Advanced Social Worker - Children in Care

At Coventry City Council, we are embarking on an incredible journey to create a brighter future for Coventry's children. As a 'Good' Local Authority, we believe in pushing boundaries and delivering excellence for children and families. We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias. Our vision is clear, and our social workers are unwavering in their commitment to putting children and families at the centre of their practice. 

Be part of our inspiring team, making a meaningful difference in the lives of Coventry's children. Together, let's create a nurturing environment where every child's potential can flourish.

Our Values

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do. 

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

What is the job role?

We are recruiting for an Advanced Social Worker to join our Children in Care team on a permanent basis. The Children in Care Service works with children who are in Care.  The service holds case responsibility from the child’s first review or first court hearing.  The team works with children who are subject to care proceedings and those with an adoption plan, whilst also working closely with the Regional Adoption Agency-Adoption Central England (ACE).

As an Advanced Social Worker, you will play a key role in supporting best practice through sharing your expertise to support the development of other practitioners.

Successful applicants will be working within a service where we are aspirational about our looked after children. We recognise that it is important to support our social workers to achieve the best outcomes for children. You will have access to excellent learning and development opportunities and will be responsible for a manageable number of children.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Who are we looking for?

We are particularly interested in applications from candidates who have experience of working care planning for children who are subject to care proceedings / have experience of progressing care plans for children who are subject to Placement Orders and have a care plan of adoption.

The children, families and young people we work with come from a variety of backgrounds and in order to deliver the best possible care it is vital that we have a workforce that is culturally competent, representative and understands their unique experiences and perspectives. 

Our workforce data shows that men and people from minority ethnic backgrounds are under-represented at Advanced Social Worker level and encourage applicants from these backgrounds to apply.  This does not prevent individuals with or without other protected characteristics as set out within the Equality Act 2010 from applying for this post.  

For an informal conversation about the role please contact Helen Harper - Helen.Harper@coventry.gov.uk 

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview date: 15th January 2025

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies