Qualified Social Worker - Fostering Service - Supervising and supporting approved foster carers

Positions available :1 x Full time - 37 hours per week, 1x Part time - 30 hours per week

Please indicate whether you are interested in Full or Part time hours on your 'Personal statement' within your application.

The Role

Supervising social workers manage and support a caseload of foster carers to provide excellent care to ensure the best outcomes for children we care for and supporting carers to apply a trauma-informed approach in their care of children.The role of the supervising social worker is critical in supporting the carer to develop good relationships with children and their families, providing stable nurturing family homes for as long as the children need to be with them.

This is an ideal opportunity to use your knowledge and experience of working with foster carers and children we care for to supervise and enhance the development of foster carers.We want individuals to champion the very best social work practice, who are motivated, flexible, enthusiastic, passionate and with a "can do" attitude who share our passion for improving children's and young persons' lives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage a caseload of foster carers, supporting them to provide trauma-informed care.
• Promote stable, nurturing family environments for children.
• Collaborate with professionals as part of the team around the child.
• Work within statutory and service timescales.
• Engage with various fostering models, including the Mockingbird Model.
• Participate in support systems such as duty rotas, mentoring, training, and out-of-hours services.

The ideal candidate

You will need to be

• Qualified and registered social worker (Social Work England).
• Experience in children and families work, especially with foster carers or looked-after children.
• Understanding of therapeutic parenting and trauma-informed care.
• Strong knowledge of legislation and safeguarding standards.
• Skilled in restorative practice and solution-focused approaches.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and report-writing skills.
• Resilient, flexible, and team oriented.
• Willingness to travel and participate in out-of-hours support.

Please ensure that you 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.

Hybrid Working - Attendance requirements to the designated workplace

You will be required to work a minimum of three full working days in office.

Contact details:

If you would like to discuss this role in more detail with the hiring manager, please contact Jackie Clark -jackie.clark2@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or Donna Parnum - donna.parnum@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

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 have an Armed Forces Covenant.We are committed to offering an interview to all those candidates that qualify under one of our commitments and meet the minimum criteria, however, for roles that receive a large number of applications, this is not always possible, and we will select the candidates that best meet the minimum criteria More information can be found at Equality, diversity and inclusion - Careers portal

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

About Portsmouth City Council

What we can offer you:

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.

Read more about working at Portsmouth City Council and our benefits on our careers portal homepage: Careers Portal - Find jobs with Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth City Council iscommittedto safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers tosharethiscommitment.

DBS Disclosure at Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership safer recruitment procedures.

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