People and Place
Head of Social Work Academy (Principal Social Worker Children & Young People)
Ref: 000669
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £55,593 - £58,896 per annum (SM3) subject to pay review
Hours: 36.66 per week
Based: Metropolitan Place, Oldham OL1 1TT
Closing Date: Sunday 5th October 2025
Interview: TBC,
Informal Enquiries: Anthony Decrop, Director Children’s Social Care and Early Help
Email: Anthony.decrop@oldham.gov.uk
Why should you work in Oldham?
Officially rated as a ‘Good’ by Ofsted, we are proud of our relentless approach in seeking the very best outcomes for our children and families, and there’s never been a better time to join the team and be part of our success story.
Oldham is a wonderful place of diversity, where people of all cultures come together. This is one our greatest strengths and our social workers enjoy using a breadth of skills and gaining a variety of experiences whilst supporting children and families from diverse backgrounds.
We use systemic practice as our chosen practice model, focusing on building relationships with children and families, understanding the context and family dynamics, and reflectively learning together. 2024 has seen the launch of our new systemic reflective hubs, as our Social Work Academy continues to offer reflective supervisions and tailored support through an innovative 2-year ASYE programme.
We have a strong ethos of ‘Growing our own’, providing a great environment to excel in your social work career.
Our Promises to you:
* A commitment to your continuing professional development through a bespoke learning and development programme
* A variety of career opportunities to progress and develop with us in Social Work
* Regular, quality, and reflective supervision and learning from practice audits with fortnightly training days in each of our services.
* Monthly Group Supervision with your team
* Weekly Learning Spaces to focus on a specific area of learning.
* A permanent and supportive Senior Leadership team
* Full corporate and service Induction
You will be rewarded with great benefits:
* Hybrid working giving flexibility for you to manage your diary and offer a better work/life balance.
* 25 days annual leave with the option to purchase additional days, and which increases after 5 years service and 10 years service.
* Attractive defined benefit pension scheme with a market leading AVC option for additional retirement savings
* Discounted gym membership
* Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
* Salary sacrifice scheme, including Cycle to Work
* Wellbeing support, including an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
* Staff recognition and celebration events
Visit Greater.Jobs for more information on Oldham staff benefits.
Our employees say
“One of the reasons I’ve worked here for so long is because it’s like a family and a listening organisation, where people are encouraged to participate and get involved”.
“Our Social Worker teams are friendly, approachable and professional”.
“We all want to make a difference to the families and children that we work with”.
“Oldham values the person, the families, and the inclusive culture”.
Hear more from our employees and explore our Social Work Academy offer here
Ofsted says
“Children are well supported by social workers, who ensure that their health, education and emotional needs are met”.
“Staff are tenacious”.
“Children and families in Oldham benefit from a comprehensive range of early help services”.
“There is strong partnership working”.
“Senior leaders promote the participation of cared for children and actively seek their voice in developing and shaping service delivery”.
“Relentless focus on improvement by a strong and stable leadership team, with progress made across many areas of practice,”
Read the full Ofsted report here
About the Role:
The post will lead on promoting a learning environment in which excellent social work can flourish, and standards are maintained through a focus on continuous improvement and reflective practice.
You will be responsible for developing and motivating an effective workforce capable of meeting the needs of children and families through their continuing professional development, career progression, recruitment and retention, and promoting Oldham as an ‘employer of choice’.
As the Principal Social Worker you will monitor and report on the effectiveness of social work services for children and young people and share the experiences and impact of social work across all levels of the organisation, including senior managers.
You will lead on the development and implementation of our Quality Assurance Framework ensuring that strategies are in place to routinely quality assure and audit practice including records, assessments and plans, that practice standards and regulations are adhered to and the findings and required actions are communicated effectively at all levels of the Service.
With a thorough working knowledge of Children’s Services best practice, you will successfully manage a budget and be able to actively demonstrate delivery of high performing, efficient services from the Children’s Social Work Academy.
Our objective is that we want all children in Oldham to thrive and therefore if you feel you can support, develop and implement this ambition, we would love to hear from you.
Your responsibilities will include:
* To act as a ‘change agent’ within the Service providing leadership, support, motivation and guidance to social workers.
* To lead and advise on the development and review of practice, systems, policies and procedures relating to the delivery of social work, including Oldham Practice Standards.
* To lead on our Quality Assurance Framework ensuring that strategies are in place to routinely quality assure and audit practice.
* To promote the active participation and involvement of children and families to ensure their views and experiences influence service.
* To represent Oldham Council in a local, regional and national arena, including dialogue with Social Work England.
* To lead and drive our ‘Grow Your Own’ workforce strategy through the Children’s Social Work Academy.
* To effectively manage Consultant Social Workers across the Children’s Social Work Academy and through the Frontline Strategic Partnership.
For full details please refer to the job description and person specification.
What we need from you:
All applicants must meet the relevant criteria, including the right to work in the UK. We are not in a position to accept applications from candidates who require sponsorship.
If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and therefore expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
About Us:
We want Oldham to have vibrant, safe neighbourhoods where people are proud to live with opportunities for healthier, more fulfilled lives; and a sustainable, thriving economy. As we look to the future, the challenges may be significant, but so are the opportunities. We’ve identified three missions with our residents and partners, focusing on what will deliver the biggest impact:
A Great Place to Live, Healthier, Happier Lives, and Green and Growing.
We’re looking for candidates who will support us to achieve our ambitions and we encourage you to download our Corporate Plan: Ready for the Future and our Oldham Plan for further information.
Our Values and Behaviours:
By driving innovation, investing in our people, and championing our communities, we will ensure that Oldham continues to be a place where everyone can live their best life. To support this, we have three core values which define who we are and how we operate. These are ‘Proud, Ambitious, and Together’, and they shape our culture, inform our decisions, and inspire us to deliver on our commitments to the people of Oldham.
We have translated these values into five behaviours which guide our actions and are the standards we hold ourselves to, day in and day out:
* Work with a resident focus
* Support local leaders
* Committed to the borough
* Delivery high performance
* Take ownership and drive change
You can find out more about our values and behaviours on our greater.jobs Oldham page
Our Benefits Package:
At Oldham Council we offer a great benefits package for our employees, which includes the following:
* 25 days annual leave which increases after 5 and 10-years’ service
* The option to purchase additional annual leave.
* An attractive LGPS benefit pension scheme with the option to make shared cost additional voluntary contributions.
* Discounted gym membership with Oldham Active .
* Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
* Salary sacrifice scheme for home and electronics and Cycle to Work.
* Wellbeing support, including a Mental Health First Aider network and an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
* Staff recognition and celebration events.
* Peer support groups
Inclusive Recruitment:
We work closely with employees to help them work at their best, including making adjustments such as flexible working, describing available working patterns, providing equipment or making changes to the workplace.
If you’re an applicant with disabilities and have previously been in or currently in care, a carer or someone who has served in the Armed Forces and you meet the essential criteria of the role, you are guaranteed to reach the first stage of assessment under our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme .
Data and Privacy:
For details of how we use your data please see our privacy notice .
Important Information:
Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for a current employee at risk of redundancy, it can be pulled back at any point, up to the post being formally offered to a candidate who is not at risk of redundancy.
While we embrace the use of AI as an innovative tool to maximise our services at Oldham Council, we are looking for authenticity in applications we receive. We therefore ask you to think carefully if choosing to use AI when completing your application and ask that you ensure you read all instructions carefully and that your application is written by you and reflects your skills, knowledge and enthusiasm.