Children's Senior Social (ROTH)

Children's Social Work Matters; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Sheffield City Council is seeking a Senior Social Worker for the Risk Outside the Home Team in Sheffield. You will hold a complex caseload of children and young people where risks occur outside the family home and work to protect and promote welfare.

You will assess, plan and deliver child protection interventions, using trauma-informed and relationship-based practice while collaborating with partner agencies to reduce risk and improve outcomes.

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England.
• Post-qualification experience in Children’s Social Care.
• Experience with exploitation, missing episodes or contextual safeguarding.

Responsibilities

• Manage complex statutory cases involving exploitation and serious youth violence.
• Complete high-quality assessments analyzing family strengths, risks, and online environments.
• Develop and progress Child in Need, Child Protection and Care Planning interventions.
• Deliver direct work with children, young people and families using relationship-based approaches.
• Collaborate with police, education, health, youth justice and community partners.
• Chair or contribute to multi‑agency meetings where appropriate.

Skills

Social Work England registration

Experience with children & families

Contextual safeguarding

Risk assessment

Communication skills

Job description

Want to find out more about working in Sheffield? Here are some reasons why you'll love it...

Join Sheffield's Specialist Risk Outside the Home Team

Are you an experienced social worker passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people experiencing exploitation, violence and other forms of extra-familial harm?

Sheffield is strengthening its response to Risk Outside the Home (ROTH) through a dedicated specialist team focused on contextual safeguarding, community safeguarding and multi-agency intervention.

We are seeking skilled Senior Social Workers to work directly with children, young people and families affected by exploitation, serious youth violence, missing episodes, peer-on-peer harm, online exploitation and other forms of harm occurring beyond the family home.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a progressive service delivering Sheffield's ambitious Risk Outside the Home Strategy and helping shape safer communities for children and young people.

About the Team

The Risk Outside the Home Team has been established to coordinate Sheffield's response to harm occurring in peer groups, schools, neighbourhoods, public spaces and online environments.

Our approach is underpinned by:

• Contextual safeguarding.
• Relationship-based practice.
• Child-centred intervention.
• Trauma-informed approaches.
• Community safeguarding.
• Early intervention and prevention.
• Strengths-based practice with families and communities.

The Role

As a Senior Social Worker, you will hold a complex caseload of children and young people where risks primarily occur outside the family home.

You will:

• Manage complex statutory cases involving exploitation, serious youth violence, missing episodes, online harm and extra-familial risk.
• Complete high-quality assessments that analyse family strengths, contextual risks, peer relationships, locations and online environments.
• Develop and progress Child in Need, Child Protection and Care Planning interventions.
• Deliver direct work with children, young people and families using relationship-based and trauma-informed approaches.
• Work collaboratively with police, education, health, youth justice and community partners.
• Contribute to contextual mapping, disruption activity and safety planning.
• Ensure children and young people are actively involved in assessment, planning and decision-making.
• Chair or contribute to multi‑agency meetings where appropriate.
• Maintain clear, analytical and timely recording and reporting.
• Support reflective discussion and shared learning within the team.

What We Are Looking For

• Qualified Social Worker with Social Work England registration.
• Relevant post-qualifying experience in Children's Social Care.
• Experience working with adolescents affected by exploitation, missing episodes, contextual safeguarding concerns or serious youth violence.
• Strong risk assessment and analytical skills.
• Excellent relationship-building and engagement skills.
• Sound knowledge of statutory safeguarding responsibilities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Commitment to anti-oppressive and inclusive practice.
• Experience of contextual safeguarding approaches.
• Experience of disruption planning and multi‑agency safeguarding activity.
• Experience supporting colleagues, students or newly qualified social workers through informal mentoring.
• Knowledge of community safeguarding and place‑based approaches.

What Success Looks Like

You will:

• Improve outcomes for children affected by exploitation and extra‑familial harm.
• Support children to develop safer relationships and stronger support networks.
• Contribute to earlier identification of risk and vulnerability.
• Strengthen multi‑agency safeguarding and disruption activity.
• Help reduce exploitation, missing episodes and serious youth violence.
• Support families and communities to play an active role in safeguarding.

Why Join Sheffield?

By joining the Risk Outside the Home Team you will:

• Be part of a specialist and innovative service.
• Receive high-quality supervision and professional support.
• Develop specialist expertise in contextual safeguarding and adolescent practice.
• Work alongside highly skilled professionals and partner agencies.

Play a significant role in delivering lasting change for children, families

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form. Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we’ll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Find out more on our Sheff news page.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyoneand where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.