Children's Services Practitioner Level 3 (Social Worker)
£34,582 - £38,425
Services Directorate
Foyle – Exchange House
The NSPCC’s purpose is to prevent child abuse and neglect of children across the UK and Channel Islands. We have been fighting for childhood for the last 130 years and our organisational strategy for 2021-2031 is enabling the NSPCC to achieve greater change for children and inspiring others to join us in the fight for childhood.
Our services help children who've been abused, protect children at risk and find the best ways to prevent child abuse from ever happening. We work directly with children and families through our national and regional hubs across the UK and Channel Islands. We also give support to thousands of adults and young people in need through the NSPCC Helpline and Childline. We work with schools up and down the country through our Speak Out Stay Safe programme, helping children to keep themselves safe. And our projects such as Together for Childhood help children who've experienced abuse, support parents, and work to transform the way communities come together to prevent child cruelty.
Our local services support children and families throughout the UK and Channel Islands. We provide therapeutic services to help children move on from abuse, as well as supporting parents and families in caring for their children. We help professionals make the best decisions for children and young people, and support communities to help prevent abuse from happening in the first place.
Job purpose
Provide direct services to children, families, carers, or adults working in an inter-agency context where activities will be complex and where there is a requirement to take considerable responsibility and work autonomously.
Key relationships - Internal
- Reporting to Team Manager
- Practitioners and support staff
- Consultant Social Workers
- Development and Implementation team in the Strategy and Knowledge directorate.
- NSPCC colleagues from other Directorates
Key relationships - External
- Professionals from other agencies
- Key supporters
Main duties and responsibilities
- Provide direct services (on an individual or group work basis) for children, their families, carers, and adults maintaining professional practice standards as outlined in legislation, guidance and consistent with NSPCC standards and guidance.
- Hold case accountability for a number of cases some of which may be complex, ensuring all safeguarding practice and case recording conforms to NSPCC practice standards and guidance. Provide professional advice to internal and external enquiries.
- Liaise and work positively with partner agencies and respectfully challenge where necessary in order to promote the best interest of children.
- Involve service users in planning, decision making and evaluation and promote the participation of Children and Young People.
- Plan and deliver services and contribute to their evaluation and ensure that issues of diversity are identified and addressed in accordance with equal opportunity practices.
- Develop and maintain professional relationships and work in partnership with other agencies in order to deliver effective services and attend a range of internal and external meetings as required.
- Actively prepare for and participate in supervision, team meetings, briefings and training events and contribute to the development of learning materials or other resources.
- Take responsibility for developing and improving your own professional knowledge and skills and contribute to policy development within the organisation.
- Work with fundraising staff to promote the work of the team and the organisation to various audiences including supporters, fundraisers and volunteers.
- Support colleagues through co working, mentoring or critical appraisal and supervise students and volunteers as appropriate in line with agency policy
Any other job-related duties as assigned:
Although core duties of the post are set out above, a flexible approach to work is essential. The post holder may be required to adapt the above duties to take account of changes in work practices. The post holder will be required to undertake business travel.
Responsibilities for all Staff within the Services Directorate
- A commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.
- To comply with all relevant NSPCC safequarding policies
- A commitment to applying NSPCC Values and Behaviours to all aspects of work
- To maintain an awareness of own and other's health and safety and comply with NSPCC’s Health and Safety procedures
- To comply with NSPCC Diversity and Equality policies and practices and work in a manner which facilitates inclusion.
- To maintain and develop competence in the use of IT systems.
- To manage confidential and/or sensitive information in accordance with NSPCC policies and Data Protection and GDPR regulations
Person specification
- A recognised social work qualification and registration with the relevant social care council within the UK.
- Experience of direct prevention work with children and their families and proven ability in identifying risk and initiating child protection interventions, informed by a good knowledge of best practice, research and legislation.
- Experience and proven ability of working in a way that reflects a child centered approach and an understanding of children’s rights, participation, needs, best interests and safeguarding practice.
- Ability to plan appropriate direct work and evaluate their effectiveness.
- Evidence of an ability to develop and maintain professional relationships, including with other child protection agencies and supporters and experience of effective multi-agency working.
- Experience and proven ability to champion equality, diversity and inclusive practice.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including report writing and the ability to present the NSPCC to internal and external audiences.
Applications will be considered from social work students who will be qualified and registered within three months of the closing date for the vacancy.
Safer Recruitment
As an organisation, we are committed to creating and fostering a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children and adults at risk.
Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work with our children and adults.
The recruitment and selection of our people will be conducted in a professional, timely and responsive manner and in compliance with current employment legislation, and relevant safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance.
Our principles:
Always seek to recruit the best candidate for the role based on merit including their skills, experience, motivation and competencies. Our robust recruitment and selection process should ensure the identification of the person best suited to the role and the organisation.
- Committed to diversity and equality of opportunity and will interview all applicants (internal and external) who self-declare at application as having a disability and who meet the minimum requirements in the person specification of the vacancy they are applying for.
- We will make reasonable adjustments at all stages of the recruitment process in order to enable successful candidates who declare disabilities to start working or volunteering their time with us.
- Any current member of staff or volunteer who wishes to apply for vacancies and is suitably qualified will be considered and addressed fairly and objectively based on their merit.
- As an organisation committed to safeguarding, we will ensure all under 18's joining the organisation will have ongoing risk assessments to ensure their role and activities are safe and appropriate.
- All documentation relating to candidates will be treated confidentially in accordance with the GDPR legislation.
For further information and to submit your application, click APPLY NOW.
Closing Date: 19th January 2025.