Advanced Social Worker, Therapeutic Fostering

We are seeking an Advanced Social Worker to join our Therapeutic Fostering Hub, a specialist service supporting children with complex emotional, behavioural and trauma‑related needs.

This is a key practice leadership role, providing high‑level professional oversight, reflective supervision and support to Specialist Therapeutic Foster Carers. The hub operates a trauma‑informed model, with foster carers supported by a dedicated team around the foster home, including a Child Psychologist and Family Support Workers.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide reflective, trauma‑informed supervision and professional support to Therapeutic Foster Carers
• Work closely with a Child Psychologist to support formulation‑based care and therapeutic parenting approaches
• Support carer resilience, retention and placement stability, including planning for short breaks and de‑escalation
• Lead and support matching, transitions and step‑across planning, including bridging placements
• Provide professional oversight of safeguarding, risk and standards of care within the hub
• Chair or contribute to stability meetings and multi‑agency forums
• Maintain high‑quality recording, analysis and decision‑making
• Contribute to practice leadership, mentoring and workforce development
• Support training delivery for carers and staff and contribute to service development and evaluation
• Provide out‑of‑hours advice and support to hub carers in line with service arrangements

The ideal candidate

You will be an experienced and confident practitioner with a strong commitment to trauma‑informed, relationship‑based practice and improving outcomes for children we care for.

Essential requirements:

• A recognised Social Work qualification (Degree, Diploma or equivalent)
• Registration with Social Work England
• Significant experience in children and families social work, particularly fostering, placements or children we care for
• Strong understanding of trauma, attachment and therapeutic approaches
• Ability to provide reflective supervision and demonstrate sound professional judgement
• Strong knowledge of relevant legislation and statutory frameworks
• Commitment to continuous professional development
• Will have a Full UK driving licence or evidence that you are taking lessons

Desirable requirements:

• Experience of therapeutic fostering or specialist placement support
• Experience working in multidisciplinary models with psychological or clinical input
• Experience of service development and outcomes reporting

Please ensure that you download and read the full job profile attached for the details and expectations of this role, paying particular attention the section 'Who is the person' as you will need to refer to this when completing your Personal statement.

Working Arrangements:

You will be required to work 3-5 days in the office each week

Contact for informal discussion or questions about the role:

Please email Mark Jowett - Mark.jowett@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

About Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act.

We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focussed. These values set out how we can contribute to the success of the council and our own success as individuals. Learn more about our values and behaviours.

Application process

We anonymise applications during application & shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered.

As part of your application, we ask that you complete a personal statement, this statement is crucial and is where you must demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the job against each of the points described in the'Who is the Person'points on the Job Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience.

We are a disability confident employer and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard. More information can be found at Equality, diversity and inclusion - Careers portal

We are committed to offering an interview to all those candidates that qualify under our corporate commitments and meet the minimum criteria, however, for roles that receive a large number of applications, we will select the candidates that best meet the minimum criteria.

You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it.

Please note : We are not able to offer sponsorship for this position.

Safeguarding

Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership safer recruitment procedures.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) at Standard/Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Please read the relevant DBS privacy notice before submitting any information.

You will need to explain any gaps in your career history within the last 5 years - this is essential for all safeguarding roles.

Should you require any support in completing the application form please contact recruit@portsmouthcc.gov.uk. or call the recruitment team on 023 92 616800