Overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen in the West Kent Children in Care Team for a Social Worker to play a vital role in the delivery of services to our vulnerable children and their families. You will be supported with good quality supervision and have excellent opportunities for professional development enabling you to manage a varied caseload working with children and their families. We will support you to grow your skills and knowledge through secondments with a cross‑section of social work teams. As you continue to develop your expertise, there will be new challenges and opportunities both with case work but also as part of the wider organization, e.g., developing specialist links with partner agencies. You will also build close working relationships with statutory, voluntary, and private sector agencies, and could be required to represent Children’s Services in court.
Responsibilities
* Act as a role model and mentor to less experienced colleagues; contribute to training initiatives and in‑house core training courses.
* Proactively maintain awareness of changes in child development and related theories, legislation, policies, and practices; share knowledge and help maintain team‑wide high standards of social work.
* Be a customer‑facing post in line with statutory duties under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure language proficiency for effective job performance.
* Work with partners and across teams to develop specialist links and represent Children’s Services in court when required.
* Engage in continuous professional development and take opportunities for secondments and cross‑sector collaboration.
Qualifications
* Degree in social work (CQSW, DipSW or equivalent); must be registered with Social Work England.
* Post‑qualification experience of working with children and families; experience should cover systemic practice with an in‑depth understanding of legislative and policy frameworks.
* Willingness to learn and develop as a practitioner; being a team player is essential.
* Role requires mobility across a wide operational area including travel around Kent and beyond to transport children and belongings; emergency transport may be required and public transport is rarely viable.
* This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring Service and registration as a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England.
* Full UK Driving Licence is required; reasonable adjustments will be considered for disability.
Additional Information
* Work flexibility is available; we offer a competitive salary and benefits package including £3,000 Golden Hello payment, £3,000 retention payment after qualifying period, £2,000 car allowance, and a good pension scheme.
* Kent County Council (KCC) is committed to building a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.
* Applications will be reviewed on a weekly basis; shortlisting will be based on your reason for applying and the closing date may be earlier if many suitably qualified candidates apply.
Note
Please note the shortlisting for this role will be based on your reason for applying. If you have been interviewed for this post in the last six months, please do not re‑apply.
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