Qualified Social Worker - Safeguarding Team

West Northants Council; Northampton; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

West Northamptonshire Council's Adult Social Care is recruiting an experienced social worker for its specialist Safeguarding Team, focusing on short, high-impact safeguarding work with providers and the people of West Northamptonshire.

You'll undertake safeguarding enquiries, perform preventative work, assess risk, and work to improve practice across the local care market. The role is mainly hybrid, with regular attendance at office and provider sites.

Qualifications

• Has safeguarding experience and is confident leading enquiries and managing risk.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities.
• Demonstrates strong analytical skills and professional curiosity.
• Can build effective relationships with providers while maintaining challenge.
• Confident working both independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent communication and organisational skills.
• A driving licence and access to a vehicle is essential.

Responsibilities

• Undertaking safeguarding enquiries and preventative work.
• Analyse risk and work with providers to improve practice.
• Engage with providers and the people who use these services.
• Work in a fast-paced, high-impact safeguarding environment.

Skills

Safeguarding experience

Leading enquiries

Risk management

Analytical skills

Professional curiosity

Relationship building with providers

Independent and team working

Communication and organisational

Driving licence

Education

Social Work degree

Tools

Driving licence

Job description

West Northamptonshire Council's Adult Social Care service is continuing its transformation, placing people, communities and high quality practice at the centre of everything we do. This is an exciting opportunity to join a specialist Safeguarding Team as an experienced and knowledgeable Social Worker, where we have a specific focus to work with health and social care providers to both prevent and reduce the risk of abuse and neglect. In this role, you will be undertaking Safeguarding Enquiries, completing preventative work and working with Providers and the people of West Northamptonshire. Engagement with Providers and the people who use these services is key, we want someone who wants to get out there and see what is really going on. This role is different from traditional social work positions. You will not hold long term caseloads. Instead, you will focus on short term, high impact safeguarding work, investigating concerns, analysing risk and working with providers to improve practice and prevent future issues. You will join a highly experienced and supportive team that works at pace, values professional curiosity, and plays a key role in improving the quality and safety of services across the local care market. Working is mainly hybrid with a requirement to attend the office and provider sites regularly. A driving licence and access to a vehicle is essential. Additional information You will be a qualified Social Worker, registered with Social Work England, with experience of working in adult social care and safeguarding. Above all, you will be motivated by making a difference not just to individuals, but to the quality and safety of services across the wider system. We are looking for someone who:

• Has experience within safeguarding and is confident leading enquiries and managing risk
• Is comfortable working in a fast paced environment with competing priorities
• Demonstrates strong analytical skills and professional curiosity
• Can build effective relationships with providers while maintaining appropriate challenge
• Is confident working both independently and as part of a team
• Has excellent communication and organisational skills

You will also bring:

• A proactive and solution focused approach
• Resilience and the ability to manage complex and sometimes pressured situations
• A genuine commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable adults

We are looking for someone who is not only looking for their next challenge, but is enthusiastic about what they could achieve in this role and who is driven to use their experience in adult social care to make a difference. If you are self motivated, organised, a good report writer, confident in decision making and you have a passion for working with providers, partners and individuals to ensure that services are safe then we'd love to hear from you!

At West Northants Council, it's about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people. Our vision is 'to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive'. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services. We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain.

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West Northants Council, where careers thrive.