Designated Social Care Officer

Our Children and Families services place children, young people and their families at the heart of all we do. 

This exciting new role will strategically lead in framing and developing social care elements of the SEND strategy across the local authority, in compliance with legislative requirements of the SEND Code of Practice (2015).

You will:

• provide leadership, operational guidance and direction in the way our social care services are identified and delivered for those with SEN, disabled children, young people 0-25. 
• have oversight of the identification of need through the EHC Needs Assessment and EHC Plan process.  
• act as the regional and national interface, representing Local Authority social care at key regional and national events. They will be a source of expert professional advice on SEND reforms relating to social care within the county.
• identify areas where social care is weak or non-compliant with the SEND Code of Practice, and provide the opportunity to generate solutions and implement strategies and plans to make improvements. 
• align these improvements to social care’s operational and business plans and statutory obligations.
   

You'll have:

• a social work degree and be Social Work England (SWE) registered

• diverse post qualification practice experience in Children and Families together with substantial experience of effectively managing social care services for children and families 

• proven leadership along with in-depth knowledge and understanding of both social care operations and the SEND reforms agenda
• ability to negotiate with and influence others whilst building and nurturing effective partnerships, working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders across the local authority and exploiting opportunities for co-production.
  

Interviews ( including stakeholder panel) will be held on the 2nd July.

Don’t feel you meet all the requirements? We value transferable skills, experiences, and qualifications so consider applying anyway or for an informal chat about the role please contact Bev Davis, Interim Assistant Director for Children's Social Care at: beverley.davis@staffordshire.gov.uk 

Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role.

We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too. 

Our benefits:

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance. 

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

Our recruitment process:

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post. 

As you’ll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.