Looking for a fostering managerial role with a difference?

Are you looking to build on your experience and take the opportunity to step into a leadership role in an inclusive, stable and supportive team environment? Then we will give you the opportunity to achieve this within Birmingham Children’s Trust. 

We are looking for a driven and forward-thinking Senior Practitioner to join our expanding Family & Friends Viability & Assessment Team.

As a Service it is our ambition to support as many children as possible to live within their birth families. We work closely with our colleagues across the Trust and have access to key resources, specialist social care services and robust multi-agency partnership working to assist us in achieving the most positive outcomes.  

You’ll play a lead role in ensuring that your team leads the way on achieving consistently good quality practice and performance and your decision-making skills will reflect our relationship-based, trauma informed practice model.  You will provide your team with mentoring and professional support and advice, sharing your wealth of social work knowledge of legislation, process and case management. In return you will receive regular, consistent supervision and a personal and professional development offer that supports your ongoing learning and growth.

Our recent Ofsted Focused visit (Aug 2021) found us to be ‘Good’:

Children are making good progress because of the care they receive from foster carers. Children live with foster carers who they have trusting relationships with. Foster carers invest in children and are committed to developing relationships with them.

The independent fostering agency has recently undergone a service redesign. The registered manager oversees the service development plan and leaders have a vision to improve the service further. The service redesign includes improved support for children living with connected carers or under special guardianship orders.

About you….

This is a key role in our organisation, so naturally we’re looking for experience of working in diverse social work teams, as well as a background previously working with children in care, fostering, statutory bodies and voluntary agencies.

You will have a strong background in safeguarding, care planning and looked after children, with confidence in the legal process and framework within this service.

You must hold a recognised social work qualification and have current active registration with Social Work England.

Your qualifications will be complemented by your exceptional skillset – including maintaining positive relationships, effective communication, sound concise judgement, analytical thinking, teamwork and inclusivity in your approach. 

The team undertakes detailed assessments of family and friends carers who are applying to look after children known to them. Much of the work is Court directed; you will be required to have a good understanding of Court processes, care proceedings work and permanence options for children.

You will be involved in quality assuring assessments, supporting workers to ensure that assessments are robust and completed in a timely manner.  In addition you will provide supervision to senior social workers in the team.  You will support enquiries into the service via the duty system in a timely manner, ensuring accurate and consistent advice is provided.

As a senior practitioner you will work very closely within the wider adoption and fostering services as well as with our colleagues in the area teams and legal representatives. You will also work closely with the team manager in managing the staff undertaking family and friends work to ensure quality assessments, compliance with Regulations and the continued development of the service.

If you would like more information about the role or about working for us, email Team Managers:

Natasha Al-Mossili natasha.al-mossili@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk

Lucy Yates Lucy.Yates@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk

Michael Sally Michael.Sally@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk

Closing date: Monday 12^th June 2023

Interviews to take place: 21^st June 2023