Team: Locality Social Work Service
Job Family: Supporting - CBG9/CBG10
Salary:
Level 1 Social Worker: £30,516 - £33,182 per annum, pro rata - Plus MRS £5,100 per annum, pro rata
Level 2 Social Worker: £34,067 - £35,611 per annum pro rata - Plus MRS £5,150 per annum, pro rata & Enhanced MRS £3,850 per annum, pro rata 

Hours: 37 hours per week

Location: Working from home and any CBC offices, including Priory House, Shefford. You will be expected to attend a CBC office location on a monthly basis, and as needed to carry out your role
Contract Type: Hybrid -  Permanent

Closing Date: Rolling Advert until 4th March 2024 – Reviewed on last day of the month with interviews within 2 weeks from then
Interview Date: Applications will be reviewed upon receipt and interviews scheduled accordingly

About Us

Central Bedfordshire is an ambitious authority, determined to be an exemplary one. Our strategic location and high quality of life mean we are one of the fastest growing areas in the country. 

As a council we face the same challenges every business does - investing in the right places and delivering great results. Except for us, it’s all about our 289,000 residents. We’re totally focussed on helping to improve their lives and making Central Bedfordshire a great place to live and work. 

We have set values and principles to represent the way we work and how we operate as an organisation. You can view a list of these in detail on our website.

This is a great time to join us on our journey.

About the role:

Central Bedfordshire Council is excited to offer the opportunity for Social Worker roles within our Children Service’s Locality Social Worker Service. In Central Bedfordshire, our vision is that we want to continue putting children and families at the centre of our views. We are keen to get it right first time and provide good quality efficient services. We are tenacious in measuring success so we are confident in the impact of the work we are doing and to provide families with a clear easy way to have contact with all of our services. We are proud of having a skilled and confident workforce who are passionate about what they do.

Children’s Services at Central Bedfordshire Council has been awarded social work ‘employer of the year’.

The Local Authority’s Children’s Services department is aspiring to progress from the current ‘Good’ Ofsted rating to be an ‘Outstanding’ Children’s Services, ensuring that our children and young people have the best support and achieve their best outcomes.

To enable achievement of this aspiration, there is an immediate focus that our services are configured in a way that enables children and families to have easy and timely access to support and services.  There is a sharp focus on providing continuity of support through consistent staffing with less transition points.

This first step is a move towards a more integrated locality model, that takes into consideration the Care Review and Working Together recommendations as well as keeping a focus on the broader landscape around Family Hubs and the Supporting Families Programme.

The new integrated locality model will have a core focus on reducing numbers of children coming into care

This is an exciting opportunity for you as a Social Worker to develop. You will have at least one year’s post qualifying experience and a good understanding of how to apply different social work theories and models, which support ideas and the delivery of imaginative ambitious interventions that improve outcomes for children, young people and their families. We are looking at relentless focus on reducing transition points for children. We are proud that Central Bedfordshire we enable workers to gain a vast amount of experience and provide opportunities to work with families who are subject to child in need, child protection and court work. We aim to work closely with families developing our use of Motivational Interviewing and implementing systemic practice. The service also facilitates workers the opportunity to build up a repertoire in carrying out direct work with children and young people. We pride ourselves on our small teams and manageable cases loads allowing workers to undertake meaningful practice with children and their families.

As part of your day-to-day role you will be responsible for managing a varied caseload of children, visiting families, completing direct work with children to understand their views and lived experiences, chair multi-agency meetings and liaise with a range of other professionals to support our most vulnerable children. You will have the verbal communication skills to enable you to communicate effectively with children, parents and other agencies, and the written skills to present high-quality assessments and reports. You will be supported in your work through regular reflective supervision and informal supervision as required.

What we can offer you

As well as joining a friendly, dedicated, and hardworking team you will have access to numerous benefits, including:

• A hybrid working arrangement giving you the option to work from home and access any CBC office location. We recognise and value the importance of supporting our employees to balance their home and work life and to be able to work in the most efficient way.
• A £250 one-off hybrid worker payment to help you adapt your home for safe and suitable working conditions
• A comprehensive IT package to support you to work safely and effectively
• The ability to work abroad for up to a month a year
• Annually paid social work fees for qualified social workers in adults and children’s (including senior practitioners) and Team Managers where required
• Generous family friendly policies and practices
• A welcoming and inclusive environment that empowers differences
• Friendly and supportive staff networks
• Annual leave allowance 25 days + statutory holidays rising to 32 days with length of service.
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). This is a valuable part of our rewards package for employees and includes Life Assurance. You can find out more on the Bedfordshire Pension Fund website.
• An exceptional Employee Assistance Programme which helps support employees with workplace changes as well as other work, family and personal issues
• A huge variety of courses and role-specific training and learning to help you succeed and develop
• Access to discounts on top UK retailers and local retailers

Central Bedfordshire Council has its own vision and values that are integral to everything we do. Our area vision is to make Central Bedfordshire 'A great place to live and work’.

Sustainability matters to us. We aim to lead by example in tackling climate change. Read more about the action we’re taking on our website: Climate change – tackling it and our strategy

Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer.  We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process.

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You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies detailed within this Recruitment Pack; Social Worker - Level 1 & 2

For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Ben Feasmen at ben.feasmen@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 6820.

For queries related to the recruitment of this vacancy, please contact: The Recruitment Team at recruitment@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk

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Safeguarding:

Central Bedfordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees, volunteers and contractors to share this commitment. This post is subject to the disclosure of criminal records.  

Central Bedfordshire Council is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to improving the diversity of our workforce to better reflect the communities we serve.  Therefore we welcome applications from everyone. In addition we are a  Disability Confident employer, we are working to become a Disability Confident leader in our community.

To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.

If you require assistance to apply for our roles, help with writing your CV, interview techniques or careers advice please contact our team of careers advisors at ncs@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk Our service is confidential, impartial and free for all.