Children and Young People's Services are seeking a Social Worker to join our Permanence team in Chester Le Street! The Permanence team work with children and young people primarily who have a plan of adoption and who are children in our care. The Permanence team work mostly with children between 0-6 who have a plan of adoption and complete the child’s permanence report in order make positive adoptive matches for children. The Permanence team are committed to supporting early permanence for children. The team support children whilst in their adoptive home until the point of the adoption order being made. This post is temporary until 30th June 2026. In March 2025, Durham Children's Service's was rated Outstanding by Ofsted. "Social workers told inspectors that Durham is a great place to work. Their words and actions convey a sense of belonging, and they view Durham as their employer of choice". They further added that "Senior and political leaders in Durham are ambitious, purposeful and influential. They are unrelenting in their pursuit of doing what is right for children and families, resulting in consistent improvements and the delivery of high-quality services for children and families". WHAT IS INVOLVED? This opportunity will be attractive to social workers who want to: Form positive relationships with young people and their carers Complete direct work children to understand their plan. Undertake planned work, with some requirement to manage unplanned situations Work with children who have a plan of adoption and support them to move to their adoptive homes If you are interested in the post and would like to find out more, please don’t hesitate to contact Sara Peterson, Team Manager for an informal discussion, Tel: 03000 267302 or e-mail: sara.peterson@durham.gov.uk HOW WILL I BE SUPPORTED? We are passionate about social work in County Durham. We are committed to providing a culture where good practice can flourish. We ensure our social workers are highly supported and encourage flexible working to achieve a good work-life balance. You will benefit from a range of training opportunities and professional development through personalised induction, professional supervision, and mentoring. Take a closer look here! WHAT WILL I NEED? We are looking for social workers who: Are able to build effective relationships with young people and their carers Have excellent organisational skills - able to plan their work well and manage unplanned work when required Have great report writing and analytical skills Are resilient Are able to travel. This is normally limited to County Durham and neighbouring local authority areas but can be a greater distance. To apply for this post you must: Hold a degree or post graduate diploma in social work, or equivalent social work qualification, for example the Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW), Certificate in Social Services (CSS) or Diploma in Social Work (Dip SW) Be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Please refer to the attached person specification for the full criteria. If successful, you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced Disclosure. REWARDS AND BENEFITS We offer generous rewards and benefits that are designed to help you perform at your best: Competitive salaries and 27 days holiday per year rising to 32 days after five years continuous local government service. Option to purchase up to 10 additional days annual leave per year. Excellent work/life balance through schemes including job sharing, compressed hours and flexi-time (allowing up to 13 flexi days per year). Hybrid working (home and office working). Excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Plus, top up options - Salary Sacrifice Shared Cost AVC scheme and standard AVC scheme for members of the LGPS. Wellbeing Portal and access to an Employee Assist Scheme. Wide range of learning and development opportunities including professional qualifications, coaching and mentoring. Employee Benefits Portal and Lifestyle Savings Scheme (discounts across a host of major retailers). Discounted DCC gym membership. Staff networks run by staff for our staff, including Race Equality and Diversity, Disability, LGBT, Armed Forces, Carers, Menopause. Trade Union membership. A range of other salary sacrifice schemes such as car leasing. Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. Take a closer look here! SOCIAL MEDIA Keep an eye on our social media channels for updates on opportunities at Durham County Council! Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook HYBRID WORKING Durham County Council currently operates a hybrid working policy where a model of 2 days in the workplace and 3 days at home/remote will apply. This model is pro-rated for part time roles and arrangements are at managers discretion, alternatively you can work all of your contracted hours within the workplace if you prefer. EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION We are a proud equal opportunities employer and recognise that a diverse, talented workforce brings new ideas and new perspectives, which will facilitate growth and improvements to services. We are committed to ensuring that our employment policies and processes are fair and equitable to all. We welcome job applications from everyone, and successful candidates are considered only on their skills and ability to do the job. As a Disability Confident Leader, we encourage applications from disabled people and provide support throughout the recruitment process. Take a closer look: https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/26899/Equality-diversity-and-inclusion-in-our-workforce INTERVIEWS Interviews will be held on 24th July 2025. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran. HOW TO APPLY In line with the County Council's Recruitment and Selection Policy, please note that we are unable to accept CVs. Applications must be submitted on-line via the Northeast Jobs portal. Please use the ‘Person Specification’ section of your application form to demonstrate that you have the essential and where possible, desirable experience, skills, and knowledge. Candidates who do not evidence that they meet the essential qualifications and experience listed on the person specification will not be short-listed. If you have any support needs or require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27 (option 2), or the Recruitment Team via email at RecruitmentCYPS@durham.gov.uk We collect personal information from you when you register with North East Jobs and make an application. Details on how we process your personal data is available in our Privacy Notice. https://www.durham.gov.uk/media/24645/Privacy-notice-human-resources/pdf/PrivacyNotice-HR.pdf PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION REGARDING YOUR APPLICATION FOR THIS POST WILL BE SENT TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS THAT YOU HAVE REGISTERED WITH NORTH EAST JOBS, INCLUDING YOUR INVITE TO INTERVIEW IF YOU ARE SHORTLISTED. PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL AFTER THE CLOSING DATE FOR NOTIFICATION FROM DONOTREPLY@NORTHEASTJOBS.ORG.UK AS YOU WILL NOT BE NOTIFIED BY ANY OTHER MEANS. PLEASE ENSURE YOU CHECK YOUR JUNK MAIL. VPRS/161