Social work jobs Social Worker

Fantastic opportunities have arisen for Social Work Practitioners in Wakefield Council.

While 2020 has been real challenge for all of us, together with the permanent senior management team and ever increasing permanent workforce - social work in Wakefield continues to thrive.

Here at Wakefield we are looking for dynamic, enthusiastic and committed Social Workers to work with our children and their families in our Children’s Locality Teams, Children in Care Service and MASH.

At Wakefield we have adopted a restorative model in every aspect of our practice with children and families. This is to ensure that we work collaboratively to promote resilience and positive change for the children in our district.

We are dedicated to providing our Social Workers with a positive working environment, where they feel safe and supported. We are committed to staff development and progression.

Our Achievements for 2020

Our most vulnerable children were kept visible and safe during the pandemic by working closely with our partners in other agencies and finding creative ways to ensure they were seen regularly.

Our caseloads have continued at manageable levels during the year either remaining the same or reducing.

New services have been launched to support children on the ‘edge of care’ and family time between looked after children and their families.

The outcome of audits and sampling of practice alongside Social Workers has begun to demonstrate significantly higher “good” outturns.

Implementation of quality training and studies, to support our workers to put into place interventions which make a difference.

Our Children in Care are now finding permanent homes more quickly and more regularly.

In our most recent health check (June’20) 80% of our social workers find their job more rewarding than 12 months ago and 86% would recommend you coming to work in Wakefield.

The DFE have given us excellent feedback around strong partnership working, significant change in culture and leadership and a culture of learning.

The published Ofsted focus visit letter from November identified significant improvements, including a stabilised workforce and improved quality of practice in all areas.

What do some of our Social Workers say about working for Wakefield?

‘I have been impressed with how much room for career progression there is in the authority… the support I have received from my team has been amazing. I have a great team manager and supportive team… morale is good within the teams’.

 

‘I love working for Wakefield.... I have felt immense support from my team, my manager and service manager… I feel that there is lots of support and team spirit in Wakefield and it has been an excellent authority to work for’.

 

‘I have completed a wealth of training which has developed my knowledge and understanding of my role and responsibilities.  The learning academy also provides me with a positive ongoing learning environment’

So why choose Wakefield locality teams?

Here at Wakefield we know we are improving and are now some way into our improvement journey. We know this because:

• We have strong and supportive teams with effective leadership. We have permanent managers who are committed to promoting your development.
• We provide regular and reflective supervision to enable you to manage your caseload effectively and develop in your practice.
• Manageable caseloads – with us we strive to keep your caseload below 20 – and have measures in place to make sure it stays that way.
• We offer competitive pay rates with market supplements for every case holding social worker
• We have an innovative in-house Learning Academy, which will provide you with high quality and relevant training and development opportunities.
• We promote career progression to enable you to grow with us.
• We care about our workers and staff morale is good.
• Benefits include essential car user payments, a minimum of 28 days paid annual leave (rising according to your grade and length of service), plus 8 days paid bank holidays.
• Wakefield is a fantastic place to live and work. With culture, a plethora of green spaces, historical sites, culinary heritage, leisure opportunities, affordable housing, good transport links at a regional and national level, alongside being an accessible location.

This gives us scope to be creative about how we want to shape our service. We have clear direction of where we want to be and we want you to be a part of this journey.

Who are we looking for?

Here we’re looking for only the best social workers – those with the skills, motivation, and passion to help us move forwards. But you also need to be:

• A qualified social worker with a range of experience and expertise; able to carry out the role and responsibilities of a key worker, for a caseload which will include complex and statutory work.
• Be responsible for analysing information to support the ongoing needs of children, young people, and their families and carers.
• An individual who can develop and maintain highly effective relationships with children and young people, families, colleagues and other partner professionals to ensure integrated, holistic, and informed care management and safeguarding.
• An apt communicator, including listening, building empathy, consultation, and negotiation, in order to ensure the best outcomes for our young people.
• A problem-solver and an individual who can think innovatively to identify appropriate social work interventions to promote positive change.
• Able to provide written and verbal reports which are concise, informative and based on analysis of complex evidence which can be used within the legal context.

If you think this is you, apply to join our team. Choose Wakefield.

If you want to find out more about the benefits to choosing Wakefield, visit our dedicated careers page here.

For an informal discussion please contact Jane Wood at jewood@wakefield.gov.uk or on 07920331837

 

Closing date: 31^st January 2021

 

Interviews: Week Commencing 15^th February 2021

Wakefield Council is wholly committed to ensuring children and young people are fully supported and safe. We are dedicated to the safeguarding of all children and young people whilst promoting their welfare, and expect staff and volunteers to share this responsibility.

The successful applicant will be required to complete a Disclosure Application Form and to provide criminal conviction information.

To view the details relating to this position click the links below:

Job Specification Grade 9

Job Specification Grade 10