Lead Child Protection Practitioner

Service: Family Help and Children’s Social Care

An exciting opportunity has arisen to appoint to the position of the Lead Child Protection Practitioner (LCPP) within our integrated safeguarding arrangements as part of the Families First Partnership Programme.

This role will be embedded within our Multi‑Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPT’s), working alongside Family Help Lead Practitioners and Locality social work teams. The aim of this role is to strengthen relationship‑based practice, multi‑agency responses to child protection and to improve outcomes for children and families.

The successful applicant will have a primary focus on:

• Chairing complex child protection conferences and multi‑agency strategy discussions, exercising the local authority’s statutory child protection decision‑making responsibilities.
• Championing participation and the voice of the child, ensuring decisions and plans are evidence‑based, timely and robust.
• Ensure strong relationships with families, locality teams and partner agencies.
• Providing practice leadership and quality assurance across the partnership, including reflective case consultations, audit and performance activity.

Please review the comprehensive Job and Person Profile before applying for the position. The role will also require regular travel across North and South Derbyshire with duty days at Matlock County Hal.

Please note: As the Families First Partnership Programme continues to embed, there may be refinements to the role to ensure our safeguarding arrangements deliver consistent and outstanding practice across the council.

For an informal discussion please contact the Assistant Head of Service – Kourtney Farrell. Email address: Kourtney.Farrell@derbyshire.gov.uk

Working for Derbyshire County Council

Derbyshire is a great place to live and work, offering beautiful countryside alongside excellent transport links to Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester.

Benefits include:

• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Employee discounts
• Occupational health and wellbeing services
• In‑house counselling and physiotherapy support
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free parking at most sites

Our Values

We welcome applications from individuals who share our values:

Collaborative | Innovative | Empowered | Accountable

These values guide how we work together and how we support children, families and colleagues.

Provisional Interview Date : 22nd October 2026

Due to this post having access to children and/or vulnerable adults, the successful candidate will be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily prevent an applicant from obtaining this post, as all cases are judged individually according to the nature of the role and information provided. Click here to see our policy on criminal background checks.

Apply now and take the first step towards a fulfilling career with us! By joining Derbyshire County Council you will have access to a range of amazing rewards and employee benefits, including our generous annual leave scheme, excellent local government pension and fantastic employee discounts. To discover more detail about the rewards and benefits available to you, click here

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We welcome applications from individuals who share our values — being Collaborative, Innovative, Empowered and Accountable. These values describe who we are and what we stand for as a council. They help shape our culture, encourage consistent behaviour and guide how we work together to make a positive difference for both our employees and the residents we serve.