Senior Practitioner

Grade 12 | Full time | Permanent
Location: Bolsover South (Bolsover, Shirebrook, Tibshelf, Pinxton, South Normanton)

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to join Bolsover South Team, a well‑established, friendly and supportive Adult Social Work team. Our team includes 10 Social Workers and 9 Social Care Practitioners, supported by one Senior Practitioner and one Service Manager. We’re a busy, characterful patch dedicated to promoting independence, choice and safety across our local communities.

Safeguarding & Duty

Safeguarding and Duty oversight are central to this role. You’ll provide calm, confident leadership in responding to new referrals and safeguarding concerns, using your skills in triage (and re‑triage!), risk assessment and prioritisation to guide the team through complex casework.

You’ll support practitioners to make proportionate safeguarding initial enquiries, offer guidance to maintain momentum with S42 enquiries, and bring clear delegation and professional direction to fast‑moving situations.

Quality Assurance

Working closely with the Service Manager, you will help promote and embed strengths‑based practice across the team. You’ll support quality assurance activity by facilitating Peer Group Discussions, exploring community and informal networks, equipment and technology to enhance support plan.
Your eye for detail and ability to model reflective, defensible practice will help maintain high standards across the patch.

Developing Others

Ideally, you will be a Practice Educator (or willing to complete PE1 & PE2), as we regularly welcome students, apprentices and ASYEs into the team. You’ll offer guidance, mentoring and reflective supervision to learners, supporting their development into confident and capable practitioners.
You’ll also contribute to the growth of the wider team by sharing learning and updates, and creating supportive resources such as guides, workshops and practice tools.

Team Culture & Wellbeing

Bolsover South is proud of its warm, stable and supportive team environment. We place real emphasis on wellbeing and work‑life balance, so as Senior Practitioner your ability to role‑model healthy boundaries, encourage CPD and champion the benefits of flexible working will be key to sustaining a resilient and positive workforce.

Employees have access to a range of support, benefits and discounts including:

• Generous Annual Leave Scheme 27 days annual leave per year (rising to 32 days after 5 years continuous service) plus 8 bank holidays (pro rata).
• Local Government Pension Scheme: Providing financial security
• Supportive management and team
• Training and Development: Opportunities for professional qualifications and ongoing training.
• Wellbeing Support Framework: Includes OH physician services, physiotherapy, CBT, and in-house counselling.
• Employee Wellbeing Support: Fast track physiotherapy, confidential psychological support services, Employee Assistance Programme, and “Wisdom” app.
• Paid travel expenses if required to travel to other sites (Terms and conditions apply)
• Cycle to Work Scheme: Promoting a healthy lifestyle.
• Electric/Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme: Encouraging environmentally friendly commuting options. (Terms and conditions apply)
• Our Derbyshire Rewards: a package of benefits, cashback and discounts.

More details on the benefits of working for the council can be found on our reward and recognition page here

For more information about the role or an informal discussion please email nicola.chambers@derbyshire.gov.uk

Provisional Interview Date: Week beginning 2nd March

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

ASCH1

Important: Derbyshire County Council holds a sponsorship licence, but this role does not offer visa sponsorship. Please apply only if you already have the right to work in the UK without sponsorship, as applications that do not meet this requirement will be rejected.

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.