Principal Social Worker & Head of Service

Following a recent restructure of our services to better align our social care and family help services, we are recruiting to the role of Head of Service (Safeguarding & Quality Assurance/ Principal Social Worker). This is a high-profile post, reporting to the Director of Social Care and Early Help and requiring a range of skills to perform the required duties. The post holder will have responsibility for the effective and efficient operation and delivery of a cluster of services which have a direct impact on partnership working, quality assurance, safeguarding, learning and workforce development. The post holder will be responsible for the effective running of the IRO, Child Protection Chairs and LADO service and the Workforce Development Team. The post holder will also act as Principal Social Worker and drive the quality of social work practice across Children and Young People's Services, working with all services, workforce development and other internal and external partners to

ensure the continued improvement in services. The location for this post will be in the centre of Bury. Social Work qualification is essential e.g. CQSW, Dips SW, CSS, Degree Social Work (or equivalent) plus Professional Registration with Social Work England is required.

This role will be ideal for someone who is looking for the opportunity to use your skills and experience to lead on safeguarding and practice across Children's Services. This role would suit someone who is able to bring a level of curiosity to delve into practice and also be able to do this alongside other leaders across the Directorate and the partnership.

We are the first authority within the Greater Manchester area to implement Herefordshire's strength based Family Safeguarding Model. This is a fantastic opportunity to change the way we work with children and families in order to achieve the best possible outcomes for the children of Bury.

We are a small authority with big ambitions and look forward to welcoming you to the Bury Family.

Normal hours of work are 37 hours per week based around the usual business working week.

The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare or children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Appointment is subject to a satisfactory disclosure at the appropriate level under the Disclosure and Barring Service.

In line with safer recruitment, please ensure that your application/CV covers your full employment history and there is a reason noted for any gaps in employment. Successful candidates will be asked to provide relevant references for the past ten years and character references will not be accepted.

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We support employees to work with agility, where appropriate for the post and service requirements.

We are committed to Bury being an equal society that recognises values and embraces all people, regardless of any difference, for the skills, abilities and experiences they bring into the workforce and the wider community. Therefore we guarantee an interview for disabled people, looked after children/ care leavers, armed forces personnel (including reservists and veterans) and carers of adults or disabled children if they meet the essential criteria.