Children's Rights Officer

Job Description

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall, Leicester Road, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8RA

Salary: £39,939 - £42,699 per annum (pro rata for part-time) (Pay Award Pending)

Working Hours: 37 hours per week (Required out of ours working on a regular basis)

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 28th June 2026

Interview Date(s): Provisional Interview date week commencing 20th July 2026

Exciting and rare opportunity to join our growing and ambitious Children's Rights Service.

We are looking to recruit 2 permanent Children’s Rights Officer’s

(Looked After Children and Child Protection)

About the Role

Do you have a passion for working with children and ensuring they are heard in our services and supported to have their voice heard?

What does the role entail?

• Working directly with our young people, consulting and collaborating to understand and champion their voice. To inform and advise children and young people in care and those subject to child protection plans about their rights and responsibilities and to ensure that their voice is heard
• Advocating for the rights and interests of children and young people in our care about all aspects of childcare policy, planning and practice both at an individual level and contributing to wider development of childcare policy, planning and practice
• To develop and drive the provision of advocacy services for of children and young people who are on the edge of care, and for those who are subject to child protection planning.
• To champion advocacy services with professional staff, foster carers and other relevant persons, offering education, advice and support around issues relating to the rights of children and young people.
• To drive our practice ambitions focussed on working with children with disabilities.

An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.

About You

People with a genuine passion for working with children creatively and collaboratively to ensure their voice is heard and impacts decisions and services that affect them. Having skills in communicating with children and young people, being trauma informed and inclusive.

Either professional qualification relevant to working with children and families or substantial relevant experience together with evidence of the conceptual ability and written communication skills that would be commensurate with the achievement of a professional qualification at NVQ4 or above.

We would like the candidates to be able to work outside of usual working hours occasionally and can drive to visit children and young people and have willingness to support participation events as and when required.

To apply for this post, you must:

• Professional qualification relevant to working with children and families or substantial relevant experience of achievement of a professional qualification at NVQ4 or above. Registration with Social Work England Degree, DipSW or CQSW
• Ability to actively promote and uphold the rights, voices, and lived experiences of children and young people in care and those subject to safeguarding processes.
• Evidence of skills and experience in providing advocacy and support and enabling children and young people to meaningfully participate in decision-making forums, including reviews and child protection processes.
• Demonstrated ability to engage, support, and communicate with a diverse range of children and young people, including those in residential care, with disabilities, and from varied backgrounds.
• Sound understanding of safeguarding practices, childcare legislation, and the responsibilities of corporate parenting to inform effective practice.
• Strong interpersonal and professional communication skills, with the ability to work in partnership across services and challenge constructively to improve outcomes for children.
• Ability to work on one’s own initiative and in close partnership with the other post holders to maintain computerised records and use information technology eg. Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel)

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Nicola Madgett - Children's Rights and Participation Team Leader

Telephone: 07561601393

Email: nicola.madgett@leics.gov.uk

How to Apply

At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

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.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.

About us

About Leicestershire County Council

At Leicestershire County Council, we're committed to making a real difference in people's lives. Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone.

Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire. Whether you're starting your career or looking for your next challenge, you'll find a place with us where your ideas are valued, and your work has purpose.

For further information on what it’s like to work for us and the benefits we offer, please refer to the following:

Our Recruitment Process
Our Organisational Values
Our Employee Benefits
Working for Us