Senior Social Worker — Leaving Care Service Lead in London

We are seeking an experienced Senior Social Worker to join our dynamic Leaving Care Service. You will work within one of five supportive teams, each comprising a Team Manager, a Senior Social Worker, and a group of Personal Advisers.

As a Senior Social Worker, you will undertake complex, relationship‑based work with care leavers aged 18–25, ensuring they receive consistent, high‑quality statutory support as they transition into adulthood. You will also play a key leadership role within the team, contributing to professional development, reflective practice, and service stability.

In This Role, You Will:

• Build trusting, meaningful, and enduring relationships with care leavers aged 18–25.
• Lead on comprehensive assessments, risk management, and safety planning to safeguard young people.
• Co‑produce realistic, progressive, and aspirational Pathway Plans that reflect each young person’s goals and strengths.
• Provide expert guidance and advocacy across housing, health, education, employment, finance, and wellbeing.
• Support young people to develop and sustain safe family, kinship, and community connections.
• Work collaboratively with internal and external partners to ensure a holistic and coordinated approach.
• Line‑manage and provide case supervision to one Personal Adviser, ensuring oversight of all young people allocated to that PA.
• Offer professional leadership to colleagues through mentoring, coaching, and modelling reflective, restorative practice.
• Provide interim managerial cover in the absence of the Team Manager, supporting service continuity and decision‑making.
• Chair key meetings relating to young people’s plans, ensuring high‑quality multi‑agency coordination.

About You:

To be shortlisted, you must be a qualified and experienced Senior Social Worker with Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS) Level 1 & Level 2 qualification, alongside:

• A strong track record of working with care leavers or children in care in a statutory setting.
• Proven experience managing a complex caseload and co‑producing high‑quality, outcome‑focused Pathway Plans.
• Confidence and skill in assessing, managing, and mitigating risk, including developing effective safety plans.
• A deep understanding of the challenges faced by care‑experienced young people, including trauma, identity, stability, and transition to adulthood.
• Insight into the barriers young people face when accessing education, employment, training, housing, and health services.
• Experience working within a diverse, urban community and a commitment to anti‑discriminatory and anti‑oppressive practice.
• High professional standards, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and a commitment to reflective practice, systemic thinking, and continuous learning.
• The ability to coach, mentor, and support colleagues, contributing to a positive and restorative team culture.

We are committed to creating an inclusive, anti-racist environment for all. When you apply for a job at Newham, your application is considered on its merits regardless of your age, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender identity or sexual orientation. If you share our vision and values, and you bring the experience and skills we need, that’s all that matters to us.

The London Borough of Newham has important responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. If you are appointed to a job that involves working with these groups, you may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Please attach CV along with your supporting statement, explaining in no more than x2 A4 sides why and how you meet the criteria for this role.

We practice anonymised recruitment. Please ensure that you remove all personal information from any documents that you upload.