We are looking for an enthusiastic and innovative social worker who has completed their assessed and supported year in employment, and passionate about working with vulnerable teenagers across County Durham to join our Adolescent Safeguarding and Exploitation Team (ASET) team. Our ASET team support young people who are at risk of, or experiencing, harm outside of the family home, including child exploitation, mental health, radicalisation and homelessness. This is a great opportunity to join us in a new post which has been added to our existing fully staffed team. WHAT DO OFSTED SAY ABOUT US? You will be joining us at a fantastic time. Inspectors have just judged our Children’s Services as outstanding. You can read the full report here WHAT IS INVOLVED? This is a rewarding role where you will support teenagers who are at risk of, or experiencing, harm outside of the family home, including child exploitation, mental health, radicalisation, and homelessness. You will form positive working relationships with young people and negotiate and advocate on their behalf to achieve positive outcomes. You will be working with only a limited number of young people at any one time to ensure you can give them the support they need. And you will use the Signs of Safety social work model to help understand young people’s experiences. You will work closely with other teams including Child Exploitation, Supporting Solutions and Rapid Response, and with partner agencies including police and CAMHS. We encourage you to contact Sue Thornton, Team Manager by email at sue.thornton@durham.gov.uk for an informal discussion about the post. HOW WILL I BE SUPPORTED? When you work in Durham we put you first – you will join a fantastic team where you will be valued, and your wellbeing will be a priority for us. Your team manager will provide you with support and regular reflective supervision, and you will also have support from a social work consultant and through monthly Signs of Safety group supervision. We will support you to have a great work/life balance. We encourage hybrid working and flexible working options including 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. WHAT WILL I NEED? For this role you will need to be passionate about working with vulnerable teenagers across County Durham and have: Degree in social work or equivalent social work qualification Current Social Work England Registration Successful completion of the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) 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. INTERVIEWS Interviews will be held week commencing 08/12/25 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. OUR OFFER TO YOU We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years’ continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled people and offer support throughout the recruitment process. HOW TO APPLY Please note, we do not accept CVs. All applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Use the ‘Person Specification’ section of the form to clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential (and where possible, desirable) criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted. For guidance on completing your application, visit our website If you require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, or via email RecruitmentCYPS@durham.gov.uk All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from donotreply@northeastjobs.org.uk. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you don’t miss any updates. CONNECT WITH US Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook Visit our website VPRS/161