Child Protection Conference Chair & Independent Reviewing Officer

Bracknell Forest Council; England; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A local council in the UK is seeking a Child Protection Conference Chair and Independent Reviewing Officer. In this full-time role, you will lead initiatives to improve outcomes for vulnerable children, ensuring their voices are heard in safeguarding processes. The role involves chairing critical meetings, managing child protection conferences, and contributing to quality assurance within children's social care. The council promotes a supportive work environment with flexible arrangements for work-life balance.

Benefits

28 days annual leave increasing to 33

Hybrid working opportunities

Paid employee volunteering scheme

Local government pension scheme

Career development opportunities

Employee Assistance Programme for wellbeing

Qualifications

• Passionate about achieving best outcomes for children and families.
• Experience in chairing Child Protection Conferences.
• Able to manage complex meetings with clarity.

Responsibilities

• Quality assure care planning for children.
• Chair child protection conferences ensuring child's voice.
• Contribute to quality assurance across the workforce.

Skills

Leadership in Child Protection

Social Work England registration

Management experience in Children’s Social Care

Quality assurance skills

Job description

Lead the way in safeguarding children and join our Conference team. We are looking for a dedicated Child Protection Conference Chair and Independent Reviewing Officer to help shape positive futures for children and families. This is a full‑time, permanent role where your experience can make a real difference.

At Bracknell Forest, we pride ourselves on being a council which is stable and well‑managed where our employees can thrive in a supportive environment. We understand the importance of a healthy work‑life balance and offer a variety of flexible working practices, including options for remote working and arrangements that allow you to work from home, dependent on the needs of the service.

About you

As a Child Protection Conference Chair and Independent Reviewing Officer, you will be a dynamic and passionate person committed to improving outcomes for vulnerable children. This is your chance to join us at Bracknell Forest Council where your experience will help us shape how we do things to improve the well‑being of our children.

You will be an experienced, confident and dependable professional who is passionate about achieving the best outcomes for children and families. Your expertise will include leading Child Looked After Reviews, chairing Child Protection Conferences, and managing other complex meetings with clarity and authority. You will also be Social Work England registered with management experience in Children’s Social Care.

About the team

We are a small team that works closely together, with a clear focus on meeting our statutory responsibilities. We make sure our practice is rooted in key guidance like the BF Child Protection Procedures, Working Together to Safeguard Children, Keeping Children Safe in Education, and the IRO Handbook. By staying aligned with these frameworks, we aim to support the best possible outcomes for children on child protection plans and those in care.

We maintain high aspirations for all our children, developing strong partnership working to ensure our children are safe within their families and achieving their full potential in stable care arrangements. We offer high support to families holistically and high challenge to achieve this.

Key responsibilities

• Quality assuring the care planning arrangements for each child, ensuring their wishes and feelings fully contribute to the planning for them and in line with the statutory guidance for Independent Reviewing Officers.
• Chairing of child protection conferences and related quality assurance activity in line with child protection procedures and ensuring the voice of the child is central to the safeguarding arrangements for them.
• Contribute to service and directorate wide quality assurance activity to support learning and development across the workforce.

Our benefits

• 28 days annual leave increasing to 33 days after 3 years’ continuous service, with the opportunity to buy up to 10 and sell up to 5 days.
• Hybrid working opportunities to support your wellbeing and work‑life balance.
• Paid employee volunteering scheme.
• Local government pension scheme, with life insurance cover.
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme (subject to eligibility).
• Reimbursement of Social Work England registration.
• Recognition of continuous service attained within the NHS and UKHSA when calculating some benefits. (Terms and Conditions apply)
• Career development through internal and external training opportunities.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and fostering leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support your health and wellbeing.
• Inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff networks and a sports and social club.

Interview information

Interviews will be held on 5th and 6th February 2026. Interviews will be conducted in person, providing candidates with the chance to personally meet the team and experience our work environment.

We will be reviewing applications regularly and reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible.

Please note AI is prohibited during the interview, any candidate using AI will be withdrawn from consideration.

Contact

Want to ask us a question? For an informal discussion or to ask any questions about this role, please contact:

Sadia Hanif, Conference and Review Team Manager

Tel: [phone]

Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect everyone employed with us to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check as part of our pre‑employment checks process.

Candidates should be able to demonstrate experience of working within the current Social Care System and Framework.

We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK.

Candidates currently residing in the UK who require sponsorship to work are encouraged to assess their eligibility for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) based on the relevant criteria. Please be aware that sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case‑by‑case basis.

No agencies please.