Description Advanced Practitioner G9 - Salary (£54,267 - £58,461pa) Service Area: Leaving Care 16 Service As an Advanced Practitioner within the Leaving Care / 16 Team, you will play a pivotal role in delivering high quality statutory and relational social work to young people aged 16–25. You will hold a reduced but complex caseload, working with young people whose circumstances require enhanced professional expertise, oversight and intervention, including those facing risks around accommodation instability, exploitation, mental health and engagement. You will provide practice leadership across the team, supporting Personal Advisors and Social Workers to deliver young‑person‑centred, strengths‑based and aspirational pathway planning in line with statutory guidance and local policy. This will include offering professional consultation, modelling best practice, supporting reflective supervision and strengthening professional decision‑making. The role involves oversight and quality assurance at key points in the young person’s journey, including pathway plans, accommodation and transition planning, and risk management. You will ensure that planning is timely, purposeful and focused on promoting independence, resilience and positive adult outcomes. You will work closely with young people and a wide range of multi‑agency partners, including housing, education, health, employment and commissioned providers, to ensure coordinated and effective support. You will also contribute to service development through audit activity, learning reviews, performance analysis and reflective learning, supporting continuous improvement within the Leaving Care Service. Havering offers a supportive, learning‑focused environment, with strong management support, regular supervision and access to professional development through the Social Care Academy. This role offers an excellent opportunity for an experienced practitioner to influence practice, support staff confidence and make a meaningful difference to the lives of care‑experienced young people. Key aims and objectives of the role include: Delivering high‑quality, young‑person‑centred leaving care practice Providing professional leadership and expert consultation to staff Promoting consistent, strengths‑based and aspirational pathway planning Supporting effective risk management and defensible decision‑making Contributing to quality assurance, learning and continuous service improvement About You You will be an experienced, confident and skilled social work practitioner with a strong commitment to supporting care‑experienced young people and promoting positive transitions to independence. You will bring sound professional judgement, a relational approach and the ability to work effectively with complexity, risk and uncertainty. You will be a qualified Social Worker, holding a CQSW, Diploma in Social Work or equivalent qualification, and be registered with Social Work England. You will have substantial post‑qualifying experience within children’s social care, with relevant experience of working with adolescents, care leavers and young people aged 16–25. As an Advanced Practitioner, you will have demonstrable experience of providing practice leadership, supporting and developing colleagues through professional consultation, mentoring, reflective supervision and quality assurance activity. You will be confident in modelling best practice and supporting staff to deliver purposeful, strengths‑based and aspirational pathway planning. You will have a strong working knowledge of relevant legislation, statutory guidance and local policy, including the Children (Leaving Care) Act, pathway planning requirements and corporate parenting responsibilities. You will be skilled in risk assessment and defensible decision‑making, particularly in relation to accommodation, exploitation, mental health, engagement and safeguarding. You will have excellent communication and relationship‑building skills, enabling you to work effectively with young people and a wide range of multi‑agency partners, including housing, education, health, employment services and commissioned providers. You will be committed to ensuring young people’s voices, wishes and lived experiences are central to all assessment, planning and decision‑making. Non‑negotiable qualities for this role include: A strong commitment to corporate parenting and improving outcomes for care‑experienced young people Confidence in managing complexity, risk and professional judgement Strong practice leadership skills, with the ability to support, challenge and develop others High standards of professional integrity, accountability and reflective practice A values‑led, inclusive approach aligned with Havering’s commitment to learning, development and workforce wellbeing. For an informal discussion about the post, please contact simone.martin@havering.gov.uk Please attach your supporting statement, explaining in no more than x2 A4 sides why and how you meet the criteria for this role. We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload Closing date: 29 March 2026 Shortlisting date: w/c 30 March 2026 Please view Job Profile here Additional Information We want everyone to choose Havering. When you apply for a job with us, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. Our residents and service users come from all walks of life, and so do our employees. Find out what it means to Choose Havering. The London Borough of Havering has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload.