Fostering Social Worker
Salary: £44,756 per year (rising to £49,729 after 18 months)
Additional Allowances:
* £750 per year Homeworking Allowance
* £4,184 per year London Weighting (if eligible)
Hours: 35 hours per week
Contract: Permanent
Location: Home-based, with travel in East, North and West London, Essex and Hertfordshire
***Required social working experience within fostering!!***
* A social working degree is a must
About Us
We are the UK’s largest dedicated fostering charity. For over 30 years, we’ve provided safe, loving homes for children and young people who need them most.
As a charity, we don’t make a profit – everything we do is focused on supporting our foster carers and the children in their care. Our values guide our work every day, helping us make a real difference in young lives.
The Role
We’re looking for a motivated and caring Fostering Social Worker to lead our work in finding new foster carers across East, North and West London, Essex and Hertfordshire.
You’ll manage a small team and work closely with colleagues to make sure people interested in fostering have a great experience from first contact through to assessment. You’ll also help promote fostering in the community and support our goal of giving more children a safe, stable home.
What We Offer
* A supportive, flexible working environment
* Salary progression after 18 months
* £750 per year for homeworking costs
* London Weighting if eligible
* 31 days holiday plus bank holidays
* Pension and employee benefits
* The chance to make a real difference in children’s lives
* Homeworking ‘bundle’ including annual allowance, IT equipment and a loan for home office set up.
* Menopause Policy and free Menopause Clinician Appointments. • Stakeholder Pension Scheme (salary sacrifice). • Fantastic learning and development opportunities for all roles.
What You’ll Do
* Manage local foster carer recruitment in line with our local strategy.
* Make decisions about whether people who enquire are suitable to move forward with an application.
* Respond to all enquiries quickly and efficiently, making sure no one is left waiting too long.
* Increase our visibility in local communities by leading and attending recruitment events.
* Work closely with local foster carers to help organise and run events and activities.
* Oversee and manage all new enquiries, including carrying out initial home visits with potential foster carers.
* Lead Skills to Foster training sessions and support applicants with their pre-approval learning and development.
* Supervise and support a small team, including a Recruitment Officer and/or Assessing Social Workers.
* Review and quality-check assessments, helping to make clear and confident decisions in more complex cases.
* Make sure all assessments are completed on time and to the high standards we expect.
* Ensure all recruitment meets regulations and our high standards
About You
We’re looking for someone who is:
* Passionate about helping children and young people
* Experienced in recruitment (ideally in fostering or social care)
* A confident leader who can support and motivate others
* Good at building relationships with different people and groups
* Able to use data to improve how we recruit
* Organised and able to work from home and travel locally
It’s a bonus if you have a background in social work or have worked in a charity before.
Our Values
We are:
* Child-focused – we put children at the heart of everything
* Caring – we act with kindness and compassion
* Fair and inclusive – we treat everyone with respect
* Transparent – we are open and honest
* Ambitious – we aim high for the children and carers we support
If this is something you would be interested in, please apply via email melissa@everpool recruitment.com or call Melissa Powell on 07561 705 697.