Description Advanced Practitioner G9 - Salary - £54,267-£58,461pa Service Area: Safeguarding As an Advanced Practitioner within the Safeguarding Team, you will play a pivotal role in delivering high quality statutory social work to children at risk of significant harm. You will hold a reduced but complex caseload, undertaking assessments, planning and direct work where practice requires enhanced expertise, professional oversight or intervention. Your work will ensure that children’s safety, lived experiences and outcomes remain at the centre of all decision making. You will provide practice leadership across the team, supporting social workers to deliver child centred, analytical and strengths based assessments and plans in line with statutory guidance and local thresholds. This will include offering professional consultation, modelling best practice, supporting reflective supervision, and contributing to the development of confident, skilled and resilient practitioners. The role involves oversight and quality assurance at key points in the child’s journey, including Child in Need, Child Protection and care proceedings. You will support robust risk assessment and defensible decision‑making, ensuring that safeguarding concerns are responded to promptly, proportionately and effectively, and that statutory responsibilities are met to a high standard. You will work closely with families and a wide range of multi‑agency partners, including police, health, education and legal services, to ensure coordinated responses to risk and need. You will also contribute to service development through audit activity, learning reviews, performance analysis and reflective learning, helping to drive continuous improvement across the Safeguarding 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, strengthen safeguarding responses and make a meaningful difference to the lives of children and families. Key aims and objectives of the role include: Delivering high‑quality, child‑centred safeguarding practice to children at risk of harm Providing professional leadership and expert consultation to support and develop social workers Promoting consistent, analytical and strengths‑based assessment and care planning Supporting effective risk management and defensible safeguarding decision‑making Contributing to quality assurance, learning and continuous service improvement This is a rewarding opportunity for a skilled, reflective practitioner who is passionate about safeguarding children and supporting excellence in social work practice. About You You will be an experienced, confident and highly skilled social work practitioner with a strong commitment to safeguarding children and promoting their welfare. You will bring advanced professional judgement, a clear safeguarding focus and the ability to support high‑quality practice in complex and high‑risk situations. 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, including significant experience of statutory safeguarding work across Child in Need, Child Protection and care proceedings. You will have a strong understanding of risk, harm and protective factors, and be confident in working with complexity, uncertainty and challenge. As an Advanced Practitioner, you will have demonstrable experience of providing practice leadership, supporting and mentoring social workers and contributing to reflective supervision, quality assurance and service improvement. You will be confident in offering professional consultation, modelling best practice and supporting colleagues to develop analytical, strengths‑based and child‑centred approaches to assessment, planning and intervention. You will have a strong working knowledge of relevant legislation, statutory guidance and local thresholds, including Working Together to Safeguard Children, and the ability to apply this effectively to complex safeguarding cases. You will be skilled in risk assessment and defensible decision‑making, ensuring that safeguarding responses are timely, proportionate and focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for children. You will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, enabling you to work effectively with children, families and a wide range of multi‑agency partners, including police, health, education and legal services. You will be confident in contributing to strategy discussions, child protection conferences, reviews and court processes, ensuring that children’s voices and lived experiences are clearly evidenced and represented. Non‑negotiable qualities for this role include: A clear and unwavering commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children Advanced professional judgement and confidence in managing complex risk and decision‑making 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 If you are a skilled, reflective and motivated practitioner who is passionate about safeguarding children and supporting excellence in social work practice, we would welcome your application. Additional Information – Next Steps For an informal discussion about the post, please contact eulyn.joseph@havering.gov.uk or eva.andrews@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 Please view Job Profile here Closing date: 22 nd March 2026 Shortlisting date: w/c 23 rd March 2026 Interview date: w/c 30 th March 2026 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.