Consultant Social Worker

Main area Children & Young People Management Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Fixed term: 26 months (Limited funding from 01 February 2027 to contract-end-date 31 March 2029) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 309-UCLH-8421972

Site University College London Hospital Town London Salary £58,133 - £65,261 per annum inclusive of HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 23/11/2026 23:59 Interview date 02/12/2026

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About the role
The post holder will manage cases, support & supervise team members including Child and Family practitioners/ChISVA’s and student social workers and oversee the performance of the team, working alongside the CMT Leadership. providing, case consultation, triaging referrals to the service and will contribute to intake decisions, and service delivery planning, ensuring the highest standards of advocacy and safeguarding in line with ISVA, Home Office and Ministry of Justice guidance. You will lead quality assurance, audits, service improvement initiatives, and support research into children’s experiences of the criminal justice process. You will also hold a small caseload of complex, high-risk cases.

About you
You will be a qualified, experienced social worker with experience of providing expert advice and leadership on safeguarding investigations and managing complex safeguarding cases, promoting best practice and supporting professional networks engaging with Lighthouse services. You will have significant knowledge of criminal justice pathways and the role of ISVA/ChISVA’s and will have proven leadership in supervising teams. You will have exceptional interpersonal and communication skills and be skilled at navigating complex, sensitive and uncertain situations. You will demonstrate resilience, embrace reflective and appreciative practice, and build strong collaborative partnerships to meet the evolving needs of children affected by abuse.

Main duties of the job

• Triage referrals to the service.
• Lead on providing expert consultation and on safeguarding children impacted by child sexual abuse to community colleagues including children's social care. Hold a small caseload of complex, high-risk cases, delivering trauma-informed, child-centred direct interventions.
• Identify and address barriers to support, engagement and recovery for diverse children affected by sexual abuse who have bee referred to the Lighthouse.
• Provide supervision, case consultation, guidance and planned case management to Child and Family Practitioners/ChISVA’s and Student Social Workers
• Contribute to intake decisions, case discussions and multidisciplinary planning to ensure effective safeguarding and advocacy for children and families.
• Ensure compliance with ISVA, Home Office and Ministry of Justice guidance, and maintain high standards of clinical, safeguarding and operational governance.
• Participate in quality assurance, audits, and research initiatives to improve the child’s experience of the criminal justice process.
• Support service development, continuous improvement, and the implementation of best-practice directives across the Lighthouse.
• Represent the Lighthouse at internal and external meetings, fostering strong partnership working with police, social care, legal partners, therapeutic services and community organisations.

Working for our organisation

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK, serving a large and diverse population. We provide academically led acute and specialist services, to people from the local area, from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Our vision is to deliver top-quality patient care, excellent education, and world-class research.

We provide first-class acute and specialist services across eight sites:

University College Hospital (incorporating the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing)

National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery

Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals

University College Hospital Grafton Way Building

Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine

University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre

The Hospital for Tropical Diseases

University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street

We are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of many complex illnesses. UCLH specialises in women’s health and the treatment of cancer, infection, neurological, gastrointestinal and oral disease. It has world class support services including critical care, imaging, nuclear medicine and pathology.

We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For the full Person Specification and more information regarding the main responsibilities of this role, please refer to the attached Job Description.

You will represent the Lighthouse externally at case management meetings, support professional training and workshops, and ensure the voice of children, young people and families informs service development. You will promote contextual and transitional safeguarding across the service, contribute to clinical governance, and maintain high standards of risk management, documentation, and data reporting.

....CONTINUED FROM MAIN DUTIES SECTION:

• Support the Delivery of training, workshops, and practice development initiatives to build team competence and knowledge.
• Promote contextual and transitional safeguarding approaches, ensuring risk assessments and safety plans are robust and regularly reviewed.
• Champion the voice of children, young people and families, supporting participation in forums, feedback surveys and service evaluation.
• Maintain accurate, timely records in electronic systems, ensuring compliance with information governance and audit requirements.
• Support the development and professional growth of the case management team, modelling reflective practice, psychological safety, and high-quality, child-centred advocacy.

The Lighthouse, Camden

The Lighthouse is the UK’s first Child House and a national leader in trauma-informed, multidisciplinary support for children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse. Based in Camden and serving North Central London, we bring together police, health, psychology and advocacy under one roof to provide holistic care, early support, and criminal justice advocacy. We are seeking a Consultant Social Worker to lead our Case Management team, supporting and Child and Family Practitioners while shaping high-quality, child-centred services.

We are committed to addressing structural inequality inexperienced by children who report sexual abuse both in our service provision and referral criteria.

Our commitment to inclusion

We value professionals who understand the impact that culture, identity, disadvantage and structural inequalities can have on a child's experience of abuse and access to support. We are committed to helping you strengthen and enhance this aspect of your practice through reflection, learning and collaboration, so that all children and families receive equitable and compassionate care. We are committed to recruiting a diverse and inclusive workforce and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and ethnic minority candidates and from men, who are underrepresented in the service.

Come and be a part of the best NHS trust in England to work for, according to our staff

* UCLH top trust to work at in England - In the most recent NHS staff survey UCLH had the highest percentage of staff who said they would recommend us as a place to work, out of all general acute or acute/community NHS trusts in England – for the third year in a row.

UCLH recognises the benefits of flexible working for staff – To find out more, visit: Flexible working .

To discover more about what makes UCLH a great place to work, visit: Why Choose UCLH?

Person specification

Knowledge

• a. Social work qualification (Masters Level or equivalent), Practice Educator Professional standards (PEPS) qualification and current Social Work England registration
• b. Recognised management and leadership qualification or demonstrable equivalent management and leadership experience.
• c. Highly developed specialist knowledge in working with victims of child sexual abuse cases going through the criminal justice system including up to date knowledge fo the criminal justice system.
• d. A highly developed understanding of systems and barriers faced by vulnerable children in accessing services to support their experience of recovery from child sexual abuse particularly for black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and children with disabilities including mitigations to address adversity
• e. Knowledge of up to date Pan London child protection procedures and statutory guidance relating to multidisciplinary safeguarding.
• f. Postgraduate or significant further CPD in on for the following: systemic practice at foundation of intermediate level; or Compassion- focused therapy (CFT); motivational interviewing; or CBT skills.

Experience

• a. Substantial experience of working with children and carers affected by sexual abuse.
• b. Substantial experience of working with victims of child sexual abuse and leading and directing Section 47 single and joint agency investigations.
• d. Substantial experience of working with children through the criminal justice processes and family court proceedings.
• e. Experience of direct line management of Social workers/social work students, offering oversight, case management and reflective supervision
• f. Experience of supporting children and their carers in complex assessment and investigations including undertaking needs and risk assessments, safety planning and case co-ordination
• g. Experience of working with police officers and promoting the rights of child victims within investigations and the criminal justice process.
• h. Experience of multiagency engagement working appreciably and collaboratively with Children's Social Care and safeguarding processes.
• c. Substantial experience of identifying and overcoming barriers to engagement and recovery for children affected by sexual abuse, particularly children from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and children with disabilities, demonstrating the ability to translate insight into practical changes in practice, services and multi‑agency responses.

Communication

• a. Ability to provide and receive complex, sensitive or contentious information where there are significant barriers to acceptance, using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to hold uncertainty, manage differing perspectives and respond with professionalism, good judgement and emotional resilience.
• b. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• c. Excellent oral, written and presentation skills.
• d. To ensure robust safeguarding oversight and compliance with the Service’s governance, taking responsibility for the timely escalation of concerns adherence to service procedures, and the proactive seeking of senior advice where required.

Skills and Abilities

• b. Knowledge of safeguarding issues linked to this role.
• c. Able to communicate effectively with all disciplines.
• d. Able to manage time effectively.
• e. Able to priorities objectives and workload

Quality

• a. Ability to prioritise work in the face of competing demands in a busy service.
• b. Ability to manage workloads and deliver to deadlines within resources.
• c. Ability to review work in accordance with Lighthouse and Barnahus quality standards.
• d. To support data analysis and collation when requested.

At UCLH, we have a real ‘One Team’ ethos, and our values – safety, kindness, teamwork and improving, are central to the way we work. This is supported by our staff, who voted us as the #1 NHS Acute Trust to work for in the whole of England.

At UCLH we take equality of opportunity seriously and are committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer, with a culture that creates a real