Supervising Social Worker Eastern Region in Watford

Salary up to £25,989.60 depending on experience

22.5 hours per week

Location: Stevenage Office with Hybrid working, Carers in Peterborough and Essex

We have a fantastic opportunity to join our team and a growing fostering service in the Eastern Region where you will be able to contribute to achieving positive results for young people.

About Us

Our vision is for every child and young person to be safe, loved and happy, to achieve their potential and have a bright future. St Christopher's is a leading charity for children and young people. We are proud of our history of providing fostering, children's homes and innovative leaving care services across the UK. We have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do. We provide positive life experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental or foster home.

We are an equal-opportunity employer keen to develop an inclusive workforce where people feel they belong. We hope to attract applications from under-represented groups, including people from different cultures, nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, disabilities, religions, faith, sex, orientation, childcare responsibilities, and gender-diverse identities.

About the Role

As a Supervising Social Worker, you will play a key role in the growth and development of St Christopher's fostering services. You will be responsible for the recruitment, training and assessment of foster carers, building positive relationships with placing authorities, and providing high-quality supervision and support to foster carers to enable them to deliver the best possible outcomes for children and young people.

Applicants should have:

• CQSW, DipSW, BA Social Work or equivalent professional qualification, and registration with the Health and Care Professions Care Council (HCPC).
• Experience of working in fostering or adoption.
• Knowledge of relevant child care legislation.
• Ability to manage your caseload effectively and to plan and prioritise work to meet deadlines.
• Excellent communication, motivation and teamwork skills.
• Ability to travel independently to all areas required by job responsibilities.
• Passion for building brighter futures for vulnerable young people and delivering the highest quality services possible.

What you should expect from us:

• Competitive pay and reward structure offering salary progression based on performance.
• A friendly working environment, a fun, open and honest culture.
• 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years service, plus Bank Holidays, pro-rata.
• Industry Leading training programme including access to level 3 qualifications, children's rights and participation, CSE, empowerment, mental health and Social Pedagogy.
• Contributory pension scheme, Enhanced Maternity and Company Sick Scheme.
• BUPA Employee Assistance Programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support.
• UK Life Assurance (Death in service) to the value of 3 times your annual salary.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Bluelight card; discount shopping scheme at hundreds of retailers across the UK.
• Discretionary Funded Training Programs.
• Employee Awards based on performance and length of service.
• Fantastic opportunities to develop your career within our range of services.

Recruitment Process

At St Christopher's we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements. Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; if this is not the case St Christopher's will carry out a DBS (police) check prior to starting. Your online application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification. For the full Job Description and Person Specification please visit our website. CVs will not be accepted.

For more information or assistance during the application process, please visit our website.

Closing date: 3rd March 2026. We advise to apply as soon as possible as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and this opportunity might be filled before the closing date.

It is against the law to apply for work with Children/Young People if you are barred from working in Regulated Activity and if your name is added to a Children Barred List. All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be asked to submit a Self-Declaration and Disclosure form which will need to be returned prior to an interview being booked.

Please note this post has a minimum age restriction of 21 for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and semi-independent Homes in line with the Equality Act occupational requirement.