Social Worker - Fostering Team in Morpeth

At Northumberland County Council we are proud of our employees, who are passionate and committed to improving outcomes for our children and young people, ensuring that they feel safe, healthy, happy and ready to learn and achieve. We place children and young people at the heart of all we do and aim to provide a quality service to ensure that children in care get the best possible outcomes. Children thrive in stable and loving families. Sometimes birth parents are unable to care for their children themselves. Getting the best possible care for these children is one of our most important corporate parent responsibilities.

An opportunity has risen for a qualified social worker to join the Fostering Team. We are looking for an experienced social worker with a minimum of two years post‑qualifying experience in statutory social work. The successful candidate will be responsible for recruiting, assessing, supervising, training and supporting foster carers and their placements. Your primary responsibility will be providing quality and professional services by supervising and supporting foster carers, their placements and completing necessary documentation. You will be involved in the duty rota with the expectations of this including, for example, supporting foster carers, colleagues in the social work locality teams and responding to placement needs.

You will be part of a creative, enthusiastic and dynamic Residential & Family Placement Service. You will work with other partners and stakeholders to make sure the voice of the child is taken into consideration. As a Service, we will provide you with excellent support and supervision together with genuine opportunities for personal development.

We are offering:

• A competitive salary of £39,862‑£44,075 (full‑time salary quoted, dependent on hours worked and experience) with a wide range of additional benefits
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (or other pension scheme)
• A wide range of staff benefits including a competitive annual leave provision
• Regular supervision
• A supportive environment
• Career progression opportunities
• A generous remuneration package
• Induction, support and mentoring from day one in post
• Flexible working arrangements

Essential requirements:

• Excellent communication skills and be able to convey complex messages in a straightforward way, both verbally and in writing.
• Be not afraid to think creatively to solve problems.
• Be empathetic and sensitive to the needs of children, families and carers.
• Always want to hear the young person's voice and ensure that this is taken into account.
• Have a sound knowledge base and be able to make decisions and plans with children and their families utilising different theoretical models including the Signs of Safety approach.
• Be passionate about maximising a child’s life chances to improve their overall outcomes.
• Understand the importance of performance information and your contribution to maintaining high standards.
• Have experience of working in a multi‑disciplinary environment.
• Be able to contribute to the development of the service.
• Must hold a relevant Social Work qualification such as the Social Work Degree, DipSW, CQSW or CSS and be registered with Social Work England.
• Have a minimum of two years post‑qualifying experience.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format, please see the alternative methods below. This information will be treated as confidential and will only be used to check that you meet the essential requirements of the post.

Alternative application format: British Sign Language: northumberlandcc-cs.signvideo.net. For those with speech difficulties or hearing loss: Text relay service dial 01800101670623930.