Advanced Social Worker

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

At Coventry City Council, we are embarking on an incredible journey to create a brighter future for Coventry's children. As a 'Good' Local Authority, we believe in pushing boundaries and delivering excellence for children and families. Our vision is clear, and our social workers are unwavering in their commitment to putting children and families at the centre of their practice.

Be part of our inspiring team, making a meaningful difference in the lives of Coventry's children. Together, let's create a nurturing environment where every child's potential can flourish.

Children’s Services is proud of its workforce, who are committed, dedicated, and work to a high standard. The Kinship team is committed to a strengths‑based, relational and family‑valued approach and is responsible for the assessment and supervision of kinship carers and the assessment and support of special guardians. The service is ambitious and forward‑looking, with an emphasis on quality, reflective practice, learning and continuous improvement across all areas of fostering work.

The team works closely with carers, Children’s Services colleagues and partner agencies to ensure high standards of care, strong relationships and positive outcomes for children placed within mainstream fostering households.

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do.

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

We are looking for an advanced social worker to take on the role of assessing and supporting kinship carers. Our Kinship team is a key focus of our family valued programme, as we believe that children will often do best if they remain in their extended family network. The successful applicant will be at the centre of the growth of this area of our practice and benefit from joining a team deeply committed to provided high quality support to kinship carers and special guardians.

This role is part-time, 21.5 hours - salary will be pro rata to the number of hours worked.

All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We are looking for a practitioner who will have experience working within an advanced social worker position or be an experienced social worker who is ready to progress to an advanced social work level. Experience of assessment and supporting kinship carers would be advantageous.

The successful candidate will manage a varied caseload, undertaking assessments of prospective kinship carers and providing supervision while permanence plans for children progress.

You will also play an active role within the team, working collaboratively to enhance support for carers through the development and delivery of training, support groups and events. This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to high-quality outcomes for children and carers while shaping best practice across the service.

Our workforce data shows that men and people from minority ethnic backgrounds are under-represented at senior management level, and in line with our commitment to diversity & inclusion, we would like to encourage applications from these under-represented groups. This does not prevent individuals with or without any other protected characteristics as set out within the Equality Act 2010 from applying for this post.

For an informal conversation about the role please contact Amreen Kalon - amreen.kalon@coventry.gov.uk or Zelma van Rhyn - Zelma.vanrhyn@coventry.gov.uk.

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

For full details on the application process, please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview date: 26th May 2026

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies