About the role
Can you rise to the challenge? Cambridgeshire County Council is embarking on a new phase of service delivery after a period of joint working with Peterborough City Council and this brings some exciting opportunities to work with us. With a new Executive Director for Children, Education and Families joining us soon, we will focus solely on the children and families of Cambridgeshire and we have bold ambitions to achieve excellent standards. If you have the passion for putting children at the heart of everything you do and the ambition to help shape our future, we would love to hear from you.
As an ambassador for social work at Cambridgeshire, the Childrens Principal Social Worker (PSW) will lead a culture across children’s social care where practice is valued, equality, diversity and inclusion is embedded, and it is widely accepted that the service is a place where a diverse range of practitioners want to come and work. The role will ensure that the voice of people with lived experience continuously informs practice, and that the activity undertaken by practitioners drives the best outcomes for our citizens.
This is an exciting time to join us, reporting directly to the newly appointed Executive Director, this key role will work closely with a redesigned and refreshed management team including Assistant Directors, Heads of Service and all key colleagues across Children’s social care as well as external partners.
We offer flexible work base location options across Cambridgeshire.
For more information, please view the attached job description or for a chat about this opportunity, please contact Assistant Director, samantha.howlett@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
What will you be doing?
You will be the voice for social work within the management team and with external stakeholders, offering positive challenge to decision makers where needed. You will maintain visible leadership across the children’s social work workforce, ensuring the service upholds social work values and standards, and supports its practitioners.
Your extensive social work experience will inform you to advise on the most complex and high risk situations, ensuring the advice you provide is in line with current national strategy, policy and legislation.
You will be an advocate for children’s social work in Cambridgeshire, promoting the council as an employer of choice to educational establishments, ensuring visibility to potential and future practitioners.
Work is what we do, not where we work from. At Cambridgeshire County council we are committed to hybrid working and have no set pattern to how we expect people to balance their working time between different locations, including their home. Working together with your colleagues you will determine the best approach to take for you.
About you
As an experienced practitioner you will be able to challenge at all levels, be confident to use quality assurances strategies and lead change to ensure practice standards are complaint and continuously improving.
To be successful in the role you will:
- Be a qualified social worker with current SWE registration and the ability to develop and sustain effective team, partnership and multi-agency working.
- Have an in-depth knowledge of applicable legislation, regulatory requirements and best practice for children’s social work.
- Demonstrate an ability to instigate and lead projects and programmes to achieve change
- Share our values, and our commitment to putting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do.
Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Our benefits
We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits:
- Flexible working
- Flexible Bank Holidays
- A comprehensive wellbeing package
- Our Cambs Rewards employee discounts
- A comprehensive pension scheme.
- IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
- Camweb our staff intranet helping to keep you informed
- An employee recognition scheme
About us
Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.
Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.
We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we believe benefits our employees, the organisation and our communities.
Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.
Attached documents
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