Advanced Practitioner (Children Looked After Service)

Lambeth Council; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

A local council is seeking an experienced Advanced Practitioner to join their Children Looked After Service, providing support to young people in care. The role involves high-quality care planning, guidance on complex cases, and requires a recognized social work qualification. Ideal candidates will demonstrate resilience and creativity in problem-solving, with a commitment to professional development. This position offers hybrid working options and competitive salaries.

Benefits

Up to 35 days annual leave

Hybrid working opportunities

Cycle to Work Scheme

Local Government Pension Scheme

Discounts at local restaurants

Discount at Active Lambeth Gyms

Qualifications

• Recognised social work qualification and registration with Social Work England required.
• Experience working with children, young people, and families in challenging circumstances.
• Ability to manage own workload with minimal supervision.

Responsibilities

• Support the Team Manager and lead in their absence.
• Facilitate group supervisions and provide guidance on complex cases.
• Support high-quality care planning for children in care.

Skills

Familiarity with Signs of Safety approach

Understanding of developmental stages of children

Proficiency in child protection legislation

Ability to build trust with children and parents

Resilience in a fast-paced environment

Creative problem-solving skills

Experience in guiding and supervising colleagues

Commitment to professional development

Education

Recognised social work qualification

Tools

Microsoft Copilot

Job description

Overview

Advanced Practitioner (Children Looked After)

P05: £54,360 pa rising in annual increments to £57,495 pa incl. LW

Permanent / Full-Time / Hybrid Working

We are looking for an experienced Advanced Practitioner to join our Children Looked After (CLA) Service team. The ideal candidate will hold a recognised social work qualification and be registered with Social Work England (SWE).

About the CLA Service

The Children Looked After (CLA) service provides support to children, young people, and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) aged 0-16 who are in care. Our service is structured across four teams, each consisting of a Team Manager, Advanced Practitioner, Social Workers, and Personal Advisors (UASC team only).

Our core aim in the CLA service is to ensure that the children and young people we work with are supported to achieve the best possible outcomes. As an Advanced Practitioner, you will support your team in delivering high-quality care planning and promoting the highest standard of social work. You will also be responsible for developing innovative and creative strategies to ensure that children in care are supported to develop their independence and achieve outstanding outcomes.

About the Role

We are looking for a dedicated and proactive professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment. The ideal candidate will be able to prioritize effectively, identifying urgent tasks and actions to ensure that all work is completed within tight timescales. You will be highly organized, able to manage your own workload with minimal supervision, and have strong initiative to act where needed.

You will support your Team Manager and confidently take the lead in their absence. You will facilitate group supervisions, provide clear guidance, and offer practical, well-informed advice on complex, high-risk cases.

About You

We are looking for a compassionate, resilient, and experienced individual who has worked with children, young people, and their families in challenging circumstances. The ideal candidate will have:

• Lambeth adopts a Signs of Safety approach, and the successful candidate will be familiar with this practice model. They should feel confident supporting colleagues and facilitating group discussions using this framework.
• A deep understanding of the developmental stages of children and the impact of trauma, neglect and abuse.
• Proficiency in child protection legislation and statutory guidance, including the Children Act 1989 and 2004.
• The ability to build trust and rapport with children, young people and parents, encouraging openness and honest dialogue.
• Resilience to deal with the demands of a fast-paced environment and quick turnaround of work.
• Creative problem-solving skills to find innovative solutions for challenging situations, ensuring the best possible outcomes for children and families.
• Experience in providing guidance and supervision to less experienced colleagues, supporting their development.
• A drive for improving practice and performance in the team and modelling best practice.
• A commitment to ongoing professional development, staying up to date with the latest research, policies, and best practices in children’s service.
• The candidate should also be familiar with utilising Microsoft Copilot to enhance productivity.
• Able to work from the office at least two days per week and fully available during the designated duty week, which occurs once a month.

About us

It is an exciting time to join Lambeth Council. We have bold ambitions for the future of Lambeth’s communities and residents through our Lambeth 2030 Plan “Our Future, Our Lambeth.” To deliver on these ambitions, we have embarked on our transformational One Lambeth Programme to ensure we are ‘connected by purpose’ in everything we do to deliver excellence. We are proud to have recently developed a refreshed set of One Lambeth Values and Behaviours that were developed for staff by staff: Equity, Ambition, Kindness, and Accountability. For more information, please have a look at our dedicated One Lambeth Values and Behaviours page.

About the Borough

Located in the heart of South London, Lambeth Borough is a vibrant community of over 317,600 residents. Stretching from the dynamic neighbourhood of Streatham in the South to the iconic landmarks of Waterloo in the North, we are proud to be the 9th largest borough in London. Our diversity is our strength, with more than 130 languages spoken, making Lambeth the home of the Windrush generation, London’s largest LGBTQ+ community, and a thriving Portuguese-speaking community.

With exceptional schools, lush green spaces including Brockwell Park, cultural gems like the Black Cultural Archives, and world-renowned institutions such as St Thomas’s Hospital, Lambeth offers an enriching and dynamic environment.

Why Lambeth

• Fantastic, modern working environment in the award-winning Lambeth Town Hall and Civic Centre buildings
• Competitive Salaries
• Up to 35 days annual leave, dependent upon continuous service
• 5 Minutes from London Underground and excellent transport links into the centre of London
• Hybrid/Flexible working
• Cycle to Work Scheme (including City Bike Hire scheme)
• Attractive Local Government Pension Scheme
• Discounts at local restaurants
• Discount at our Active Lambeth Gyms

If you are interested in the role and would like to find out more details, please contact Logan Pillay, Service Manager on 0207 926 9432.

We are a Stonewall diversity champion; a Living Wage Employer and we guarantee to interview all disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria of the role.

Successful candidates will be asked to apply for an Enhanced Certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Further information about the DBS can be found at the homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/dbs.

In addition, you will also be required to undertake a Cifas check from the Fraud Prevention organisation. Further information can be found here cifas.org.uk.

Please note we operate an anonymised application process. When uploading your Supporting Statement and CV, please use the ‘cover letter’ link and remove your personal details.

You must upload a Supporting Statement and CV for your application to be considered.

Interested?

Click on the apply button and complete an online application, along with uploading your Supporting Statement and CV, explicitly evidencing how you meet the shortlist criteria marked with an ‘A’ on the job specification.

For detailed qualifications and requirements, please review the job description and person specification in the hyperlink below: JD and Person Specification

Closing date: 9th November 2025 at midnight