Social Work Adviser

Do you want to use your social work expertise to help policy‑making for children’s residential care in the Scottish Government? This is a Fixed Term Appointment opportunity for 23 months with the option for Secondment if preferred. The children’s residential care unit is based in the Scottish Government’s directorate for Children and Families. It works with colleagues inside the Scottish Government and partners outside it to improve children’s residential care. Current team priorities include work on cross-border placements, reducing the use of restraint, and introducing measures relating to profit in the children’s residential care sector. The unit also has responsibility for policy relating to unaccompanied asylum‑seeking children.

As professional social work adviser, you will provide children’s residential care social work input and advice across the unit’s work, and collaborate with policy and professional leads to identify linkages, risks and opportunities across a large number of policy programmes including delivery of The Promise, Re‑imagining Secure Care and implementation of The Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, amongst many more. We are looking for an individual who can identify key issues and liaise with stakeholders to develop solutions that are workable, and in keeping with children’s residential care values and principles.

Responsibilities

• Provide professional residential care input and advice across the work of the children’s residential care unit.
• Play a key role in the development of policy and legislation on the issues of profit from children’s residential care, service commissioning and procurement and workforce pathways.
• Bring a consistent practice focus on work to reduce the use of restraint and restrictive practice, working closely with CELCIS and the University of Strathclyde as well as a number of Scottish Government policy teams.
• Support finalisation, implementation and monitoring of the cross-border placements regulatory framework and associated guidance.
• Inform the Scottish Government’s response to pressures on local authorities as a result of caring for unaccompanied asylum‑seeking children (UAS).
• Contribute to drafting reports and responses to issues raised by Ministers, stakeholders and the public, including shaping responses to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.
• Liaise closely with the Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser and align children’s residential care policy work with the development of the National Social Work Agency.
• Collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders to influence policy and practice developments across the looked after away from home care continuum.

Qualifications

You must be a qualified social worker registered with the SSSC or equivalent body.

Success Profile

Working Together – Level 4; Making Effective Decisions – Level 4; Changing and Improving – Level 4.

How to Apply

Apply online with a CV and Supporting Statement of no more than 1000 words showing evidence of how you meet the listed skills, experience and behaviours. AI tools may be used to support applications, but statements must be truthful and come from your own experience. Plagiarism or misrepresentation may lead to withdrawal of the application.

Security checks

Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) before appointment. BPSS is comprised of four main pre‑employment checks: identity, right to work, employment history and a criminal record check (unspent convictions).

Equality statement

We are committed to equality and inclusion and aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.