Professional Development Officer

Durham County Council; Middlestone Moor; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in North-East England is seeking a Professional Development Officer (Social Work) to join their Adult Care Quality Assurance and Development Team. You will influence the development of the Adult Social Care workforce by reviewing and delivering induction programmes, facilitating decision-making panels, and mentoring staff. The ideal candidate will have a Social Work degree and a knowledge of professional development initiatives. The role offers a competitive salary, generous annual leave, and a flexible working environment.

Benefits

Generous annual leave entitlement (27 days, rising to 32)

Membership of Local Government Pension Scheme

Flexible working arrangements

Qualifications

• Knowledge of current professional development challenges for the AHS workforce.
• Experience in mentoring staff undertaking post-qualification modules.
• Familiarity with engaging with service users.

Responsibilities

• Review, re-design, and deliver induction programmes.
• Provide expert advice in decision-making panels.
• Mentor and support students in practical assessments.

Skills

Knowledge of professional development initiatives

Ability to engage with stakeholders

Collaboration skills

Education

Social Work Degree, DipSW, CQSW, CSS or equivalent

Membership of a professional body

Job description

Adult Care Quality Assurance and Development Team

Professional Development Officer (Social Work)

As the largest local authority in the North‑East this is an exciting opportunity to influence the development and practice of the Adult Social Care workforce in Durham. Using your own experience and practice to influence and shape services you are invited to apply for the permanent Professional Development Officer (Social Work) post within the Quality Assurance and Development Team starting as soon as possible from January 2026.

WHAT IS INVOLVED?

As the postholder you will review, re‑design and deliver induction programmes, supporting documentation and procedures to meet national requirements such as the Assessed and Supported Year in Practice and Licence to Practice.

You will facilitate, provide expert advice, and act as a decision‑maker on a range of panels alongside Strategic Managers, operational staff and team managers. Panels will decide whether Social Workers have demonstrated the requirements of the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment, or for Social Workers and related professionals to demonstrate their practice is at a sufficient level to work as an Approved Mental Health Professional or meet the requirements of progression to a higher‑grade worker.

You will be supporting Operational Managers to ensure effective professional development for the Social Work workforce and related roles.

Key responsibilities

• Providing specialist advice to project steering/management groups.
• Carrying out research, project planning and writing supporting reports.
• Working collaboratively with other teams (for example the Safeguarding Adults Board/Practice Development) to ensure an innovative and timely response to service needs.

You will be required to act as a mentor for staff undertaking post‑qualification modules and Practice Education where team managers are unable to do.

You may need to act as a long‑arm practice educator supporting and assessing the practice of social work students where there is a lack of capacity within teams, unplanned absence of allocated practice educators, breakdown of placements or students with complex learning needs.

We encourage you to contact Lesley Martin, AHS Quality Assurance and Development Team Manager via email at [e-mail] to arrange an informal discussion about the role.

WHAT WILL I NEED?

You will be expected to have a knowledge of current professional development initiatives and challenges facing the AHS workforce; be able to engage and work collaboratively with colleagues, stakeholders and service users and be able to develop social work/care initiatives to ensure you can fulfil the duties and responsibilities of the role.

Required Qualifications

• Social Work Degree, DipSW, CQSW, CSS or equivalent.
• Membership of a professional body (e.g. Social Work England).

Please refer to the attached person specification for the full criteria.

INTERVIEWS

Interviews will be held on the week commencing 26th January 2026.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked‑after young person, care leaver or a veteran.

OUR OFFER TO YOU

We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years’ continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website.

Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION

We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled people and offer support throughout the recruitment process.

HOW TO APPLY

Please note, we do not accept CVs. All applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Use the Person Specification section of the form to clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential (and where possible, desirable) criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted. For guidance on completing your application, visit our website.

If you require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, or via email [e-mail].

All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from [e-mail]. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you don’t miss any updates.

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