Advanced Practitioner - Family Help

London Social Work for Children; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote and office hybrid work

Up to 32 days annual leave and public/

Job summary

Enfield Council is seeking an experienced Advanced Practitioner to join the Family Help Service in Enfield Town. You will carry a small caseload, line-manage a family help practitioner, and work with partners to ensure safeguarding and positive outcomes for children and families.

The post supports hybrid, remote and office-based working as part of the transformation of integrated family help teams. We value strengths-based practice, professional curiosity, and collective accountability, with

Qualifications

• Be a qualified social worker registered with Social Work England.
• Have substantial experience working with children and families, including in child protection.
• Demonstrate a good understanding of the diverse needs of children.
• Have experience applying a strengths-based approach to assessing, planning and reviewing processes.
• Be able to empower families and individual children to affect positive change.
• Have experience of, or readiness for, line management and supervisory responsibilities.
• Be committed to high-quality practice, continuous improvement, and professional development.
• Share a commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

Responsibilities

• Carrying a small caseload of complex cases requiring targeted early help through to child protection interventions.
• Line managing one case-holding family help practitioner
• Driving high-quality practice and embedding a culture of continuous improvement
• Applying a strengths-based approach to assessing, planning and reviewing processes to support families and individual children
• Ensuring children and families receive timely, effective support that delivers positive outcomes

Skills

Qualified social worker

Line management

Child protection experience

Strengths-based practice

Social Work England registered

Job description

The Family Help Service is an integrated preventive service that brings together advanced social work practitioners, social work practitioners and family help practitioners, working alongside one another to offer support to children and families in need. This is a great opportunity to join an excellent service that works together with families to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people, during an exciting period of transformation as new integrated family help teams have recently gone live.

Based in the Children and Family Hub at Thomas Hardy House, in the heart of Enfield Town, the Advanced Practitioner will carry a small caseload and be responsible for line managing one case-holding family help practitioner (alternatively qualified). The postholder will work closely with colleagues across Children's Services and partner agencies to ensure children remain safe, supported and able to thrive within their families and communities wherever possible. Key responsibilities include:

• Carrying a small caseload of complex cases requiring targeted early help through to child protection interventions
• Line managing one case-holding family help practitioner
• Driving high-quality practice and embedding a culture of continuous improvement
• Applying a strengths-based approach to assessing, planning and reviewing processes to support families and individual children
• Ensuring children and families receive timely, effective support that delivers positive outcomes

Enfield's leadership culture is grounded in openness, learning and shared responsibility, with a commitment to supporting staff with their wellbeing, alongside professional development and achieving best practice. Enfield's Centre of Excellence confirms the Council's commitment to creating and maintaining an environment for new and existing staff to be the best, delivering high-quality casework to the most vulnerable children and young people. For more information, please visit https://new.enfield.gov.uk/centreofexcellence/about-us/ .

About you

Enfield is looking for an experienced, dynamic, and enthusiastic qualified social worker who is passionate about achieving positive outcomes for children and families. The successful candidate will bring a strong commitment to strengths-based practice, professional curiosity, and collective accountability.

The ideal candidate will:

• Be a qualified social worker registered with Social Work England
• Have substantial experience working with children and families, including in child protection
• Demonstrate a good understanding of the diverse needs of children
• Have experience of applying a strengths-based approach to assessing, planning and reviewing processes
• Be able to empower families and individual children to affect positive change
• Have experience of, or readiness for, line management and supervisory responsibilities
• Be committed to high-quality practice, continuous improvement, and professional development
• Share a commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people

This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check. Enfield Council is committed to equal opportunities and building a diverse workforce. The Council operates an anonymised shortlisting process — please do not include your name on your CV or supporting statement. Shortlisting is based on responses to the essential and desirable criteria as detailed in the Job Description and Person Specification.

About Enfield

Enfield is one of the most diverse parts of London, with all the benefits this brings across our communities, culture, heritage and local economy. It also has incredibly diverse landscapes – from the urban centres of Edmonton, Southgate, Palmers Green and Enfield Town, to rural areas and farmland in the north of the borough.

Based in the bubbling heart of Enfield Town, situated in a modern newly designed service hub, the new office is an environment which supports our smart working policy surrounded by small businesses, bars, restaurants, a buzzing high street and shopping centre. Our brand new high-tech multiagency office has good transport links into central London and is easily assessable to the M25, A10 and A406.

We are proud of the services we offer to children and families living in the borough and work with partners to ensure children receive the best start in life. We are passionate about improving outcomes and driving up standards and performance. Ofsted has rated our children’s services as GOOD overall, read the full report here

Our offer to you include:

• A rewarding role in an Ofsted rated GOOD children’s services department
• Up to 32 days annual leave depending on grade and length of service. You will also get eight public holidays per year and an extra day off at Christmas.
• A blend of remote and office based working
• Health and leisure discounts and tax-free bikes for work.
• Modern purposefully designed working environment in Thomas Hardy House located 5 minutes from the station
• A clear career progression pathway, supported by a comprehensive training programme
• Smart technology assistance including hybrid video conferencing
• Employee Assistance Programme to provide advice and counselling services. This is a free and confidential service available to staff and members of their family.
• Enthusiastic and proactive staff network groups
• 1 month paid sabbatical for children’s social workers