Senior Practitioner - Children in Care

Senior Practitioner - Children in Care

Fixed Term, Full Time

£45,217 to £54,395 Per Annum

Location: Colchester

Working Style: Community-based worker

Closing Date: Monday 2nd December 2024 at 11.59pm

Please note that this is a Fixed Term Contract or Secondment opportunity for a period of 12 months.

Here in Essex, we continue to raise the bar about practice and our investment in our workforce is second to none. It's an exciting time to join us. Not only have we been named Outstanding by Ofsted, we are delighted and at the same time humbled to have been crowned Social Work Employer of the Year for the second time in the last three years!

Essex County Council understand how important flexibility and wellbeing is for our colleagues working across children's Social Care and that we need to think differently. We have therefore developed a nine-day working fortnight for full time frontline Social Workers within Children's services.

The Opportunity

Children and Families is recognised as a service in which social work can develop and prosper, with a culture of collaboration, integrity, and compassion; promoting development and wellbeing of children, young people, and their families; protecting them from neglect and abuse. Working together with partners delivering a range of early help, family support and effective social work interventions which build resilience, remove barriers, and enable children and young people to look forward to a brighter future.

A Senior Practitioner manages a complex caseload and provides expert supervision and coaching for colleagues, to achieve positive change for children, young people, and families. Deputising for the Team Manager, leading the team and management of duty services.

An experienced social work practitioner, able to manage higher levels of risk, mentor and advise staff, manage performance, and deliver improvements. Building strong working relationships with key partners and stakeholders is essential.

Accountabilities

• Responsible for providing a source of expert advice and contributing to the development of practice standards.
• Accountable for assessment of complex social care needs and development of support for vulnerable people, children, and families.
• Accountable for working within the statutory legal framework, policy and guidance and determining when the threshold for statutory intervention has been reached.
• Responsible for managing a complex caseload, maintaining accurate and timely data, reports and presentations as required.
• Participates in a range of case conferences, meetings, and statutory reviews, pro-actively taking the lead when a social care perspective is required.
• Accountable for conducting assessments and plan responses to safeguard and promote a child's welfare including appropriate intervention as determined by need.
• Builds strong effective working relationships across the Council, with partners and members of voluntary agencies to help people get the best start in life and age well.
• Delivers a high level of expertise in particular areas of practice and leads on those areas, contributing to the development.

The Experience You Will Bring

Essential:

• A recognised social work qualification i.e., Diploma, degree, or Masters in social work, CQSW, CSS or equivalent, with current registration with the Social Work England as a registered social worker
• Evidence of continuing professional development, aligned to any relevant Professional Competency/Capability frameworks or Knowledge and Skills Statements
• Significant experience of social work, demonstrating a comprehensive and up to date understanding of all relevant legislation, regulation, and guidance.
• Experience of mentoring both Social Work students and newly qualified and experienced Social Work staff, being a subject matter expert in professional social work practice.

Desirable:

• Experience of chairing meetings involving clients, family members and/or carers and other multi-agency professionals.
• Developing strong relationships with partners, other agencies, and the local community to achieve joint objectives and offer a supportive framework for children, young people, and families.
• In depth understanding of delivery of value for money interventions balanced against need
• Proven track record of clear decision making in order to highlight and limit the potential risks associated with intervention.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.