Designated Social Care Officer - Internal

Barnet Council; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS

Flexible working policy

Training & development

Employee well-being

Job summary

Barnet Council is seeking an experienced Designated Social Care Officer (DSCO) to shape and drive social care elements of the SEND agenda. You will lead priorities within the SEND Strategy, ensuring compliant, high-quality outcomes for children and young people with SEND and their families.

The role requires strategic thinking, strong partnerships, and expert guidance on SEND reforms, with a focus on improving practice and delivering innovative solutions across the council.

Qualifications

• Significant knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice and the national SEND reforms agenda.
• Extensive experience within children’s social care and/or SEND services.
• Strong understanding of statutory responsibilities relating to SEND and social care.
• Excellent relationship-management, influencing, and negotiation skills.
• Experience of leading change, service improvement, and partnership working across organisational boundaries.
• Ability to analyse complex information and use insight to inform strategic decision-making.
• Commitment to co-production and person-centred approaches.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for the social care elements of the SEND Strategy across the local authority.
• Ensure compliance with statutory requirements and best practice guidance relating to SEND and social care.
• Influence and shape the development of wider SEND services through analysis, intelligence, and professional expertise.
• Drive continuous improvement by strengthening social care practice and developing effective solutions to emerging issues.
• Build, maintain, and nurture strong partnerships with colleagues, schools, health partners, families, and other key stakeholders.
• Champion co-production, ensuring children, young people, and families are actively involved in shaping services.
• Act as the council's expert adviser on SEND reforms and social care, keeping abreast of national developments and evidence-based practice.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Partnership building

Influencing and negotiation

Communication

Change leadership

Data analysis

Co-production

Job description

Job Description

This position is open to internal candidates employed by LBB. Any applications received from external candidates will not be considered and will be automatically rejected.

Important Information for Current Barnet Council Employees

Where possible, employees who have access to Oracle are encouraged to apply via the Opportunity Marketplace (Internal Career Site). This helps to ensure applications are correctly identified as internal and avoids potential delays during the recruitment process.

About Barnet Council

Barnet is a borough with much to be proud of. Our excellent schools, vibrant town centres, vast green spaces and diverse communities all help make it a great place to live and work. As a council we want to build on these strengths as we move into the future. We are growing and developing as an organisation to meet the challenges facing our borough and we are committed to working with partner organisations and residents to make Barnet even better. As an organisation, our staff are committed to Our Values: Learning to Improve, Caring, Inclusive, Collaborative - which drive everything we do.

About The Role

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Designated Social Care Officer (DSCO) to play a pivotal role in shaping and driving the social care elements of Barnet's Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) agenda.

As the DSCO, you will lead the development and implementation of social care priorities within the local authority's SEND Strategy, ensuring compliance and supporting the delivery of high-quality outcomes for children and young people with SEND and their families.

This is a highly influential role, providing expert leadership, intelligence, and insight to inform the direction of SEND services across the council. You will use your extensive knowledge of both social care and the SEND reforms agenda to strengthen practice, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop innovative solutions to complex challenges.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for the social care elements of the SEND Strategy across the local authority.
• Ensure compliance with statutory requirements and best practice guidance relating to SEND and social care.
• Influence and shape the development of wider SEND services through analysis, intelligence, and professional expertise.
• Drive continuous improvement by strengthening social care practice and developing effective solutions to emerging issues.
• Build, maintain, and nurture strong partnerships with colleagues, schools, health partners, families, and other key stakeholders.
• Champion co-production, ensuring children, young people, and families are actively involved in shaping services.
• Act as the council's expert adviser on SEND reforms and social care, keeping abreast of national developments and evidence-based practice.

About You

We are looking for an exceptional professional who combines strategic thinking with strong partnership-building skills. You will be an effective communicator, capable of influencing and negotiating at all levels, and passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

You will have:

• Significant knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice and the national SEND reforms agenda.
• Extensive experience within children’s social care and/or SEND services.
• A strong understanding of statutory responsibilities relating to SEND and social care.
• Excellent relationship-management, influencing, and negotiation skills.
• Experience of leading change, service improvement, and partnership working across organisational boundaries.
• The ability to analyse complex information and use insight to inform strategic decision-making.
• A commitment to co-production and person‑centred approaches.

What We Offer

• 31 days annual leave, plus public and bank holidays
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme , which provides a valuable guaranteed income in your retirement together with security for your dependents
• A comprehensive Flexible Working Policy which supports work-life balance by empowering staff and management to make decisions around when, where, and how work is done
• A vast range of lifestyle discounts from major retailers, supermarkets, energy suppliers and more
• Broad range of payroll benefits including cycle to work, eye care vouchers, travel and gym membership
• Excellent training and development opportunities
• Employee well- being training programs including confidential employee assistance

System notice:

Some dates shown on our online application system (such as "Apply Before") appear in US date format (MM/DD/YYYY) due to Oracle system settings.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a useful tool to support your application as a reasonable adjustment, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn, escalated to counter Fraud for further investigation and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Barnet Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Barnet operates stringent safer recruitment procedures, this may include AI Detection Screening, Biometric ID/Right to Work Checks, Qualification and Registration Checks, Up to 6 years of Employment Data and Insights to Accelerate Screening (Konfir), Up to 5 years of Employment History References, DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) Checks, Credit Checks and Social Media, Sanctions and Occupational Health Screening.

To deliver Barnet Council’s commitment to equality of opportunity in the provision of services, all staff are expected to promote equality in the workplace and in the services the Council delivers. As such we value diversity and welcome applications from all backgrounds.

Barnet Council embraces all forms of flexible working (including part-time, compressed hours, and hybrid working) and is committed to offering employees a healthy work-life balance. Candidates are encouraged to talk about relevant requirements and preferences at interview. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking.

Barnet Council is a Disability Confident Committed Employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme, further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply

All posts with the council are subject to a probationary period of six months, during which time you will be required to demonstrate to the council satisfaction your suitability for the position in which you will be employed.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close vacancies before the stated closing date if sufficient number of applications are received. Therefore, please apply as soon as possible.

Please ensure you regularly check the email account (including JUNK MAIL folders) that you use to submit your application, as any further communication regarding your application will be sent electronically. Should you not hear from us within four working weeks of the closing date for this post, then regretfully in this instance, you have not been shortlisted.