Consultant Social Worker

The Methodist Church in Britain; West Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 42,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave and holidays

Pension scheme with employer contrib.

Volunteering & Wellbeing Day

Agile working

Vivup benefits & discounts

Job summary

The Methodist Church in Britain is recruiting a permanent part-time Consultant Social Worker for the Family Connect team. This senior practitioner role focuses on safeguarding inquiries, mentoring social workers, and authorising work while escalating concerns as needed.

The role is office-based with potential for home working after induction. Current Social Work England registration and substantial safeguarding experience are required to lead multi‑agency work and ensure safe, restorative

Qualifications

• Recognised professional social work qualification.
• Current Social Work England registration.
• Significant safeguarding experience.

Responsibilities

• Model reflective, ethical safeguarding practice in line with Warwickshire Practice Framework.
• Provide mentoring, coaching and specialist practice guidance to social workers and child and family advisors.
• Demonstrate restorative, strengths-based and relationship-led practice to improve outcomes for children and families.
• Provide management oversight and screening direction.
• Allocate and authorise work.
• Escalate safeguarding concerns to the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team for threshold decisions and strategy discussions.
• Facilitate group supervision and targeted one-to-one sessions.
• Apply a strengths-based understanding of risk, safe uncertainty and risk management, working restoratively with families in crisis.

Skills

Decision-making

Mentoring

Relationship-led practice

Multi-agency collaboration

Restorative practice

Safeguarding

Education

Registered Social Worker (Social Work England)

Job description

Permanent part-time Consultant Social Worker in the Family Connect team, the single point of contact for children's safeguarding enquiries and referrals in the county. The post models reflective, strengths-based practice, mentors social workers and child and family advisors, allocates and authorises work and escalates concerns to the child protection team. It is office-based with no direct work with families, though home working may follow induction, and it suits an experienced social worker seeking a senior practitioner role. Current Social Work England registration and significant safeguarding experience are required.

What the job involves

• Model reflective, ethical safeguarding practice in line with the Warwickshire Practice Framework
• Provide mentoring, coaching and specialist practice guidance to social workers and child and family advisors
• Demonstrate restorative, strengths-based and relationship-led practice to improve outcomes for children and families
• Provide management oversight and screening direction
• Allocate and authorise work
• Escalate safeguarding concerns to the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team for threshold decisions and strategy discussions
• Facilitate group supervision and targeted one-to-one sessions
• Apply a strengths-based understanding of risk, safe uncertainty and risk management, working restoratively with families in crisis

Qualifications

• Recognised professional social work qualification

Registration & licences

• Current Social Work England registration

Experience

• Significant experience of safeguarding children and working with families
• Experience within complex and high-risk contexts

Skills & knowledge

• Confident, proportionate and well-informed decision-making using Warwickshire's Spectrum of Support
• Understanding of thresholds and appropriate escalation of concerns
• Calm, reflective and approachable manner that inspires confidence and trust
• Resilience, organisation and professional curiosity in a fast-paced, high-volume environment
• Working effectively in multi-agency and multidisciplinary partnerships
• Modelling restorative and strengths-based practice and supporting a culture of learning

Checks & eligibility

• Relevant Disclosure and Barring Service check

Other

• Ability to speak and give advice in accurate spoken English to the public

What’s offered

• Full reimbursement of the annual Social Work England registration fee
• Volunteering & Wellbeing Day
• Generous annual leave, bank holidays and an additional Christmas closure day
• Refer a Friend scheme for eligible roles
• Generous pension scheme with employer contribution typically around 19 percent
• Agile working
• Access to Vivup benefits and discounts platform
• Supervision focused on wellbeing and manageable workloads