Senior Social Worker

We have opportunities for Senior Social Workers to join our Assessment Teams based in Reigate and Woking.

When not working with our residents in the community, we are keen to support agile working with a combination of home and office working. We are keen to get the balance right of providing flexibility but ensuring you feel connected to your team and the service.

The salary range is £47,884 – £51,175 per annum. We also offer a financial package of up to £6,000 which is payable in 3 instalments across your first 18 months in post.

Rewards and Benefits

• We pay your Social Worker England Registration fee
• 28 days annual leave, rising to 31 days after 5 years' service (plus bank holidays)
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Refer a friend payment of £1,000 as a thank you for finding the right Social Worker

We recognise that looking for your next Social Work position is a really important step in your career and we're here to make that transition a positive one. Our commitment to applicants is to remove barriers and to understand more about you, your motivation for working in children's social care and why you're proud to work for such a valuable profession.

Take a read and we hope, you'll be just as excited to speak to us as we are you!

Our Progress

We are proud of our recent Good Ofsted judgement, which marks a significant milestone for Surrey. The report highlights how strong assessments in Surrey consider children's histories and involve social workers spending time alone with children to understand their experiences." Our strong training and development offer in Surrey "helps to equip staff with the understanding, knowledge and skills that they need to practice in a kind, sensitive, motivational and respectful way and that staff feel highly valued, are proud to work for children's services."

If you are considering your next professional opportunity and looking for an ambitious and highly motivated employer who is continuously striving for better services for children and young people, then our Surrey Children's Services would love to hear from you.

About working in Assessment

The first contact any family or professional has with our assessment service sets the tone for our entire working relationship with them. Our practice across the whole service is based upon consent, strong relationships with families and with partners who are also supporting our families. Using motivational approaches the assessment social worker engages with both the family and the network supporting them to understand the presenting worries and work out whether a statutory social work service is required. If not, a plan to support the family at a lower level of need will be put in place to meet the need of the child and family.

One Voice

In Surrey, you will have a sense of belonging within your individual team but also the wider service areas and directorate. You will receive high quality supervision, as there is a firm commitment towards dedicating time that focusses on the work you do with children and families, to enable you to work creatively and holistically in providing support and protection to children whilst also paying attention to your wellbeing and career development. This creates a sense of purpose and fulfilment with a clear pathway to achieve your future aspirations.

Our Surrey Children's Service Academy currently has over 60 courses available and offers a bespoke learning programme so you can be at the forefront of best practice. Modules such as motivational interviewing and our total respect course allow you to feel empowered in having essential conversations whilst still ensuring a child centred approach to your practice.

Our Inclusive Approach

To apply you will need to upload your CV and answer the following questions. (No more than 200 words per question):

• Please tell us what has motivated you to apply for this role?
• Please tell us about the key skills and experience you will be able to bring to this role.
• Working in an Assessment team can be quite fast paced, unpredictable and often requires multi-tasking. Using an example, please tell us how you cope under pressure?

If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to a short first round virtual interview to explore your answers to the above questions (lasting approx. 15- 20 min).

If your Teams call goes well, you will be invited for an in person interview, allowing you to meet the team, check out your potential office and get a feel for what your journey might look like.

We are committed to inclusive recruitment. That's why, if you're invited to a face-to-face interview, we'll share the themes of the questions with you in advance. This way, you can prepare and feel comfortable knowing what topics will be covered during the process, allowing you to focus and confidently discuss your valuable skills and experiences.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on the 1st September 2025.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

You will need to be registered with Social Work England.

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and locality based social care workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.

Local Government Reorganisation

Surrey County Council is preparing for Local Government Reorganisation which will allow us to implement the Government led policy of devolution, which is all about giving more powers to local areas.

Currently, Surrey has a two-tier council system, with 11 district and borough councils and a county council, all responsible for different services. All these councils will be reorganised into a smaller number of new unitary councils which will come into effect in April 2027. At this point, this role will be transferred, with all existing terms and conditions intact into one of the new unitary councils.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.