Experienced Social Worker

For this post you must be a Qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England and have completed your ASYE.

Salary: 
Social Worker (Main Grade-post ASYE) is £36,647 to £40,220 per annum. 
Experienced Social Worker (Higher Grade) is £40,220 to £44,428 per annum. Salary will be dependent on training and experience. 
Please indicate on your application whether you are applying for a Social Worker or Experienced Social Worker post. 
Market Supplement: A £3,000 per annum market supplement will be paid monthly over a 12-month period and will be pro-rata for part-time staff.

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time (37 hours per week). Part-time options can be discussed at interview; please mention on your cover letter if you are interested in full-time or part-time. Salary will be pro rata for part-time hours.

Closing date: This advert is ongoing, and applications will be reviewed on a monthly basis.

Portsmouth Local Authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment, to improve outcomes for children. 
 
DBS Disclosure at Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children’s Board safer recruitment procedures.

Why come to work in Portsmouth?

Portsmouth is a great waterfront city and a vibrant place to live and work. It is an island city with an “inner city” feel, a seaside location packed with attractions and events, and the advantage of fantastic countryside on its doorstep. With fast road and rail links to London, Brighton and major airports, and ferry links to Europe, it is the perfect place to live and work. Portsmouth has a strong history of partnership working and has successfully integrated several local services. 

Why work for Portsmouth City Council? 

Following our Ofsted inspection in May 2023, Portsmouth City Council Children's Services was judged to be 'Good'. We are now striving to become 'Outstanding' and are committed to promoting a 'think family' approach to safeguarding and reunification in Portsmouth. We want families to bring up their own children, where support may be required to keep families together, we want to work with families to do this in the most helpful way possible and when it is necessary for children to come into our care we want to reduce the number of days that this is for and reunify children whenever it is safe and in their best interest to do so. This is why Portsmouth City Council continues to provide significant investment in social work with children, young people and their families to make this a reality. 

The Service:

We have exciting opportunities for qualified social workers to join Children and Families Directorate in one of our Family Support & Safeguarding Teams (geographically based) in Portsmouth City Council. We pride ourselves on providing quality interventions with families using UP2U Family Practice and Trauma Informed Model of Care to empower families to bring about sustained change.

The Role:

We seek talented and curious people who want to develop their professional career as a qualified social worker and to champion best practice.

As a Social Worker or Experienced Social Worker in our teams you will work to ensure the children and families we work with maximise their potential and achieve the best possible outcomes available to them. You will do this through:

• The provision of timely, high-quality assessments which generate clear plans that enable services and intervention to be targeted effectively.
• Ensuring that children and families who experience our service receive a quality service that is responsive to the wishes and feelings of children.
• Promoting participation of service users, and respecting difference.
• Ensuring planning results in timely, permanent care arrangements that allow children and young people to reach their absolute potential.
• Experienced Social Workers will also manage higher levels of risk, take responsibility for continuing professional development of self and others, and commit to supporting a student. 

Please read the job profile for the full details of this role.

What you'll need to succeed

You have a Diploma or Degree in social work and be registered with Social Work England. You have a good working knowledge of theory and legislation including the Children Act 89/04 amongst others and are prepared to understand the legislation and guidance which relates to this specialist post. You are an excellent communicator who is equally comfortable speaking with children and other professionals from external partners and agencies; the ability to converse at ease with clients and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post. You have excellent accurate written skills, can write reports and present evidence in a clear and concise way, and enjoy a busy atmosphere. You are motivated to achieve good outcomes for children, and understand anti-oppressive practice and the legislative framework around this.

Please read the job profile for the full details of this role.

What our staff say:

"I have learned excellent time management skills and how to prioritise my work so that I can meet firm deadlines along with the pressure this creates.

I have developed my communication skills to enable me to establish and maintain good working relationships with parents to engage them in social work and support them to achieve the planned outcomes. Managing my own feelings and emotions around this intensive and often challenging work has been crucial in order for me to continue working at this high level. This role has been a huge learning curve and each day brings something new to learn. It is always interesting." (Julie, Main Grade Social Worker)

“What I like about working in Portsmouth is that we are close to senior leadership; they know who we are and are in touch with our cases. Direct line managers are great as we get so much support.” (Chloe, Higher Grade Social Worker)

Ofsted commentary:

"Skilled, joined-up work, delivered through the local authority’s preferred model of practice and involving workers for adults and children, is improving the experiences and progress of children.

Portsmouth’s leaders are ambitious for their workforce to be trained and effective practitioners. The chosen model of practice has become strongly embedded in the work with children and families and workers have been trained and supported in this approach. The multidisciplinary model has improved outcomes for children and reduced harm, and feedback from families to inspectors was overwhelmingly positive.

Portsmouth is a centre for learning and practitioners benefit from a comprehensive workforce development offer.

Social workers talk positively about working in Portsmouth and inspectors consistently heard about their loyalty and commitment to the service."

What you'll get in return

We really appreciate our employees and fully realise they are essential to our success and look to offer an inclusive, supportive working environme