are looking for a skilled and experienced Social Worker to join us as a Senior Practitioner. We have previously reviewed our senior roles in teams which has led to this role being refocused to ensure it is a role that is supportive of both the team, team manager and the post holder.
The senior practitioner role is based within our Children and Young People in care Team, which is a small, stable and supportive team that supports children and young people who are Looked after from the age of birth to 18 years. We are looking for an experienced social worker who is up for the challenge to take on this senior role in providing support to other social workers in the team through mentoring, joint working, reflective case discussions and promoting a strong learning culture. This will be undertaken alongside holding a smaller complex caseload which will include Court work.
You will be fully qualified (DipSW, CQSW, CSS or equivalent), with a minimum of 3 years’ experience in statutory social care and dedicated to delivering positive outcomes for our children. You'll be experienced in assessment skills and supervision roles to help train and support Herefordshire foster carers.
This is an exciting opportunity to join our developing team and contribute to creating a safe and supportive, yet challenging, learning environment for Herefordshire’s work force. You will be supported by an established team with a strong commitment to relationship based practice, flexible working and professional development.
Herefordshire is on a journey and we would like you to be part of our next chapter. This is an exciting opportunity to have a genuine impact on the local authority and help improve and protect the children and young people within it.
We Offer
A competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:
About Us
Herefordshire is a beautiful, historic county located in the heart of the Marches on the border with Wales. We are one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England with a wealth of unspoilt countryside, distinctive heritage, and lively and attractive market towns.
Our priority in Herefordshire is to keep children safe and give them a great start in life. It’s the priority for the council, our partners and for all of us who work with Children & Young People.
How do we do this? By having dynamic, dedicated, passionate and professional staff who work in a culture that focuses on what we can achieve with children, what they can achieve themselves, and the relationship we build with families and partners to enable this. We have invested heavily in training and developing staff in our relational practice approach with our improvement partner Leeds City Council, so it's an exciting time to join Herefordshire – we believe in investing in you so you can be the best you can be!
Herefordshire has a really strong team ethos. Our teams are passionate about the work they do and the positive difference they and the teams they are in make to people’s lives. This is all underpinned by the focus and support from their managers and the council as a whole.
We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond.
Therefore, we take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.
Come to Herefordshire and join the journey.
Herefordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service enhanced check and further pre-employment checks.
We welcome applicants whatever their personal characteristics or social identity. All requests for flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments will be considered.
The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:
- Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme;
- Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant; and
- Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.
Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for more details of this role.
To apply, please submit your CV and complete the supporting statement within the application form, referring to the job description & person specification, detailing how you meet the specific requirements of the role.