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Senior Practitioner

Role Responsibility

About the area

The district is in West Kent, bordering Sussex and Surrey, and covers Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Edenbridge, Cranbrook, and Hawkhurst, with a mix of urban and rural communities. You will be based in a centrally located office in historic Tunbridge Wells, which boasts excellent shopping, restaurants, open spaces, and cultural life. There are good transport links and free parking on site.

About the Role

Kent County Council embraces blended working, allowing for a combination of working from home and the office. You will be part of a supportive, established management team, working with a permanent manager and a social work assistant. You will receive good quality supervision and have excellent opportunities for professional development. Your role will involve managing a varied and complex caseload, working with children and their families.

You will develop areas of specialist practice and bring your professional expertise to a range of cases, including complex ones. As a role model for good practice and a champion for your area of expertise, you will set performance expectations, balancing support and oversight. In addition to coaching and mentoring less experienced staff, you will have the opportunity to act as a Practice Assessor for ASYE and student social workers.

You will share your knowledge and experience with the team in various ways, including joint visits, court attendance, case audits, and reviews. You will also have opportunities to contribute to working groups and multi-agency forums to support the development of new initiatives.

About you

You must have a degree in social work – CQSW, DipSW, or equivalent – and be registered with Social Work England. You should have substantial and varied post-qualification experience working with children and families. Your experience should cover systemic practice, and you will need an in-depth understanding of legislative and policy frameworks, along with a willingness to learn and develop as a practitioner. Being a team player is essential in any social work team.

About us

In return, we offer an attractive benefits package, including a car allowance, a biannual retention payment, additional payments for committed service after three years, a competitive salary, and a range of professional development opportunities, including the exciting social care academy and routes for progression.

We want the best for the children of Kent, and this can only be delivered as a team effort with everyone playing their part. We are creating a culture that fosters excellence and collaboration – a place where social workers are empowered to be creative and share ideas and advice. With Ofsted rating our services as “good”, Kent County Council’s Children’s Services teams are working together, stronger than ever, to deliver strengthened services and improved outcomes.

This role is subject to holding a Full UK Driving Licence – The Council is committed to making reasonable adjustments so whilst this job requires the jobholder to drive your application will still be considered if you are unable to drive due to a disability.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring service and registration as a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council, therefore, has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

This post is available to start from 6 October 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a weekly basis.

Contact Details
For further information on this role, please contact: Ota Sefl, Team Manager Otakar.Sefl@kent.gov.uk 03000 422525