Child Protection Expert

Norfolk County Council; England; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 55,000; Part time

Job summary

A local government organization in Norwich is seeking a part-time Child Protection Expert to lead practice within the Family Help team. Responsibilities include chairing strategy discussions, supervising case work, and developing staff expertise in risk management. The candidate will play a key role in enhancing Child Protection practices and ensuring service quality. Competitive salary and various benefits offered.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Generous holiday entitlement

Health and Wellbeing services

Flexible working opportunities

Local Government Pension Scheme

Tax efficient car lease scheme

Qualifications

• Lead Practitioner for Child Protection matters.
• Experience in de-escalation of risk, particularly for newly qualified Social Workers.
• Supervision and oversight of case work.

Responsibilities

• Chair strategy discussions for patch teams and build relationships with safeguarding leads.
• Develop effective Child Protection trajectory planning.
• Provide support, guidance, and oversight within the management team.
• Line manage a Network Coordinator.

Job description

Overview

Child Protection Expert | 8829 | Fixed Term Contract / Secondment Opportunity to cover Maternity Leave | Part-time 29.6 hours per week | £50,166 to £54,277 pro rata per annum | Grade L | Norwich (North & Broadland)

Applications are sought for the role of Child Protection Expert within an existing Family Help team. The Expert role is part of the management team within each patch. This is a focused role on leading an area of practice specific to a particular specialism - Child Protection.

In this role, you will have limited line management duties, but supervision and oversight of case work. Ensuring quality and timeliness is a key part of the Expert’s duties. You will be providing support, guidance, advice and direction/development as part of the management team.

As a Child Protection Expert, you will be the Lead Practitioner for Child Protection matters, chairing strategy discussions for the patch teams, building strong working relationships with safeguarding leads from across the partnership and with the Court Proceedings expert.

You will focus on developing effective CP trajectory planning, including developing staff expertise in successful de-escalation of risk, particularly for newly qualified Social Workers. You will also line manage a Network Coordinator.

Responsibilities

• Lead Practitioner for Child Protection matters; chair strategy discussions for the patch teams; build strong working relationships with safeguarding leads across the partnership and with the Court Proceedings expert.
• Develop effective CP trajectory planning and staff expertise in successful de-escalation of risk, particularly for newly qualified Social Workers.
• Provide supervision and oversight of case work to ensure quality and timeliness; offer support, guidance, advice and direction as part of the management team.
• Utilise limited line management duties and oversee a Network Coordinator.

Requirements and Context

No explicit qualifications are listed in the provided description. The role is integrated within the Family Help management structure and includes collaboration with patch teams and safeguarding leads.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Generous holiday entitlement
• Health and Wellbeing services including fast-track physiotherapy and a free counselling service
• Flexible working opportunities including flexi-time, part time, remote and hybrid working – dependant on your job role and business need
• Financial benefits such as:
• ‘Norfolk Rewards’ discounts programme
• A Blue Light card for Fire Service and Social Care Workers
• Relocation expenses (where applicable)
• An advance of your expenses if you travel for work
• Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution, life assurance, death in service payments and dependants’ pensions
• Tax efficient ways of getting extra pension and new bikes
• Access to our tax efficient car lease scheme for greener travel enabling you to lease a brand new, ultra-low emission vehicle (subject to eligibility)
• A payment if you refer someone you know to a hard to fill job

How to apply

Before you apply, we recommend reading the full Job Description and Person Specification to help you demonstrate you meet the criteria. You can also find information on our Terms and Conditions here.

Already a Norfolk County Council employee? See and apply for internal and external vacancies in myOracle using your @norfolk.gov.uk or @nccal.ac.uk email.

Redeployment closing date: 30 September 2025 at 23:59. All other applicants closing date: 08 October 2025 at 23:59.