Ready for your next step in Children’s Social Care? Whether you’re a qualified and experienced Social Worker stepping into leadership or a current Manager looking for a fresh challenge, this is your chance to join a service that’s nationally recognised for innovation and impact. Why join Dorset Council? We’re proud to be one of only three areas chosen for the Department for Education’s Families First for Children Pathfinder – a major programme testing national reform, supported by central government funding. What makes this role special? You’ll lead a high-performing Child Protection Team in our Chesil Locality (Weymouth and Portland), working alongside passionate professionals in a forward-thinking, multi-agency model that brings together: early help children’s social care educational psychology SEND and inclusion services What we’re looking for: you must be a qualified Social Worker, registered with Social Work England have experience supervising and appraising staff strong knowledge of Child Protection, Court and Child in Need processes confidence managing complex casework and busy workloads a collaborative approach to working across teams, especially with Family Help and Learning and Belonging What you’ll get in return: At Dorset Council, you’ll find: a leadership team that values and supports you opportunities to shape the future of social work a service that prioritises keeping children safely at home a beautiful coastal setting to live and work in Be part of something bigger This is more than a job – it’s your chance to lead positive change for children and families in Dorset. If you’re passionate about good social work and ready to make a difference, we’d love to hear from you. Further Information Interviews will take place early May. We support Hybrid working but would require office based for a minimum of three days per week, with flexibility on days to meet the demands of the service. For an informal discussion about the role please contact Sarah Whilton, Service Manger, 01305 225951 This post requires significant travel. You must have a vehicle (or transport we deem suitable) available for use as needed. This post involves working with children and/or vulnerable adults and/or having access to significant information about them. It will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. See our policy on the employment of ex-offenders. The friends and family referral scheme applies to this post. If an employee recommended this post to you, mention them when asked on your application form. Employees can share this advert by using the button links alongside the job title. The key skills recruitment and retention scheme applied to these positions, subject to eligibility. The amount payable will be £2000 (pro-rata for part time positions) after 24 months of employment. A generous relocation package is payable, of which up to £8,000 (of HMRC eligible elements) are free of tax. We can offer you help to move whether you are looking to buy or rent, depending on your circumstances. Our package includes: an initial advance of up to £2,500 payable when you start help towards fees associated with buying/selling (up to £6,500) an option to receive help towards your rent or mortgage in the first two years About Us We’re passionate about making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit. Working for us should be no exception. At Dorset Council we: provide more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents have ambitious aspirations are excited about our future care about Dorset and all the people who live here know that all roles make a difference and that our employees are key to our success You will: have access to a range of employee benefits be part of an organisation that supports each other to grow and succeed have access to range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progression We are challenging ourselves to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation. We recognise that recruitment and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to the council and our communities. We have a commitment to equality and welcome applications from everyone. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We offer an interview to everyone who declares a disability and meets the essential criteria for the role. We are keen to make our interviews accessible. Let us know on your job application if you have a disability and need any reasonable adjustments. We also look for applicants who share our commitment to our values. We will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process. This role is UK based and we will need to establish your Right to Work as part of the appointment process. We use generic job descriptions and person specifications. This means the job title on any attachments may differ from the job title in the advert. We may provide specific information in a context statement if relevant. Find out more about how to apply .