Social Worker (Link Role) – Family Solutions, Colchester

We have an exciting opportunity to join our high-performing Family Solutions team based in Colchester, North Essex. This is a fantastic opportunity to work within a service described by Ofsted as “exceptional”, delivering early help to families facing multiple and complex challenges. Family Solutions is part of Essex’s Children & Families service, working holistically with disadvantaged families to help them make meaningful and lasting changes. You’ll be part of a supportive, multi-disciplinary team that values collaboration, innovation, and professional growth.

The Opportunity

• Act as a source of advice and support for colleagues, including joint visits and joint working on complex cases.
• Support the team to build positive and constructive working relationships with colleagues in statutory children’s services.
• Manage your own caseload and assess safeguarding risks.
• Work in partnership with the team manager and practice supervisor to review referrals and support threshold decisions.
• Build strong, trusting relationships with families to promote positive change.
• Provide practical and specialist advice.
• Facilitate complex family meetings and coordinate additional support services.
• Offer emotional and practical support in homes and community settings.
• Work closely with your manager or senior social worker through regular supervision.
• Support the further integration of Family Solutions and Children Social Care as part of the Family First Partnership Programme.

Accountabilities

• Responsible for supporting manager and practice supervisor to undertake screenings of new contacts, understanding threshold.
• Responsible for determining the direction and actions required in order to progress cases forward on a day-to-day basis.
• Responsible for acting as a source of advice, guidance and support to colleagues in relation to complex cases.
• Responsible for undertaking holistic assessments of family needs to help create intervention plans.
• Responsible for facilitating complex family meetings, managing the potentially competing views of families and professionals.
• Responsible for undertaking individual and group programmes of work to enable children and families to develop their skills.
• Responsible for providing specific practical, personal and emotional support to families.
• Responsible for actively participating in regular supervision in order to review work and ensure effective interventions for families.
• Responsible for ensuring that the principles of effective practice are fully embedded in service delivery.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Qualified Social Worker, registered with Social Work England, and post-ASYE.
• Recent experience in frontline children’s services, experience of completing assessment and managing CIN and/or CP Cases.
• At least three years’ experience post qualifying.
• Willing to work towards Practice Educator Qualification.
• A strong commitment to uphold the standards and values of the social work profession.
• Evidence of continuing professional development with good knowledge in relevant professional area.
• Significant practical experience of working with families with multiple and complex needs.
• Effective communication skills, good problem solving and assessment skills.
• Experience of applying a solution focused approach and providing practical advice and support to families.
• Ability to work in partnership with others to maximise outcomes for families.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team and to use supervision appropriately.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.