Senior Social Worker

30 hours per week

Vacancy available from 05/01/2026

Are you an experienced Social Worker looking to take the next step in your career? Do you have a passion for strengths-based practice, safeguarding, and supporting people to live independent and meaningful lives?

At Isle of Wight Council, our vision is to "Inspire and support Island communities to thrive". Adult Social Care is committed to working with people, families, communities, and partners to promote independence, wellbeing, and resilience, ensuring people can live safely and well in the place they call home.

The Wellbeing & Access Hub is the front door to Adult Social Care on the Isle of Wight, providing timely information, advice, assessments, safeguarding responses, and support to Island residents. Working within a dynamic multi-agency environment, you will play a key role in promoting independence, preventing unnecessary admissions to residential care, and ensuring people receive the right support at the right time.

As a Senior Social Worker, you will provide professional leadership and expert guidance to practitioners, ensuring high standards of assessment, support planning, review, safeguarding, and case management. You will undertake and support complex Care Act assessments and reviews, lead safeguarding enquiries, coordinate hospital discharges, undertake Best Interest decision-making, apply the Mental Capacity Act, and develop outcome-focused care and support plans.

You will provide supervision, mentoring and professional support to Social Workers, Social Work Assistants, and other team members, helping to develop practice, build confidence, and promote continuous learning within the service.

Working closely with the Team Manager, you will monitor performance, support quality assurance, manage resources effectively, contribute to service development, investigate complaints, and embed excellent strengths-based practice through our Care Close to Home approach.

We are looking for a qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England who has significant Adult Social Care experience, excellent communication skills, leadership capability, and the ability to build effective partnerships across health, social care, providers, and the voluntary sector.

Join us and help shape exceptional Adult Social Care practice while improving outcomes for the people of the Isle of Wight.

Please note that Isle of Wight Council is currently unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position. Therefore, applications from candidates who require sponsorship to work in the UK cannot be considered. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK at the time of application and throughout their employment.

If you would like further information, to arrange an informal discussion, please contactJulie Green Team Manager at 01983 821000 ext. 5977 or email julie.green@iow.gov.uk

Join #TeamIWC and you'll receive our staff benefits package, including:

• Annual leave entitlement of 32 days p/a PLUS public holidays!
• Local Government pension scheme
• Discounted Solent ferry travel
• Island bus network discount
• Cycle to work scheme
• Staff parking permit scheme
• Discounted island sports & leisure gym membership
• National and local discounts & benefits schemes
• Relocation scheme of up to £8,000 may be available for some roles (subject to criteria)
• Travel allowance may be available if commuting from the mainland (subject to criteria)

To discover more about our careers please visit Jobs and careers - Isle of Wight

Find out more about Our culture and environment & living on the Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight Council currently does not have a license to sponsor overseas workers.

We actively promote the diversity of our workforce, and provide flexible working options (where appropriate) to support the different needs of our employees. We are an equal opportunities employer, proud to encourage applications from all cultures, backgrounds and abilities to better reflect the diversity within our local community.

We are a Disability Confident employer. Along with a number of commitments, this means, providing you meet the basic essential requirements of the advertised role and have declared yourself as disabled, you will be offered an opportunity for an interview within the council.

The Isle of Wight Council protects its employees from discrimination, and this is supported by;

unacceptable behaviour policy

employee code of conduct

The Isle of Wight Council’s Terms & Conditions of employment are available upon request. Please contact our recruitment team via adverts@iow.gov.uk if you would like to receive a copy.

The Isle of Wight Council reserve the right to close vacancies earlier than stated, if required. To ensure your application is considered, it is recommended to submit your application promptly.

Please note, appointment to a regulated role will require you to provide additional personal details, including full employment history, referee information, and consent for any required safeguarding checks, as part of the Council’s commitment to safer recruitment and compliance with regulatory requirements.

Out of Hours Standby and Call Out. You may be asked to provide support in exceptional circumstances, outside of usual business hours. Unless stated otherwise in the job summary for the role this is not part of the department’s usual standby arrangements.

The Isle of Wight Council is committed to supporting all newly qualified social workers (NQSWs) via a robust post-graduate competency framework, the ‘Assessed and Supported Year of Employment’ (ASYE). The ASYE is intended to be the first stage of continuing professional development for Registered Social Workers. The framework will be closely allied to the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF). You will be therefore, be required to satisfactorily complete the ASYE programme within a 12-month period (or 18 months if part-time).

For support completing your online application or for further information on how to apply, phone 01983 823134 or email callcentre@iow.gov.uk Only applications submitted online by the closing date will be accepted.

We often receive a high volume of applicants for our vacancies. If you do not hear from the recruiting manager within three weeks of the closing date, we regret that your application will not have been successful on this occasion. Please revisit our job page for alternate posts that may be suitable.