Are you passionate about improving the lives of children and young people? Do you want to work for an employer who places major importance on high quality supervision, wellbeing and career development?
At Buckinghamshire Council we have a fantastic opportunity for a Child Protection Adviser within our friendly and supportive Child Protection Conferencing Service team.
In addition to the salary advertised, you will receive a market premium of £2,500 per annum.
About us
Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.
Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK and yet it is incredibly well connected– only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.
We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey. You will be entitled to a range of different benefits to make sure you are happy both at work and at home.
About the role
The main responsibilities of this exciting role are:
- To undertake the role of Child Protection Adviser, including chairing Initial and Review Child Protection Conferences in line with the Strengthening Families approach, and in accordance with relevant legislation, statutory guidance and child protection procedures.
- To act as a ‘critical friend’ for staff and partners, bringing challenge and support to raise the standard of child protection practice for vulnerable children and young people who have suffered, or are at risk of suffering, significant harm of abuse and/or neglect.
- To promote and share best practice and learning as an integral part of the local quality assurance framework.
- To work collaboratively with social work teams and other relevant services to achieve change, promote safety planning and achieve good outcomes for vulnerable children and young people in need of protection.
Mobile:
A ‘mobile’ role gives you the flexibility to schedule your own diary, so you can meet with colleagues and clients in a variety of locations. You’ll access digital folders and resources on your laptop and be able to use the network wherever you are based. Working from home will be common, as well as meeting your team in the office where necessary.
About you
We are looking for an experienced Child Protection Adviser, or a highly skilled child and family social worker with management experience.
The successful applicant will:
- Have a recognised Social Work qualification
- Have an active HCPC/SWE registration
- Be able to demonstrate post qualification continual professional learning & development
- Be an excellent communicator with effective influencing, advocating and negotiating skills
- Have the ability to chair meetings in a way that promotes engagement and participation from all attendees – including vulnerable children and young people
- Have demonstrable post qualifying statutory social work experience
- Possess experience in management in a Social Work environment
Most importantly – the successful candidate will have a sincere passion and drive to join us in our mission to improve the lives of children and young people.
Please see the job summary for more information.
Other information
We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:
- All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
- All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).
For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).
Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident .