Children's Advanced Social Worker Family Safeguarding

We have opportunities for Advanced Social Workers to join our Family Safeguarding Teams based across East Surrey covering the Reigate and Weybridge areas and West Surrey covering the Woking and Guildford areas.

The salary range for Advanced Social Workers is £51,399 - £54,588 per annum. This is inclusive of a newly created market supplement of £5,000.

We also offer a financial package of up to £6,000 which is payable in 3 instalments across your first 18 months in post.

Our other rewards and benefits include:

• A competitive relocation package of up to £8,000
• We pay your Social Worker England Registration fee
• 28 days annual leave, rising to 30 days after 5 years' service (plus bank holidays)
• Access to our car lease scheme
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave

About Surrey

Our Surrey Children's Services are working towards becoming a high-performing local authority, evidenced by the fact we are now starting to realise the positive impacts of the Family Safeguarding practice model in action with reductions in the number of children subject to child protection plans. We are working hard to develop our progress and this is driven by the efforts of every member of our social care workforce working together to create the right conditions for a positive culture and well-supported workforce.

Following our latest Ofsted visit in April, we are pleased to report positive feedback on our service quality for children in need or under child protection plans in Surrey. Ofsted recognized the improved impact of our 'comprehensive improvement programme'. We are committed to continuing our progress and are seeking motivated individuals to help us ensure children in Surrey are effectively safeguarded and receive timely support.

About our Family Safeguarding Service

Within Family Safeguarding we use motivational interviewing, multi-agency approach under the Family Safeguarding model, where Social Workers, Family Support Workers, Domestic Abuse Practitioners, Recovery Workers, Mental Health Practitioners, and Psychologists collaborate closely to address family issues efficiently, reducing the need for referrals to other agencies.

As an Advanced Social Worker you'll enjoy mentoring and collaborating with less experienced social workers within the team supporting their development. We aim for you to hold a reduced caseload to enable you to support effectively whilst also deputising for the Team Manager when needed.

We strive to provide a supportive and dynamic work environment for our employees, that fosters growth, maintains work-life balance, and rewards efforts. We guarantee 5 days of CPD and have access to excellent research and development tools such as Community Care Inform, Care Knowledge and Research In Practice.

Why choose Surrey?

Surrey is a large and ambitious local authority meaning we can draw from a range of available resources to support the delivery of our services to children and their families, but that's just part of it. It's our staff that truly make the difference day in day out and we'd like to share with you some of their insights as to why they choose to be part of Surrey Children's social care workforce.

Our staff highlighted that you can expect

• Positive team and colleague relationships - You'll have the opportunity to be part of a team that thrives on positive working relationships
• Flexibility and work-life balance - We are committed to agile working and trust you to adapt your schedule to suit your needs, balancing this against the need to visit your children and families
• Opportunities and support for professional development - You can benefit from a structured environment that encourages growth and development.
• A sense of belonging and familiarity - You'll be part of our welcoming and approachable social work family where you'll be able to draw on the knowledge of established team members
• A focus on wellbeing - The job you do is serious therefore we take your well being seriously and recognise the need for reflective supervision where wellbeing is front and centre of the conversation.

Our Inclusive Approach

To apply you will need to upload your CV and answer the following questions:

• Please tell us what has motivated you to apply for this role?
• Please tell us about the key skills and experience you will be able to bring to this role.
• What is your understanding of Surrey's Practice Model for family safeguarding? Can you describe the strengths and challenges of this model.

Next Steps

If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to a short first round virtual interview to explore your answers to the above questions (lasting approx. 15- 20 min). If successful following this, you will be invited for an in person interview, allowing you to meet the team, check out your potential office and get a feel for what your journey might look like.

We are committed to inclusive recruitment. That's why, if you're invited to a face-to-face interview, we'll share the themes of the questions with you in advance. This way, you can prepare and feel comfortable, allowing you to confidently discuss your skills and experiences.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on the 18th November 2024.

You will need to be registered with Social Work England.

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and locality based social workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area.