Experienced Social Worker - Private Fostering and Youth homeless NEW Rochdale Council Posted to[...]

Rochdale Borough Council; Rochdale; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

Rochdale Borough Council seeks an Experienced Specialist Social Worker to join their Children's Services team. This role focuses on Private Fostering and Youth Homelessness, involving assessment, intervention, and advocacy for vulnerable children and young people. A competitive salary up to £45,718, along with great benefits including professional development opportunities and flexible working, awaits the successful candidate.

Benefits

Highly competitive salary with retention bonus

Hybrid and flexible working

Professional development opportunities

Career progression pathway

Attractive pension scheme

Staff recognition awards

Mileage payment and parking scheme

31 days annual leave with option to buy more

Paid professional fees

Staff discounts

Qualifications

• Experience in social work with vulnerable children
• Understanding of homelessness legal frameworks for youths
• Ability to conduct statutory assessments under the Children Act

Responsibilities

• Lead on private fostering assessments for informal care arrangements.
• Provide support to 16- and 17-year-olds facing homelessness.
• Collaborate with various professionals to deliver child-focused services.

Skills

Knowledge of private fostering regulations

Emotional support

Collaboration with housing teams

Advocacy for young people

Job description

To apply for this job please upload your CV together with a supporting statement that provides evidence of how you meet the essential requirements of the person specification. Please include reference to your qualifications that are specified on the person specification within your CV/supporting statement. Please ensure you anonymise your CV and supporting statement.

Experienced Specialist Social Worker Post Salary up to £45,718 per annum

Are you passionate about protecting vulnerable children and supporting young people through critical life transitions? Do you thrive in a fast-paced, purposeful environment where your decisions matter?

Do you have a strong working knowledge of private fostering regulations and the legal frameworks surrounding homeless 16/17-year-old? If so you may be the social worker we are looking for.

We are offering an exciting opportunity for an experienced and motivated Social Worker to join our dynamic Children’s Services team in a newly developed specialist role focussed on Private Fostering and Youth Homelessness.

This is more than just a job it’s a chance to shape the future of young lives when they need it most

What You’ll Do

• Take the lead on private fostering assessments, ensuring every child in informal care arrangements is safe, supported, and thriving.
• Provide frontline intervention to 16- and 17-year-olds facing homelessness, offering practical solutions, emotional support, and long-term planning.
• Work collaboratively with housing teams, health professionals, schools, and families to deliver holistic, child-focused services.
• Carry out statutory assessments under the Children Act, identify needs, and deliver meaningful care plans that change lives.
• Advocate for young people in crisis, helping them find stability, safety, and a voice in a system designed to protect them.
• Work alongside our partner agencies in promoting and developing an understanding of private fostering within the community ensuring that all children who are in such an arrangement are referred through to EHASH.
• You will report directly to the strategic lead for private fostering and youth homelessness.

About us

Here at Rochdale Borough Council, we are committed to supporting our children and young people to live in a borough where they can grow, get on and live well.

Our dedicated teams ensure they feel safe, healthy, successful and heard too, and we are incredibly proud, passionate and pioneering in the way our services are delivered.

Everyone here plays a valued role in achieving this as we work closely with residents to deliver real positive progress and support them to achieve the best possible outcomes as part of our Raising Rochdale ethos.

We always have lots of great things happening in our borough and we never stand still so this is a great time to join our team and succeed at Rochdale.

We offer lots of training and supervision alongside help and guidance to build positive relationships with our children, young people and their families.

We would love for you to join us and if you would like to speak to a member of our team about this role and our wider opportunities, just email [e-mail] with your name and number and we’ll give you a call.

We reward you with great benefits:

• Highly competitive salary with an opportunity to earn up to £1,000 extra, every year (£500 retention payment every six months)
• Hybrid and flexible working
• Excellent continuous professional development opportunities
• Exciting career progression pathway
• An attractive pension
• Staff recognition awards and celebration events
• Visible and supportive leadership
• Mileage payment and town centre parking scheme
• Up to 31 days annual leave with an option to buy more
• Paid for Social Work England professional fees
• Staff discount at popular retail and leisure sites

Other benefits

• Work in a modern, award-winning building
• Be conveniently located next to the Metrolink, bus exchange and a short walk from Rochdale train station
• You’re also a 10-minute drive from the M62 corridor

What our colleagues say

Our social workers say Rochdale Council is a great place to work and their managers are supportive, approachable and listen to their ideas. Here are some further comments from our social workers...

• ‘We work in friendly, supportive, multidisciplinary teams’
• ‘There are lots of easy to access training opportunities to learn and aid career development’
• ‘We have lots of community resources available to support families'
• ‘We are based right in the town centre office, next to M&S and close to local services’

We are making positive progress in terms of our ways to work with children, young people and families as work to deliver better outcomes for all. We are empathetic and listen to our families as we build on their strengths to work towards agreed goals.

At Rochdale Borough Council we are committed to our Values and Behaviours.

• Proud of the difference we make
• Passionate about the diversities of the Borough
• Pioneering and Open in our Approach

We look forward to hearing from you about which of our friendly teams that best fits your expertise come and join Team Rochdale.

As part of our safeguarding commitment to promoting the welfare of our children, young people and vulnerable adults, appointment to this post is subject to an enhanced DBS including a barred list check child workforce.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer a sponsorship for this role at this stage.

This organisation has signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment. This means we will recognise your continuous or ‘unbroken’ service in any Greater Manchester local authority or NHS organisation, Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service or Greater Manchester Combined Authority; giving you access to our service-related benefits.

Job description and person specification
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