Senior Practitioner - Assessment Team in Cambridge

We are looking for an experienced, passionate and enthusiastic Senior Practitioner who has the child's voice at the heart of everything they do to join us in our South Cambridgeshire Assessment Team! This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a high‑performing and supportive team, where your leadership, experience and professional judgement will be highly valued. The Assessment Team is the first point of contact for statutory intervention. Our work is dynamic, fast‑paced and focused on delivering timely, proportionate responses to children and families at levels 3 and 4 of the Cambridgeshire Levels of Need framework. We work closely with our Targeted Support Services to ensure that families can be stepped down to early help when appropriate, helping to strengthen relationships and prevent escalation.

What We Offer

• Dedicated administrative support from Children’s Information and Advice Officers (CIAOs) to reduce paperwork and free up time for direct work
• Monthly reflective supervision and team learning sessions
• A creative and collaborative team environment, where your ideas and professional voice are heard
• A hybrid working model with a mix of office‑based (Fawcett House in Cambridge) and remote working. However, please note that as part of the Council’s ongoing Asset Review, the Fawcett House office base may change during 2026.
• Opportunities for progression through our career development pathways

Our benefits

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family
• 6 days of protected time each year to support you in maintaining your Continuous Professional Development
• A relocation package (eligibility applies)
• Scalable retention payments of up to £9,118 over a 3 year period, starting after your first full year of employment
• A refer a Friend Scheme where if you refer another Social Worker to us who is subsequently employed by us as a result of that introduction, we’ll pay you an introduction fee of £350
• Access to our Cambridgeshire Academy for Reaching Excellence (CARE) who will support your development, enabling you to become the best practitioner you can be

What will you be doing?

As a Senior Social Worker, you will manage a complex and varied caseload and support less experienced colleagues through mentoring and modelling best practice. You will lead statutory assessments, strategy discussions, Section 47 enquiries, and produce high‑quality reports for court under Sections 7, 37 and 31. You’ll also be expected to complete SWET assessments and care plans where needed, contributing to positive and sustainable outcomes for children. You will support the Team Manager where required including the planning, allocation and review of cases, alongside supporting with the recruitment and induction of new staff.

About you

We’re looking for a motivated and confident individual who is passionate about improving outcomes for children and families. You’ll be confident in analysis and decision‑making, emotionally resilient, and able to manage competing priorities while maintaining high standards.

• Be a qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England
• Have significant experience in statutory children’s services, ideally including Section 17 and 47 assessments, and experience of court work (Section 37 and 31 reports)
• Be familiar with SWET and its application in care proceedings
• Have strong written and verbal communication skills, with a child‑centred approach to assessment and planning
• Be confident working both independently and collaboratively
• Be able to travel across the county independently as required

This is a Senior Social Worker post, you must be able to demonstrate experience in complex case management, court proceedings, and providing informal support or supervision to others.

About us

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes. Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do. We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities.

If you don’t meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don’t be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the hiring manager to discuss any adjustment needs.

The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.