As a senior social work practitioner, you will work with families under complex and challenging circumstances. Your role will be to develop and support the skills of newly qualified workers thorough and other practitioners thorough co-working and mentoring and providing supervision for non-social work qualified practitioners. You will lead on facilitating our regular group supervision POD sessions. You will also provide support to the team manager.

As an organisation, we are committed to a strong and skilled workforce providing high quality services to the children and families of Leicestershire following our relationship-based Signs of Safety practice approach.  

If you are interested in a post with us read on………    
 
About Us  
At Leicestershire County Council we are committed to doing our very best for vulnerable children and families; working to make a positive impact on their lives so they can achieve their potential and flourish. 

We are proud of our Road to Excellence Plan which sets out our key values, behaviours and ambitions. We have embedded the Signs of Safety approach throughout our services and this approach mirrors our values of Aspiration, Being Curious and Collaboration. We are focused on working with families and the networks of family, friends and professionals around children, to work in collaboration to achieve shared goals.

As Children and Family department we are committed to our vision of becoming a trauma informed responsive department where we believe we are “stronger together” our culture is one of partnership where we look for solutions and recognise the potential impact of trauma on the children and families we work with and on our staff . We will strive to create a safe, compassionate, healing environment demonstrated through relationships based on trust, respect, hope and empathy. We will achieve this through a spirit of curiosity, by nurturing connections through relationships, making a deliberate effort to know and understand people, and by providing hope for growth and recovery.
  
We are committed to supporting and empowering our staff to be the best workers that they can be. We will give you the support ad resources that you need to work in collaboration with children and families.

We are focused on being an inclusive department where a culture to celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion is imbedded and discrimination challenged at every level together as a department and as Council.   
  
We warmly welcome applicants from black, minority, ethnic (BME) communities, disabled people and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) communities, as they are currently under represented within our workforce - this diversity is vital to our journey and is fundamental to our values and enriches the service we offer our Children and Families.

We want all our staff to be inspired to go the extra mile. We are doing our best to create the sort of culture where practice excellence can flourish. We want to learn from what works, as much, if not more, than from when things go badly – we are ambitious to create a true ‘learning organisation. So…

• Every year we run three annual conferences for staff to come together and reflect and learn.
• Every month each team sets aside time for team learning.
• You will receive consistent, regular and reflective supervision
• You will receive group supervision support
• Twice a year our senior leaders take a week out spending time with social workers observing practice and talking to young people and parents and carers about their experience of services
• All Social Work England registered workers have three extra Continuous Professional Development days over the year.
• Our training offer to social workers is refreshed each year and is highly valued by our staff
• We provide course and training to support workforce career progression including Practice Educator Awards, Aspiring Managers Program, and Social Work Apprenticeship Program.
• We have a team dedicated to supporting practice excellence who work alongside practitioners offering monthly training and learning, coaching and mentoring to build practitioner confidence, 1:1 or group reflective case discussions, and other support to staff and teams that can be requested.
• Our Practice Development Group is well established for practitioners to collaborate on practice development.
• We have a Critical Incident Response service for staff which provides independent therapeutic support within 48 hours if you experience a significant traumatic experience within work.
• We have a well-respected Wellbeing Service who provide specific support to staff when needed, but also offers events throughout the year.

In all service areas you are expected to work closely with colleagues across team and agency boundaries to ensure that families get the most appropriate level of support. Staff workloads are manageable, and are monitored and managed closely. Managers and staff all have regular monthly supervision and you will be supported in your practice by an experienced management team.
  
We are currently operating a hybrid model of working, which includes office working and working from home. You will be provided with equipment including a laptop and smart phone to enable you to complete your role. We utilise smarter and flexible working policies to support staff to fulfil their roles within flexible circumstances.

Who we are looking for:

• You will be an energetic and enthusiastic worker who demonstrates enthusiasm and passion for practice.
• You will have experience of working in statutory children’s services and an in depth understanding of the interventions required to build safety and protect children from harm.
• You will be able to evidence your skills and knowledge of creative, innovative and relationship-based social work, working in collaboration with families and professionals.
• We want people who will help us to build a real culture of reflection and learning.
• You have retained a strong interest in research and the evidence base for practice and are confident about how this can be used in practice
• Ideally you will already be confident in the application of the Signs of Safety methodology but certainly in the value of relationship-based social work. We hope this sounds like you!  

• JD/PS
• Our Vision
• Applicant Guidance Notes

To apply please click the Apply Now link below.