Description Suffolk County Council - Endeavour House, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 2BX / Hybrid £40,215 - £45,595 per annum (pro rata if part time) £3,500 annual retention payment (pro rata for part time) 37 hours per week, Flexible working options available Fixed Term Contract or Secondment up to 12 months We’re passionate about improving the future for our children in care and want to ensure that they are provided with safe and nurturing care which offer them the stability that they need to thrive. If you are too, join us as a Senior Social Worker and make a huge and meaningful impact by leading and developing our Fostering Emergency Hub pilot scheme. Your innovation and drive will help us to continue improving and evolving. Our opportunities and support will enable you to make a difference and leave a positive, lasting legacy. Reimagine the possibilities. Your role and responsibilities This dynamic role requires oversight using the therapeutic lens, matching to carers and working across the fostering service, placements teams, family solutions, and the child care teams to help place the most vulnerable and challenging children requiring urgent care. You will: develop a new service offer to provide a crisis care intervention for children, whether this be children coming into care in an emergency or to provide emergency care following a placement breakdown be involved in developing the new fostering initiative and working intensively to provide support to fostering families have oversight of the Emergency bed fostering hub, supervising the 4 x Emergency Hub foster carers and a family support practitioner instigate planning meetings with the professional network and intensively navigate the 2 week placement, formulating an action plan to support the child to move into a longer term care arrangement work within the fostering service and contribute towards the management and development of the Emergency hub strategy, working with the managers in the service to capture data, and forecasting savings in order to sustain the model be part of the recruitment for the emergency bed foster carers and work on retention planning be organised and motivated to lead the pilot with support from the management team. The hub will support 4 emergency bed foster carers who provide 2 weeks of intensive care and support to children, before they move to a longer-term placement. The emergency fostering hub scheme is due to launch in 2025 with the purpose of creating a hub of foster carers who will be closely supported to offer safe and nurturing fostering homes to children, mainly 11 years plus under emergency circumstances. This is a county wide role and will involve travelling across the county to attend urgent meetings and supervising foster carers. You can view a full list of requirements in the Job and Person Profile (docx). If you believe you can succeed in this role, apply. Even if you don't meet all requirements, still apply. We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application. The team The main function of the Suffolk fostering service is to recruit and retain foster carers, to ensure that foster carers are supported and supervised, to enable them to provide safe and secure care to children and support them to reach their full potential. Trauma informed practice underpins the work that we achieve in the fostering service. We have access to clinical/ psychology support and work alongside multi-disciplinary and multi-agency colleagues. The team works closely with the placements team to identify the right care provisions for children. This new initiative is an opportunity to grow and develop the service offer that we provide to children and foster carers, to ensure greater stability for children in an emergency situation and to reduce the number of potential moves that children experience. The fostering service is a countywide service however, we have 4 bases across Suffolk to work from. Empowering Everyone We’re big believers in potential, possibility and the power of different ideas. We’re always searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report (suffolk.gov.uk) For more information Please contact Sarah Ablett (she/her) for a casual conversation. You can reach them by calling 07525886529 or emailing sarah.ablettsuffolk.gov.uk If you want to apply for a secondment, read the secondment policy first. Make sure you get permission from your current manager before submitting your application. How to apply Step 1 - Read the Job and Person Profile (docx) Step 2 - Click ‘Apply Now’ to start your online application. Step 3 - Upload a supporting statement indicating how you meet each of the criteria in the ‘Person Profile’ section of the JPP. You should use the Supporting Statement template (docx). Please use Arial font size 11 and keep your statement to a maximum of two sides of A4. Please note: Without a supporting statement, your interest will not be progressed. Any supporting documents must be in either PDF or MS Word format. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the application process before the next selection stage, please contact our Recruitment Team by emailing recruitmentsuffolk.gov.uk or calling 03456 014412. If you are invited to the next stage of selection, you will have another opportunity to request adjustments for the next stages of the process. Closing date: 11.30 pm, 12 December 2024. Interview date: 18 December 2024. This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts. LI-Hybrid