Location
Romford, London Borough of Havering

Hours
Full Time, Permanent

Salary
Grade 9 - Advanced Practitioner £54,267 - £58,461 per annum plus an additional Market Supplement of £4,000

About the Role
Are you passionate about making a positive impact on the lives of children, young people, and families? Do you want to be part of a transformative journey shaping the future of Havering’s community? Join us in our mission to elevate Children’s Social Care Services within the Starting Well Department.

Following a recent inadequate Ofsted inspection, we are committed to an improvement journey to re-establish and reinvigorate excellent practice across all services delivered in Havering. We seek dedicated and enthusiastic social care practitioners ready to make a meaningful difference, advocate for children, promote their well-being, and embrace the challenge of working within a local authority undergoing significant improvement.

As an Advanced Practitioner, you will contribute to delivering an effective children’s social care service as part of a social work team, improving outcomes for children and young people. You will manage caseloads based on your experience, grade, and case complexity, using specialist knowledge for interventions, needs and risk assessments, care planning, and child protection investigations.

Key responsibilities include:
- Directly managing and supervising a small number of qualified and non-social work staff
- Managing a caseload of complex and challenging cases
- Supporting the team manager in maintaining and developing high professional standards
- Applying specialist knowledge in social work practice with children and families across the service
- Representing the service in developing key service provisions or local strategic initiatives
- Developing skills, expertise, and knowledge on a wide range of practice issues
- Providing consultation, coaching, and mentoring within the team
- Supporting team development and recruitment processes

We promote a hybrid working model with flexibility to work from our town hall campus/hubs as required. Team building and face-to-face meetings are encouraged to foster collaboration.

Havering is one of the greenest boroughs in London, embracing resourcefulness and innovation. We offer many opportunities for career progression and support your development every step of the way. Choose Havering and make a real difference to the lives of residents who live, work, and learn here.

Experience
Proven experience managing complex and challenging social care cases. Experience in supervising and supporting qualified and non-social work staff is essential. Specialist knowledge in an area of social work practice with children and families is required to provide consultation and lead service development.

About you
Committed to improving outcomes for children and families with a passion for social care. Able to work effectively within a team and support professional standards. Resilient and motivated to contribute to an improvement journey within a local authority setting. Flexible and adaptable to hybrid working and team collaboration.

Resourceful and proactive, with a willingness to embrace new challenges and fresh ideas. Strong communication and leadership skills to mentor and coach colleagues.

Qualifications
Qualified social worker status is required. Commitment to ongoing professional development through access to dedicated learning opportunities including 10 days of learning per year, Social Care Academy, and Systemic offer.