About The Role

Role: Social Worker - Children in Care

Hours: 37 per week

Location: Hereford (Hybrid)

Salary: HC08 GBP38,945 - GBP43,223 (including GBP5,000 Market Rate Supplement) per annum

Contract: permanent

Closing date: 28/01/2024

The role

We are looking for Children in Care Social Workers with passion and drive to help us improve our service and continue to make us the best we can be.

We are looking for social workers with a 'can do' attitude who are child focussed, like to think outside of the box and are creative in care planning with children and families. It doesn't matter whether you are starting out in your social work career, returning to practice or an experienced social worker looking for a new challenge.

Working within the Children in Care Service you will thrive bringing your knowledge and experience to a supportive team to make a real difference. You will ensure that the voice of the child is always heard and at the centre of everything we do.

We are a small service with only 3 teams of 6 social workers in each team. Due to our small size, our team structures afford manageable caseloads in a supportive environment to ensure that you have everything you need to deliver reflective and Restorative based practice that benefits you and our children and families.

You will demonstrate passion and commitment for working with children and young people in care and have a good working knowledge of the legislative framework relating to children and families.

You will have good communication skills (both verbal and written) and be confident to engage with children and families through direct work and the preparation and completion of assessments and care plans.

You will be able to confidently engage with key agencies, both internally and externally to the Local Authority to ensure that children and families receive the right support at the right time.

You will have a recognised social work qualification and will be registered with Social Work England and ideally have a minimum of 2 years social work experience in statutory children's social care, ideally with children in care. However, the right person is more important than experience and we welcome social workers with less than 2 years post qualification experience.

We Offer

A competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:

Social Worker starting salary of GBP38,945- GBP43,223 (including GBP5,000 market rate supplement per year) Market rate supplement: GBP5,000 per year Welcome payment: GBP5,000 for experienced social workers joining our children's teams Relocation packages: support of up to GBP10,000 Pension Scheme: Enrolment in the Local Government (LGPS) Professional development: protected time and budget to support social workers develop themselves and their careers. Career progression: clear pathways to progress to senior social worker level Generous Annual Leave: 26 days' annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. After five years' continuous service, this increases to 31 days (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum Flexible working: flexi-time, job-share, part-time hours and, in some instances, home working Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling Payment of professional membership fees Pick your perks - our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts. Herefordshire is a beautiful, historic county located in the heart of the Marches on the border with Wales. We are one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England with a wealth of unspoilt countryside, distinctive heritage, and lively and attractive market towns.

Our priority in Herefordshire is to keep children safe and give them a great start in life. It's the priority for the council, our partners and for all of us who work with Children & Young People.

How do we do this? By having dynamic, dedicated, passionate and professional staff who work in a culture that focuses on what we can achieve with children, what they can achieve themselves, and the relationship we build with families and partners to enable this. We have invested heavily in training and developing staff in our relational practice approach with our improvement partner Leeds City Council, so it's an exciting time to join Herefordshire - we believe in investing in you so you can be the best you can be!

Herefordshire has a really strong team ethos. Our teams are passionate about the work they do and the positive difference they and the teams they are in make to people's lives. This is all underpinned by the focus and support from their managers and the council as a whole.

We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond.

Come to Herefordshire and join the journey.

The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:

Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the "Disability Confident" scheme; Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant; and Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care. Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for more details of this role.

To apply, please submit your CV and complete the supporting statement within the application form, referring to the job description & person specification, detailing how you meet the specific requirements of the role.