Social Worker

JOB DESCRIPTION

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: £36,567.00 - 46,041.00

Retention Bonus/ Market Supplement: Up to £3,000

Contract Type: Full-time/Permanent

Working hours per week: 36

Weeks per year: 52

Application Deadline: Until further notice

Proposed Interview Date(s): To be confirmed

Reference:1033

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London's Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

About the role:

Waltham Forest's Children's Service has big ambitions for the future - and is a place where you can realise yours.

If you are a dedicated and creative Social Worker who has completed the ASYE programme and looking to make your mark, develop your career and improve the lives of Looked After Children, our forward-thinking People's Directorate should be your next career destination.

We are a supportive, challenging, and inspirational service, striving towards the shared purpose of achieving independence, choice and the best outcomes for our children, young people, and their families. Join us and you will help us to become a centre of excellence and best practice. In return for your hard work, we will give you the time and active support you need to make a difference. Promoting creativity is at the heart of our agenda to develop Social Work; you will be encouraged to share ideas, bring about positive change, and strive to continuously improve outcomes for our vulnerable children and young people.

We're seeking dedicated, qualified and experienced Social Workers to join our Looked After Children teams. LBWF offers a retention bonus of £3,000, which is paid annually i.e. £1,500 paid in the salary for June and December. This bonus is subject to conditions.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Key Responsibilities:

To support children and young people who are looked after.

• To formulate, prepare and implement Care Plans and Pathway Plans
• To manage a caseload including those in care proceedings, attend Court, prepare court statements and care plans and represent the Local Authority
• To prepare and present a range of reports, including reports for Court, Child Care Reviews, Professional and Planning meetings
• Complete assessments for children, young people and their families
• Involve children, young people, their families and other professionals in meetings and support them with decision making
• To have knowledge of services relevant to individuals, families, carers, groups and communities
• To work with children, young people and their families where reunification is the plan
• Conduct assessments of Children and young people's circumstances and issues to determine intervention / referral to the appropriate service.
• Plan and implement interventions and actions for allocated cases. Monitor and review cases. Assess in more complex cases, with guidance.
• Provide professional advice and guidance to colleagues and partner agencies supporting children and young people.
• Liaise internally and externally and work with colleagues from other agencies to ensure Children, young people and carers are supported
• Proactively develop professional knowledge, skills and behaviours.
• Supports colleagues in the team.
• Act in accordance with all policies and procedures which apply to the job and understand the reasons for this.

Qualifications and Requirements:

To be considered for this position, you should meet the following requirements:

• Proven social work experience /placement in a Children & Families setting/ minimum of one year's post qualifying experience
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of issues relating to children in need, child protection and looked after children, including relevant legislation, guidance & procedures
• Experience of service delivery which is culturally sensitive and responsive to the needs of a multi-cultural community
• Ability to work as a team member
• Ability to work under regular supervision from a line manager
• Ability to work effectively under pressure
• Ability to prioritise work
• Ability to ensure Performance Indicators relating to service areas are met
• Ability to participate in change effectively
• Ability to communicate clearly verbally and in writing, and to follow through required actions
• Commitment to the participation of children, young people and their families both at an individual and service level
• Able to work flexible or unsocial hours at short notice.
• Detailed working knowledge of the Children Acts 1989 and 2004 and other relevant legislation, procedures and guidance relating to children and families
• Awareness of current issues in child care policy and practice
• Commitment to the Council's Equal Opportunities Policy and Acceptance of their responsibility for its practical application.
• To understand and comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Terms and conditions:

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

• Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
• Satisfactory declaration of interest;
• This role is subject to safer recruitment practices as it involves work with children and/ or vulnerable adults;
• Satisfactory DBS check;
• Continued professional body registration;

This post is politically restricted therefore the post holder is disqualified from undertaking certain political activities under the Local Government Officers (Political Restrictions) Regulations 1990.

As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the 'Apply' button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Lisa Watson Team Manager at Lisa.Watson@walthamforest.gov.uk.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

The Council's preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.