Senior Practitioner

Fife Council; Kirkcaldy; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Scotland seeks a skilled social worker to join their Enhanced Children and Families Team. The role focuses on Child Protection and planning for children subject to supervision orders. Candidates must have a Diploma in Social Work and significant experience in child protection. The position offers competitive salaries, generous annual leave, and opportunities for professional development in a supportive environment.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Blended working arrangements

Local Government pension scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in a relevant social work setting.
• Knowledge of Child and Adult Protection guidelines.
• Ability to travel throughout Fife.

Responsibilities

• Lead Child Protection assessments and planning.
• Support and supervise social workers and assistants.
• Ensure positive outcomes for children and families.

Skills

Child Protection knowledge

Negotiation skills

Report writing

Team leadership

Professional supervision

Education

Diploma in Social Work or equivalent

Job description

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Job Description

Proposed Interview Date: Week commencing 19 January 2026 Closing Date: Sunday 11 January 2026 Contract Type: Permanent Salary: FC9 £45,990.00 - £55,263.09 Working Pattern: 36 hours per week Location: Kirkcaldy (travel throughout Fife will be required)

Supporting Statement

As part of your application, you must provide us with a Supporting Statement which outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy. For more information, check out the How to Apply section of our Career Site. Without a Supporting Statement, your application will not be progressed. Please upload your Supporting Statement at the section marked 'upload resumé'. Your Supporting Statement must not be a CV. More information is available on our Career site at www.fife.gov.uk/jobs/supportingstatement.

Job Details

Fife Council has just undergone an exciting redesign as part of Fife's vision to deliver accessible and available services at the right time to children, young people, families and carers. This has been informed by national and local policy which looks for our teams to be child focused, strength based, and trauma informed.

This exciting opportunity is to work within the Enhanced Children and Families Team which has a Lead for children's planning for children and young people subject to a Compulsory Supervision Order at home, foster care, kinship care, residential care, including secure placements. This role varies with focus on parenting capacity assessments to support care planning, permanence planning as well as reviewing plans which may lead to the potential reunification of families.

The senior roles take on a lead of Child Protection & Permanence and will be responsible, in conjunction with the Team Manager to support the team to deliver a quality service to the children and families we work with. You will undertake initial assessments, develop Child's Plans which are co-produced with families as part of a relational approach, you will identify, assess and manage risk as well as Safety Plan for our children and young people at risk of significant harm. You will undertake assessments in order to provide logical and coherently evidenced recommendations to enable children to be with their families wherever possible, or review plans to which may lead to the potential reunification of families.

You will be skilled in providing written reports for Child Protection Case Conferences, LAC Reviews and reports to SCRA with informed recommendations concerning care/action/safety plans and identifying any further actions. You would then utilise this skill to develop and support social workers in the team to increase their confidence in their written skills and assessments. You will have an ability to chair LAC Core Group Meetings and CP Core Group Meetings to ensure there is a clear plan in place, to include the voice of the child, views of the family in a multi-agency forum.

You will be required to undertake professional supervision of Social Workers and Social Work Assistants supporting their professional development and ensuring Council policy and procedures are followed; we want to create a team of autonomous, compassionate workers with a clear vision of keeping children at the centre.

You will be required to work within service processes and procedures to assess and undertake appropriate and relevant planning for children to ensure positive outcomes are completed within timescales. We want to be firmly embedded within The Promise where all our children and young people grow up healthy and safe.

You should have experience in being able to successfully negotiate and liaise with partner agencies to plan interventions and supports for children and their families.

The Children, Families and Justice service is invested in supporting its workforce to be skilled, confident and competent. We offer a range of support to our employee's including:

A commitment to regular and reflective supervision

A culture where your voice matters and opportunities are available to shape how we work together as a service

Bespoke training and a range of career development opportunities, with protected study time equivalent to one working day per month

Generous annual leave and "blended working" arrangements with home-working opportunities and office-working as required.

Competitive salaries

Local Government pension scheme and employee benefits and rewards scheme

The Person

A Diploma in Social Work (or equivalent) qualification is essential, as is registration with the Scottish Social Services Council.

• An accredited post-qualifying award (e.g. Certificate in Child Protection Studies, Mental Health Officer Accreditation, Practice Teacher Award, etc.) or a commitment to work towards achieving this within 2 years of appointment.

• You should have considerable experience in a relevant setting.

• You must have the ability to travel throughout Fife.

• You will have knowledge and understanding of Child and Adult Protection guidelines and information sharing protocols and experience of joint working to achieve common goals.

Before confirming to your appointment, you will be required to obtain PVG scheme membership through Disclosure Scotland.

Further Information

• Role Profile - When preparing your supporting statement, review the role profile and think about how you meet the essential criteria Role Profile

• How We Work Matters - Our employees are expected to display and promote certain behaviours in the workplace. See our How We Work Matters behaviour framework for more information.

• Employee Benefits - Employees have access to a benefits package that offers discounts on a wide range of products and services.

• Directorate Information - Council Department information

• Social Media - Search for more 'Fife Council Jobs' on Facebook or follow us on X @FCJobsOfficial.

• Alternative Formats - Job information can be made available in alternative formats, to make a request please email [e-mail]

For more information, please contact: Elaine Coooper, [e-mail]