Senior Social Work Practitioner

Job Description: Senior Practitioner Social Worker

Location: Hybrid, West Midlands

Salary: - £40,000 - £43,000 per annum

Working Pattern: Full-Time, permanent

Happy Hearts Foster Care is a small, family run, independent fostering agency based in the heart of Birmingham who prides itself on providing high quality care for vulnerable children and young people across West Midlands. We are Child-centred and Holistic; a framework based on resilience theory, attachment theory and aspects of social pedagogy. We believe that this helps us provide bespoke, consistent therapeutic care for each child, whilst supporting our staff and foster carers to ensure every child and young person has the best possible future.

We are looking for a knowledgeable Senior Practitioner to join our team based in Birmingham. You’ll share our commitment to delivering high quality services for children and young people and to support our Supervising Social Workers and Foster Carers with this. This is an exciting opportunity for a skilled Senior Practitioner to influence and effect change within our dynamic organisation and to help ensure the overall smooth running of the fostering service day-to-day whilst maintaining excellent and professional practice at all times.

We want you to be an active participant, looking to contribute to positive change within the organisation whilst developing your own career. HHFC makes sure we develop and tailor packages of care to each of our children and young people, giving you professional pride knowing that you’re making a positive difference every day. Whether you’re an established Senior Practitioner looking for something more, our team at HHFC encourage and champion your drive to succeed.

Job Summary:

The Senior Practitioner will be responsible for leading and overseeing the delivery of high-quality practices across the fostering service. This includes supervising and supporting Supervising Social Workers, ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation and standards, and promoting the safety, welfare, and positive outcomes for all foster children at all times. The Senior Practitioner acts as a key liaison between Foster Carers, Social Workers, and other stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcomes for the children in care.

Essential requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Social Work (required)
• Social Work Experience: 3 years (required)
• Driving Licence (required)
• Social Work England (SWE) Registration (required)
• Proven experience in supervising and managing Social Work teams (required)

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong leadership and management skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to handle sensitive information with confidentiality and professionalism
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities
• Knowledge of relevant legislation, regulations, and best practices in foster care

Benefits of Joining HHFC

• Competitive Salary - using structured pay grades based on your training and experience
• Car Allowance - A car allowance to allow you to work flexibly from different locations
• Career Development - We offer many career paths, recognising hard work supporting you into senior roles
• Bonuses – Increased Holiday - 25 days increasing gradually to 28 after 4 years’ service
• Supportive and collaborative work environment
• We also offer staff an additional wellbeing day and a day off for your birthday

Our recruitment process aims to create and maintain a safe workforce and contains robust vetting procedures. The successful applicant will be offered a role subject to satisfactory references and an enhanced DBS check.

Please note that HHFC reserves the right to close this vacancy early upon receipt of sufficient applications. HHFC values equality and diversity across our workforce and aims to ensure our staff community is reflective of the diversity of the children and young people within our care.

In support of this commitment, we welcome applications from individuals of Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: £40,000.00-£43,000.00 per year

Additional pay:

• Bonus scheme

Benefits:

• Casual dress
• Company events
• Company pension
• Free flu jabs
• Free or subsidised travel
• Free parking
• Health & wellbeing programme
• On-site parking
• Private medical insurance
• Transport links
• Work from home

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Work Location: In person

Reference ID: SPSW/JF