Are you a child and family social worker with 5 years of post-qualifying experience looking for the next step of your career? What is Involved? As an Independent Reviewing Officer, you can have a real impact on the lives of children in our care and our practice. You will ensure that the child is at the heart of what you do and that each child’s voice is central to their care plan. You will work with social workers and their managers so that the plan for each child is based on a detailed and informed assessment, is up to date, effective and provides a real and genuine response to each child’s needs, and that each child has an appropriate plan for permanence. You will play a key role in helping to prevent ‘drift’ in care planning. You will be well placed to highlight areas of good practice, areas for improvement and will work constructively with senior managers across our Service, offering a critical perspective and appropriate challenge. We encourage you to contact one our IRO Service Managers for an informal discussion about the role before you apply. You can contact Carmel Murray on 03000 262833 or Sarah Edwards on 03000 262127 via e-mail at carmel.murray@durham.gov.uk or Sarah Edwards on 03000 262127 or via email on sarah.edwards@durham.gov.uk. What Can You Expect from Us? In March 2025, Durham Children's Service's was rated Outstanding by Ofsted. "Social workers told inspectors that Durham is a great place to work. Their words and actions convey a sense of belonging, and they view Durham as their employer of choice". They further added that "Senior and political leaders in Durham are ambitious, purposeful and influential. They are unrelenting in their pursuit of doing what is right for children and families, resulting in consistent improvements and the delivery of high-quality services for children and families". When you work for the winner of the Supportive Employer of the Year award in 2022, we will put you first. You will join a fantastic team where you will be valued, and your wellbeing will be a priority for us. Your Service Manager will provide you with support and regular reflective supervision. We will support you to have a great work/life balance, with hybrid working and flexible working options including part time and compressed hours. We will invest in your future. When you join us, you will benefit from a comprehensive induction and training programme, and as the largest local authority of the North East we can offer you lots of opportunities to develop your career whether you see your future in practice or in a management role. You can find out more about children’s Social Work in Durham on our webpage at: https://www.durham.gov.uk/childrenssocialwork What Will I Need? Essential qualifications and experience for this role are: Final professional Social Work qualification e.g. Diploma in Social Work or equivalent Current Social Work England Registration You will also have 5 years post-qualifying experience as a social work practitioner with children and families relating to children in care/children subject to child protection plans, including legal proceedings (in accordance with the Independent Review Officer Handbook). Please refer to the attached person specification for the full criteria. If successful, you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced Disclosure. Rewards and Benefits We offer generous rewards and benefits that are designed to help you perform at your best: Competitive salaries and 27 days holiday per year rising to 32 days after five years continuous local government service. Option to purchase up to 10 additional days annual leave per year. Excellent work/life balance through schemes including job sharing, compressed hours and flexi-time (allowing up to 13 flexi days per year). Hybrid working (home and office working). Excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Plus, top up options - Salary Sacrifice Shared Cost AVC scheme and standard AVC scheme for members of the LGPS. Wellbeing Portal and access to an Employee Assist Scheme. Wide range of learning and development opportunities including professional qualifications, coaching and mentoring. Employee Benefits Portal and Lifestyle Savings Scheme (discounts across a host of major retailers). Discounted DCC gym membership. Staff networks run by staff for our staff, including Race Equality and Diversity, Disability, LGBT, Armed Forces, Carers, Menopause. Trade Union membership. A range of other salary sacrifice schemes such as car leasing. Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. Take a closer look: https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/26895/Rewards-and-benefits Hybrid Working Durham County Council currently operates a hybrid working policy where a model of 2 days in the workplace and 3 days at home/remote will apply. This model is pro-rated for part time roles and arrangements are at managers discretion, alternatively you can work all of your contracted hours within the workplace if you prefer. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion We are a proud equal opportunities employer and recognise that a diverse, talented workforce brings new ideas and new perspectives, which will facilitate growth and improvements to services. We are committed to ensuring that our employment policies and processes are fair and equitable to all. We welcome job applications from everyone, and successful candidates are considered only on their skills and ability to do the job. As a Disability Confident Leader, we encourage applications from disabled people and provide support throughout the recruitment process. Take a closer look: https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/26899/Equality-diversity-and-inclusion-in-our-workforce Interviews Interviews are expected to be held on Friday 24th October 2025. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran. How to Apply In line with the County Council's Recruitment and Selection Policy, please note that we are unable to accept CVs. Applications must be submitted on-line via the Northeast Jobs portal. Please use the ‘Person Specification’ section of your application form to demonstrate that you have the essential and where possible, desirable experience, skills, and knowledge. Candidates who do not evidence that they meet the essential qualifications and experience listed on the person specification will not be short-listed. If you have any support needs or require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27 (option 2), or the Recruitment Team via email at RecruitmentCYPS@durham.gov.uk We collect personal information from you when you register with North East Jobs and make an application. Details on how we process your personal data is available in our Privacy Notice. https://www.durham.gov.uk/media/24645/Privacy-notice-human-resources/pdf/PrivacyNotice-HR.pdf PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION REGARDING YOUR APPLICATION FOR THIS POST WILL BE SENT TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS THAT YOU HAVE REGISTERED WITH NORTH EAST JOBS, INCLUDING YOUR INVITE TO INTERVIEW IF YOU ARE SHORTLISTED. PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL AFTER THE CLOSING DATE FOR NOTIFICATION FROM DONOTREPLY@NORTHEASTJOBS.ORG.UK AS YOU WILL NOT BE NOTIFIED BY ANY OTHER MEANS. PLEASE ENSURE YOU CHECK YOUR JUNK MAIL. VPRS/161