Lead Child Protection Practitioner

Milton Keynes City Council; England; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government organization is seeking a Lead Child Protection Practitioner to join their Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams in the UK. In this site-based role, you will oversee safeguarding practices, provide consultations on complex cases, and mentor social workers. The ideal candidate will be a qualified social worker with a strong background in child protection. This position offers excellent benefits including generous holiday allowances and a robust pension scheme.

Benefits

28 days annual leave, increasing to 32 after five years

National Local Government Pension Scheme

Enhanced maternity, adoption, and paternity support

Employee benefits program including health cash plan

Salary sacrifice car scheme

Blue Light Card discounts

Ability to purchase additional holiday leave

Qualifications

• Significant experience in child protection and statutory services.
• Ability to make sound decisions in complex situations.
• Commitment to anti-discriminatory and inclusive practice.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert advice on complex child protection cases.
• Chair key safeguarding meetings and oversee Child Protection Plans.
• Supervise and mentor social workers, ensuring high practice standards.

Skills

Child protection

Social work

Communication

Team collaboration

Organizational skills

Education

Qualified social worker registered with Social Work England

Job description

A rewarding opportunity for a Lead Child Protection Practitioner to join our new Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams starting in March 2026, part of our Child First, Family Led approach.

Our Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams are based within Children’s Services and work together to safeguard and protect children and young people across the city. The teams bring together professionals from different agencies to provide timely, coordinated support for families in need.

As a Lead Child Protection Practitioner, you’ll be at the forefront of safeguarding practice—providing expert consultation on complex cases, chairing child protection conferences and strategic multi-agency meetings, setting and driving high practice standards, and mentoring colleagues to deliver effective, timely interventions that make a real difference for children and families.

It’s a great time to join us as we launch this new integrated approach, designed to strengthen collaboration and improve outcomes for children.

This will be a non-case holding role. Candidates will need a strong background in child protection and social work, and a DBS check is essential for this role.

This is a site-based role

Interviews for this role will be held on 13 and 14 January

Milton Keynes City Council is a modern and friendly place to work. Find out more about working with us here: www.mkcounciljobs.org.uk

Main Responsibility

• Provide expert advice and guidance on complex child protection cases and support colleagues across multi-agency teams.
• Carry out assessments and develop and review Child Protection Plans including Risk Outside of the Home (ROTH) plans, with families and professionals to keep children safe.
• Chair key safeguarding meetings, including strategy discussions and Child Protection Conferences.
• Oversee and quality assure Section 47 enquiries and Child Protection Plans, ensuring timely and effective responses to reduce the risk of drift and delay. Deliver child protection training and reflective sessions to support professional development within the team.
• Supervise and mentor social workers, ensuring high practice standards and compliance with regulations.
• Deputise for the Team Manager, where required.

The Ideal Candidate

• A qualified social worker, registered with Social Work England, with significant experience in child protection and statutory services.
• Dedicated to safeguarding children, can make sound decisions in high-risk and complex situations.
• A social worker committed to trauma informed and systemic practice with a strong commitment to anti discriminatory and inclusive practice.
• An innovative and reflective practitioner who is committed to continuous learning and service improvement.
• A strong communicator who can build positive relationships with children, families, and professionals across multiple agencies.
• A collaborative team player who works well in a multi-agency environment.
• Highly organised, able to manage competing priorities and maintain high practice standards under pressure.
• To be successful in this role, you’ll need a full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle. If you’re offered the position, we’ll ask for proof of your licence and vehicle insurance, including business use cover. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to confirm your appointment without these documents.
• If you’re offered the role, we’ll arrange an Enhanced DBS check as part of our pre-employment process (unless you’re already registered with the DBS Update Service).

Package Description

In addition to your salary, we offer a range of benefits including:

• Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32days after five years. In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.
• Excellent pension – everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.
• A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support and a childcare subsidy.
• Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.
• Salary sacrifice car scheme – low-cost leasing of electric and low emission vehicles.
• Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.

Why join us? Along with more on our Benefits, discover why Working at the City Council could be the right move for you here

Our roles are either designated ‘site based’ or ‘home based’. ‘Site based’ roles can include up to two days a week working from home whilst ‘home based’ roles are based at home four days a week. Of course, managers designate which category roles are in based on the needs of the service and the circumstances.

About The Organisation

Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live.

We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference.

We’re very proud of our diversity and are committed to having a workforce that reflects the community we serve. Whatever your background, you will be welcome here if you share our values of being dedicated, respectful and collaborative.

We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it’s time for a new role.

If you’d like to know more about how we do things and what matters to us, take a look at short booklet What makes us Milton Keynes City Council.