Supervising Social Worker

Salary: NJC Grade 10 – 11: £46,324 - £54,830 per annum inclusive of market supplement

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract – 12 Months

Working Pattern: Full time -37 hours

Location: Current work base is Arun Civic Centre, Littlehampton. The role will have countywide and out of county travel required. The substantive hub for your service is Bognor Regis and therefore, there is the potential for services to relocate to Bognor in the future.

Interview Date: 20th October

Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.

Are you a qualified social worker with experience in fostering? Can you support the children and young people in West Sussex? We want to hear from you…

You will be responsible for holding case work within the Fostering and Supported Lodgings Support Service. You will be supervising foster and connected carers and supported lodgings hosts and ensure they maintain their approval through fostering regulations. You will contribute to improving the practice of other Social Workers and Support staff, developing, leading and championing best practice and standards. You will contribute to the development of therapeutic parenting within the fostering service. You will apply knowledge and experience to provide constructive and reflective challenge, influencing others to enhance social work practice and practice of carers looking after children, procedures and policies, promote innovation, and introduce new ways of working from recognised sites of excellence.

Please note that we are only able to offer a salary for this role of Grade 10 to Grade 11.

Rewards and Benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity you will receive:

• A competitive salary
• A generous pension scheme
• Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• Flexible working
• A range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers with the opportunity to save over £1,000 (Including: Argos, Samsung, Asos, B&Q and many more)
• Free access to employee assistance programmes
• Discounted membership at selected local sports and fitness centres
• A range of commuting and business travel discounts and initiatives

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefitspage.

About you

To be successful in this role, you will need:

Key Skills:

• Able to create and maintain an environment where critical reflection and analysis is valued, staff are supported their find own solutions and practice capability is developed.
• Able to role model, promote exemplary practice and provide expertise in specialist assessment and intervention, and act as a subject matter expert, coach, and supervisor to others within the organisation, enabling social workers to develop.
• Able to engage directly with children, young people and families, employing therapeutic approaches and a range of interventions to facilitate behavioural change, that can be evidence, evaluated, linking theory to practice. The Fostering Service uses Secure Base Model and PACE to support therapeutic practice. Supervising Social Workers are involved in training foster and connected carers in these models. Working autonomously with a complex and diverse caseload.
• Able to focus on outcomes and assess and analyse risk within a context of complexity and uncertainty, providing forward thinking strategies and solutions that consider a variety of possible options to achieve desired outcomes.
• Able to influence, negotiate and persuade in a multi-disciplinary setting and communicate clearly and effectively to explain complicated information to a wide range of people, understanding other priorities in order to deal with conflict and resolve difficulties.

Qualifications, knowledge and experience:

• A recognised professional Social Work Qualification e.g. Degree in Social Work, Post Graduate Certificate in Social Work, DipSW, CQSW or equivalent as recognised by the relevant professional body.
• A recognised post qualifying award in Social Work or demonstrable evidence of continuous professional development at a similar level.
• Registration with the relevant professional registration body and maintaining registration with that body.
• Achievement of, or working towards, Practice Educator Professional Standard’s qualification at stage two or equivalent.
• Further Post Graduate study that has a direct impact on the delivery of social work to vulnerable individuals, learners or colleagues.
• Relevant advanced theoretical Social Work or equivalent concepts and practices and detailed organisational knowledge relating to the provision of a professional Social Work service dealing with very complex issues e.g., attachment, impact of developmental trauma, child development.
• Valid, full driving licence.

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

About us

Here at West Sussex County Council, we are ambitious for our children and our workforce. We are committed to improving our services for the children and families in West Sussex we support. You will join us as at a key time on our improvement journey. The work we have started includes establishing a new and experienced senior leadership team, driving forward our ‘Children First’ improvement plan and implementing the Family Safeguarding Practice Model. You will be trained in motivational interviewing, to support our strengths-based approach to working with families and creating lasting change for children.

We don’t underestimate the work that still needs to be undertaken and the challenge ahead, we are confident in our approach and excited about the changes occurring. That’s why we need professionals, like you, who really want to be part of the positive change that is happening for children. Be part of an ambitious improvement plan and make a significant difference to children and families in West Sussex. There has never been a more rewarding time to join.

For further information about us and about working in Children’s Social Care at West Sussex County Council, please visit Careers in children's social work in West Sussex.

Further information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE06527.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Rebecca Sims at rebecca.sims@westsussex.gov.uk. For issues or queries regarding your application please contact kerry.joad@westsussex.gov.uk.

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to Social Work England registration, an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contactkerry.joad@westsussex.gov.uk.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.