About The Role
Social Worker - Family Worker (Link Role), South Essex. Permanent, Full Time. £37,185 to £50,081 per annum. Location: Rayleigh. Working style: Community-based worker. Closing Date: 25th January 2026. Interview Date: 3rd February 2026.
We’re recruiting for two Social Workers (Link Family Workers) to join our high-performing Family Solutions team based in Basildon and Rayleigh, South Essex. This is a fantastic opportunity to work within a service described by Ofsted as “exceptional”, delivering early help to families facing multiple and complex challenges. Family Solutions is part of Essex’s Children & Families service, working holistically with disadvantaged families to help them make meaningful and lasting changes. You’ll be part of a supportive, multi-disciplinary team that values collaboration, innovation, and professional growth.
The Opportunity
As a Social Worker (Family Worker), your role will be varied, impactful, and deeply rewarding. You will:
* Act as a source of advice and support for colleagues, including joint visits and joint working on complex cases (e.g. concerns around neglect).
* Support the team to build positive and constructive working relationships with colleagues in statutory children’s services.
* Manage your own caseload and assess safeguarding risks.
* Work in partnership with the team manager and practice supervisor to review referrals and support threshold decisions as required by the team.
* Build strong, trusting relationships with families to promote positive change.
* Provide practical and specialist advice.
* Facilitate complex family meetings and coordinate additional support services.
* Offer emotional and practical support in homes and community settings.
* Work closely with your manager or senior social worker through regular supervision.
* Support the further integration of Family Solutions and Children Social Care as part of the Family First Partnership Programme.
Accountabilities
* Support manager and practice supervisor to undertake screenings of new contacts, understanding threshold.
* Determine the direction and actions required to progress cases forward on a day‑to‑day basis; recognise when key decisions regarding risks/concerns need referral to the Team Manager or Practice Supervisor.
* Act as a source of advice, guidance and support to colleagues in relation to complex cases; mentor and guide alternatively qualified colleagues in best practice.
* Undertake holistic assessments of family needs to create intervention plans and identify how outcomes can be achieved that fully reflect the family and young person’s views and aspirations, delivering interventions including group work programmes.
* Facilitate complex family meetings, managing potentially competing views of families and professionals, finding achievable solutions.
* Undertake individual and group programmes of work to enable children and families to develop their skills to resolve issues and problems themselves; provide information and accompany families to help access other local services.
* Provide specific practical, personal and emotional support to families in their homes or other settings as part of an agreed plan to achieve agreed and sustainable family outcomes.
* Participate in regular supervision to review work and ensure effective interventions for families.
* Embed principles of effective practice in service delivery; work collaboratively with staff and partners to ensure effective risk management in line with the thresholds of the Effective Support and Guidance document and the SET child protection procedures.
* Define specific individual and shared targets and objectives annually within the performance management framework.
The Experience You Will Bring
* Qualified Social Worker, registered with Social Work England, and post-ASYE.
* Recent experience in frontline children’s services, experience completing assessment and managing CIN and/or CP cases.
* At least three years’ experience post‑qualifying.
* Willing to work towards Practice Educator Qualification.
* Strong commitment to uphold the standards and values of the social work profession.
* Evidence of continuing professional development with good knowledge in relevant professional area and commitment to evidence‑based practice.
* Significant practical experience of working with families with multiple and complex needs.
* Effective communication skills, good problem‑solving and assessment skills with a demonstrable track record of building and sustaining positive professional relationships with individuals and families with multiple and complex needs.
* Experience of applying a solution‑focused approach and providing practical advice and support to families to enable them to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes.
* Ability to work in partnership with others to maximise outcomes for families in line with the Family Solutions operating principles.
* Ability to work independently and as part of a team and to use supervision appropriately.
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 doing so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.
Why Essex?
As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, Essex is an ideal place to develop your career or contribute to the local community.
In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. Read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR ) on our careers site.
Essex County Council is a Disability Confident Leader, committed to interview disabled applicants through our Job Interview Scheme and all veterans and care leavers who meet the minimum requirements of the role. We also support unpaid carers and offer flexible working arrangements.
We value integrity and ethical behaviour and ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles throughout the recruitment process. We require DBS check where necessary and will be required to register with the DBS update service.
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