Assessing Social Worker - Kinship Team

Job Description

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall Glenfield LE3 8RA

Salary: £37,642 - £45,982 (inclusive of market premia at £3,283)

Working Hours: 37hrs

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 23rd August 2026

Interview Date(s): 1st September 2026

Are you looking for a rewarding career where you can make a difference?

Do you want a job where no two days are the same?

About the Role

We have a fantastic opportunity a qualifies and suitably experienced Social Worker to join our Kinship Assessment team, on a full time permanent basis. This is an ideal opportunity to develop specialist knowledge within the fostering service. You will have autonomy and responsibility and really make a difference. If you are enthusiastic and passionate in in support carers and childrens with the very best outcomes and supporting them to remain in the care of their family (where safe and appropriate) then we would like to hear from you.

As an assessor in our team, you will work closely with our childrens social work teams to secure the best outcomes for the children we care for. In doing so, we work with and assess relatives and friends both as foster carers and/or special guardians to enable children to live within their wider family and friends network – through the completion of comprehensive and analytical Friends and Family assessments (both initial viability assessments and the full Form C Kinship/SGO assessments).

Our team are committed to creating a safe, compassionate and reflective environment demonstrated through relationship based practice built on trust, respect, support and empathy. We achieve this through a spirit of curiosity, by nurturing connections through relationships, making a conscious effort to know and understand people, and by providing hope for growth and recovery.

We support and empower our staff to be the best that they can be. We will give you the support and resources that you need to work in collaboration with children and their families. In return we can offer flexible working, supportive and approachable manager, continued professional development, as a great team who are welcoming and encouraging.

A DBS enhanced check for a regulated activity is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.

About You

To apply for this post, you must be able to evidence in your application how you meet the following criteria:

• A Social Work degree or equivalent, e.g. CQSW, DipSW (with specialism in children’s services),and experience in UK statutory safeguarding practice, with a sound understanding of relevant legislation, policy, and procedures.
• A proven experience of coordinating multi-agency work to support children using formal outcome focused plans, and experience of applying an evidence-based approach to practice, such as the Signs of Safety approach.
• An in-depth knowledge and ability to apply relevant policies appropriate legislation government guidance and best practice in all aspects of social work including LSCB procedures – with specific awareness of the Fostering Regulations and guidance.
• An awareness of the cultural, racial, linguistic and religious background of children, young people and families and how to build effective responses into service delivery. You will need to comprehensively assess, anticipate, and support carers to manage risk, developing child focused therapeutic parenting skills to achieve positive outcomes for children to remain within their birth family – where-ever safe to do so.
• A proven ability to communicate (both verbally and written using Microsoft Office and database applications relevant to the department) thoughtfully, confidently and with purpose across all levels of service users (including children, young people, parents/carers, colleagues and other multi-agencies and professionals), sustaining engagement with people in fluctuating circumstances and capacities.
• Have comprehensive knowledge of the factors and influences which can impact on families and children achieving positive outcomes including child development, attachment and neglect, and parental factors such as substance misuse domestic abuse and mental health.

• Use your initiative, be able to prioritise, and offer flexibility to manage competing workloads and deadlines to ensure effective team working, with an ability to travel to locations throughout the County (and where needed across the country) working outside of office hours when required

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Rebecca Allen - Team Manager

Telephone: 0116 3054847

Email: Rebecca.Allen@leics.gov.uk

How to Apply

At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.

About us

About Leicestershire County Council

At Leicestershire County Council, we're committed to making a real difference in people's lives. Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone.

Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire. Whether you're starting your career or looking for your next challenge, you'll find a place with us where your ideas are valued, and your work has purpose.

For further information on what it’s like to work for us and the benefits we offer, please refer to the following:

Our Recruitment Process
Our Organisational Values
Our Employee Benefits
Working for Us