Consultant Social worker – EK

Carrington Blake Recruitment; Chichester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Carrington Blake Recruitment seeks an experienced social work leader to direct the development and delivery of regional fostering practice guidance and a cohesive training framework. You will lead recruitment, assessment and approval processes, embedding a new regional service model with autonomy and regional travel.

You will write authoritative guidance, design training materials and deliver sessions in person and remotely, collaborating with managers and teams to ensure standards are practical

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Worker with current registration.
• Significant regional leadership experience in children’s social care.
• Direct experience in fostering practice including recruitment, assessment and approval.
• Proven ability to write clear guidance and develop training materials.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and rollout of regional standardised fostering practice guidance.
• Design and deliver a standardised regional training curriculum for fostering recruitment, assessment and approval.
• Facilitate in-person and remote training sessions across the region.
• Provide expert guidance to teams for implementing the regional fostering service model.
• Review practices against regulatory guidance and update materials accordingly.
• Collaborate with fostering managers and staff to ensure practical, accessible guidance.
• Manage workload and deliver outputs on agreed timelines.
• Monitor uptake and impact of training, refining the offer over time.

Skills

Leadership

Fostering practice

Training design

Guidance writing

Independent working

Travel readiness

Education

Social Worker qualification

Job description

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and dedicated social work professional to lead the development and delivery of consistent, high-quality practice and training across our regional fostering service. This is an exciting opportunity to shape how we recruit, assess, approve and support foster carers, bringing uniformity and best practice to teams across the area.

You will be the driving force behind creating standardised regional practice guidance and designing a cohesive training framework covering the full fostering lifecycle—recruitment, assessment and approval. Working autonomously as a self-starter, you will move work forward at pace, while building strong relationships with colleagues and delivering training and workshops face-to-face as well as providing home-based leadership and support. A key part of your remit will be to embed and sustain the implementation of our new Regional Fostering service model.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development, writing and rollout of regional standardised practice guidance for fostering, ensuring alignment with statutory requirements, best practice and organisational policies.
• Design, create and deliver a standardised regional training curriculum and resources focused specifically on fostering recruitment, assessment and approval processes.
• Facilitate training sessions, workshops and practice forums—both in-person across the region and via remote platforms to upskill staff and ensure consistent application of standards.
• Provide expert practice guidance and support to teams to enable effective implementation of the Regional Fostering service.
• Review existing practices alongside evidence and regulatory guidance to identify gaps, propose improvements and update materials on an ongoing basis.
• Work collaboratively with fostering managers, social work teams and carer support staff to ensure guidance and training are practical, accessible and fit for purpose.
• Manage your own workload effectively, delivering outputs to agreed timelines and adapting quickly to changing priorities.
• Monitor the take-up and impact of training and guidance, gathering feedback to refine and develop our offer over time.

Person Specification

Essential Qualifications & Experience

• Qualified Social Worker with a current, valid registration with Social Work England (or equivalent devolved regulator).
• Significant experience working in a Principal Social Worker role or above, or an equivalent senior leadership practice position within children’s social care.
• Direct, in-depth experience of fostering practice—including recruitment, assessment, approval, matching, support or fostering service management.
• Proven ability to write clear, authoritative guidance, procedures and practice resources.
• Experience of designing and delivering training, workshops or practice development sessions to groups of professionals.
• Ability to work independently from home, manage your own priorities and deliver work at pace without daily supervision.
• Willingness and availability to travel across the region regularly to attend meetings and facilitate in-person training.
• Strong knowledge of relevant fostering legislation, statutory guidance and national standards.

Desirable Skills & Attributes

• Experience of leading practice development or service transformation initiatives.
• Knowledge of regional or national fostering frameworks and initiatives.
• Experience of co-producing materials with foster carers, children and families.
• Ability to use digital platforms for training delivery, communication and collaborative working.
• Strong influencing and engagement skills, able to build trust and drive consistency across dispersed teams.