Independent Reviewing Officer

ESPO Trading Limited; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 53,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days annual leave + bank holidays

Pension scheme 17.9%

Smart Working

Employee Assistance Programme

Discounts at local facilities

Job summary

Nottingham City Council is seeking an Independent Reviewing Officer to chair statutory reviews for children in care and provide independent scrutiny of care plans. The role involves working with families, colleagues and partner agencies to improve outcomes for young people while ensuring compliance with legislation and guidance.

You will influence practice at a strategic level through quality assurance and learning across Children's Services, drawing on extensive safeguarding and care planning

Qualifications

• Professional qualification in Social Work.
• Current Social Work England registration.
• Minimum three years' experience as a social care practitioner with children and families.
• Knowledge of the Children Act 2004 and related guidance.
• Significant safeguarding and care planning experience.
• Strong analytical, assessment and risk management skills.
• Experience chairing multi-agency meetings and influencing practice.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Commitment to equality and delivering high-quality child-centred services.
• English language requirement and DBS check for this post.

Responsibilities

• Chair statutory reviews and other key meetings for children in care, ensuring plans remain child-centred and compliant with legislation.
• Provide independent scrutiny of care plans and monitor professional practice.
• Collaborate with colleagues, partner agencies and families to improve outcomes for children and young people.
• Lead quality assurance activities, audits and workforce development to promote learning across services.

Skills

Social Work

England Registration

Child welfare

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Multi-cultural experience

Chairing meetings

Education

Professional qualification in Social Work

Job description

Salary: Starting Salary is £53,051 (Level one) rising to £56,293 ‘pro rata for part-time’

Location:Loxley House. Station Road. Nottingham. NG2 3NG

We’ve got an exciting opportunity available for talented individuals to join our workforce - perhaps this is the opportunity you’ve been looking for? Read on to find out more…

Working for Nottingham City Council has great benefits. As well as competitive pay, great leave entitlement and access to a generous pension scheme, we strive to create an innovative, inclusive and progressive work culture where everyone is supported to do and be their very best.

In return, we are looking for people like you - people who are innovative, driven and committed to serving and improving Nottingham. So, if you are passionate about making a difference to the lives of those who live and work in our city, we want to hear from you.

* You can read more about the different benefits offered to colleagues working for Nottingham City Council here .

About the Role

As an Independent Reviewing Officer, you will chair statutory reviews and other key meetings for children in care, ensuring plans remain child-centred, outcome-focused and compliant with legislation and statutory guidance. You will provide independent scrutiny of care plans, monitor professional practice and work collaboratively with colleagues, partner agencies and families to improve outcomes for children and young people.

This role offers the opportunity to influence practice at a strategic level through quality assurance activity, auditing, workforce development and the promotion of learning across Children's Services.

About You

You will be a confident practitioner who can appropriately challenge practice when required, manage complex information, make sound decisions and work collaboratively to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and young people. You will be passionate about promoting excellent social work practice and creating a culture of learning and continuous improvement.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Professional qualification in Social Work
• Current Social Work England registration
• Substantial experience (minimum three years) as a social care practitioner with children and families in a multi-cultural environment.
• Detailed knowledge of children's legislation, including the Children Act 2004 and associated guidance.
• Significant experience of safeguarding practice and care planning.
• Strong analytical, assessment and risk management skills.
• Experience of chairing multi-agency meetings and influencing professional practice.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• A commitment to equality, diversity and delivering high-quality child-centred services.
• This post is covered by the statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) (English Language Requirement for public sector workers) and therefore the ability to speak fluent English, is an essential requirement for the role.
• A DBS enhanced check for a regulated activity is required for this post.

You can find the job description for this post here [link will be added]

At Nottingham City Council we believe that work is what you do, not where you do it. We offer different working arrangements, depending on the role, including hybrid working. Further information on Worker Types and what these mean in terms of how and where you work can be found on the additional information for applicants page.

For informal enquiriesplease contact [manager’s name, job title], by telephone on [telephone number] or by email at [email address].

Closing Date: 06/10/2026

Please note there may be occasions where we close the advert before the closing date and we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Interviews will be held:13/10/2026

If you have any technical issues when completing your application, please contact our Employee Service Centre: https://emss.org.uk/support

Thank you for your interest in working for Nottingham City Council. As one of the largest employers in Nottingham we offer a wide range of roles across a range of services. In return for your skill, drive and commitment to serving the people of Nottingham, we can help you to develop an exciting and rewarding career, with access to the following benefits.

In addition to working within a great team and a competitive salary you will have access to:

• 26 days annual leave (rising to 33 days after 5 years’ service)+ bank holidays with the ability to buy additional leave annually
• Access to a generous, defined benefit pension scheme offering17.9%
• Smart Working – to support your work life balance
• Health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounted membership at selected local sports and fitness centres, cinema, shopping and much more!

Nottingham City Council is committed to recruiting a talented workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We are a fair, inclusive and Disability Confident Employer, welcoming applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and abilities. We recruit for diversity and value difference.

If you are a disabled candidate and wish to be considered under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this within your application. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and employment journey.

We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and welcome applications from serving personnel, veterans, reservists and military families.

We particularly want to hear from you if you are from Minority Ethnic communities, identify within the LGBTQ+ community, or are disabled. These groups are currently underrepresented in our workforce, and we are committed to better reflecting the communities we serve.

We are supportive of flexible working arrangements wherever possible and encourage candidates to discuss this with us during the recruitment process.

• Job Identification 8628
• Posting Date 09/21/2026, 11:15 AM
• Locations Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG, GB