The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, fire, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.
The Customer Services Group brings together Asylum & Human Rights, Asylum Support and Dispersal, Asylum Accommodation Centres, Resettlement Group, Passports, Citizenship & Civil Registration, Customer Operations Support Services and UK Visas & Immigration. As a major operational arm of the Home Office, we play a vital role in supporting the economy and cultural life of the UK.
The National Age Assessment Board is recruiting up to six social workers who will undertake Merton compliant age assessments on age disputed asylum seekers. The role offers the opportunity for qualified and experienced social workers to join a national team conducting age assessments on behalf of local authorities across the UK, and to become experts in the field of age assessment, developing strong working relationships with a variety of stakeholders and partners.
The National Age Assessment Board was established in March 2023 as part of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and is still a relatively new age assessment function in the Home Office. Successful applicants will help local authorities to improve their ability to conduct age assessments for themselves and to drive up quality and standards.
There are 6 social worker posts in the following areas:
• Solihull – 4 vacancies
• Glasgow – 2 vacancies
The split of vacancies may adjust slightly at these locations due to changes in business needs.
NAAB social workers will work in pairs to conduct age assessments across the UK on behalf of local authorities and the Home Office.
Candidates will need to be qualified social workers and have up to date membership of Social Work England or the equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - an up to date registration number will need to be supplied.
Ensuring that the young people who are assessed are at the heart of what we do, social workers will undertake ‘Merton’ compliant age assessments on behalf of local authorities and the Home Office. The written assessments need to be robust enough to withstand scrutiny through legal challenge and completed within agreed timescales.
Responsibilities
NAAB social workers will:
• Develop an excellent working knowledge and understanding of the Merton age assessment process.
• Represent the Home Office in local authority settings across the UK to deliver a high-quality service through the completion of robust but fair age assessments. This could include engagement with local authority social workers, teachers, foster carers, and other professionals involved in the young person’s care.
• Support the Home Office response to legal challenges, where they arise, including preparing court statements and giving evidence in court.
• Use working knowledge of legislation and case law relevant to age assessment in all parts of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, where applicable).
• Develop and contribute to activity as part of the NAAB’s quality assurance framework.
• Adopt a child centred and trauma informed approach to working with young people and undertaking assessments. Provide the appropriate statutory response to any child protection or safeguarding concerns that come to light during the age assessment process.
• Adapt personal practice in response to feedback given through the quality assurance process.
• Contribute to the delivery of the NAAB’s engagement strategy.
• Drive up expertise and quality in the age assessment field, by contributing to and delivering high quality training to local authorities.
Travel
There will be a requirement for very frequent national travel at least once or twice a week, and you will occasionally be required to stay overnight in a local authority area. Where this is necessary the Home Office will pay for travel costs and other expenses.
When you are not conducting age assessments in a local authority setting there will be opportunities to either work from home or your nearest Asylum Support, Resettlement and Accommodation office.
Training
You will receive full training (Comprehensive Age Assessment and Level 2 Personal Safety Training) and support to do the job. Training takes place initially on-line and then continues on the job with a mentor who supports you until you are fully confident in the role. Even then you are never alone; you work as part of a team where there is always someone around for advice and support. Further information on what the training involves can be found on our website.
Working pattern
Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis. However, compressed hours are available .