Senior Social Worker
Job introduction
We are looking to recruit a Senior Social worker in the Contact Service, a key role in promoting best practice in supporting contact for children in care.
Fixed term for 12 months to cover maternity leave from April 2021 to April 2022
For an informal discussion, please contact Nicola Bloom - Contact & Family Group Conference Service Manager on Nicola.Bloom@brighton-hove.gov.uk or 07900 705322
About the role
The Senior Social worker in the Contact Service works alongside the Contact Service Manager to develop and promote best practice in contact supervision and contact planning. This specialised role offers many opportunities to develop management skills. Responsibilities include supervising community family workers and sessional workers, chairing contact set up and review meetings, delivering contact training to foster carers, providing consultations to pod social workers on contact planning during proceedings, writing contact statements for final care plans and attending court on complex cases.
About us
“Social workers’ morale is high and they enjoy working in Brighton & Hove.”
(Ofsted’s ILACS report)
"88% of social workers said that they felt safe and supported despite the impact of Covid-19
91% of social workers felt they were well supported by their managers and had been supported with their individual circumstances during Covid" (Your Voice, our version of the social work health check, 2020)
We have developed a whole system that provides containment for social workers so that they can build ongoing relationships with families and use these relationships to make a difference for children and young people. This system is made up of small teams, or pods, of workers who get to know each other and the families they are supporting.
Five years ago, we re-designed our Children’s Social Work service based on feedback from families, young people and our practitioners. The changes we introduced have had a positive impact for social workers and their ability to provide consistent and purposeful support to children and young people. More recently, this included making sure that social workers have support during COVID, including the right PPE and a flexible approach to support families and keep children safe.
“Social workers have a good understanding of the children they work with. They build meaningful relationships with children through direct work and regular visiting.”
The most recent Ofsted report rated our services as good and recognised the difference that the model of practice has made for children and young people in terms of greater continuity of social work relationships, improved outcomes and reduced risks.
The report also highlights that senior leaders have worked purposefully to build a skilled and stable workforce with manageable caseloads and that the decision not to employ agency staff has been a key part of this.
We know that our social workers are our greatest asset and we strive to give them the time and active support they need so that they can make a real difference to children’s lives and realise our vision for social work.
We have recognised that we need to do further work to support families and communities who experience racism in the city and to support our Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff. As a council we have made a commitment to being an anti-racist organisation and we have set up an Anti-Racist Project to make sure we achieve this within children's social work services. We have also appointed a Lead Practitioner for Anti-Racist Practice and we are one of the Local Authorities piloting the Workforce Race Equality Standards for social care in 2021. We would particularly encourage applications from candidates who identify as Black, Asian or from a minority ethnic background.
In addition to working for an organisation that values the immense contribution social workers make and ensures effective support is always in place, we offer a package of benefits including:
- our innovative and unique Continuing Learning and Assessment Model (CLAM) which defines pathways for development and progression
- a salary within the range £36,922 to £39,880 per annum depending on level of experience
- a range of family-friendly policies including flexible working
- a range of exclusive benefits and discounts from a large number of the UK’s largest retailers and service providers to help your money go further.
About You
For this post you must hold a Professional Social Work Qualification and be registered as a social worker with Social Work England.
In addition, you will need to have experience of working directly with children in need and their families in a multi-disciplinary service and be able to provide support and supervision to other social care practitioners.
To find out more visit 'Social work in Brighton & Hove': https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/children-and-education/social-work-brighton-hove
- Visit the Working for us website section to find out about staff pay and benefits, such as flexible working hours and generous annual leave
- Go to the Work and life in Brighton & Hove web page to find out what our vibrant seaside city has to offer
Additional information
Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is part-time or term-time only.
Work Permits: we may be able to obtain a Work Permit for this post but this is subject to meeting the requirements of the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) Points-based Immigration System.
Company information
Please note that this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and is subject to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check.
We welcome applications from all sections of the community but particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, LGB, male or trans as these groups are currently under-represented in our Directorate workforce.