Senior Practitioner – CYPPS Quality & Improvement Team

Essex County Counci; Chelmsford; On-site; GBP 48,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking a Senior Practitioner for the CYPPS Quality & Improvement Team in Chelmsford. The role focuses on monitoring and improving service quality for children and young people in externally commissioned services, providing expert supervision, and leading practice improvements across a diverse provider network.

You will mentor staff, manage high-risk cases, and work with partners to promote excellence in care and positive outcomes for children and families, deputising for

Qualifications

• Expert supervision for social workers and development of practice standards.
• Assessment of complex social care needs and development of support for vulnerable people, children and families.
• Working within statutory legal framework, policy and guidance and determining when statutory intervention is required.
• Managing a complex caseload with timely data, reports and presentations.
• Participation in case conferences, court attendance, meetings and statutory reviews.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert supervision and coaching for colleagues to achieve positive change for children, young people and families.
• Duel role: deputising for Team Manager and leading the team and duty services.
• Mentor staff and advise on complex cases to ensure quality practice.
• Build partnerships with council and external partners to support better outcomes.
• Deliver targeted improvements within performance management framework.

Skills

Expert supervision

Mentoring staff

Risk management

Stakeholder relationships

Leadership

Education

Degree, diploma in Social Work, CQSW, CSS or equivalent

Social Work England Registration as a registered social worker

Job description

Senior Practitioner – CYPPS Quality & Improvement Team

Permanent,Full Time

£48,205.00 to £57,98.008 Per Annum

Location:Chelmsford

Working Style: Fixed-base worker

Closing Date: 9th November 2026

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Here in Essex, we continue to raise the bar about practice and our investment in our workforce is second to none. It’s an exciting time to join us having received our 2nd Outstanding Ofsted rating in a row.

The Role

The CYPPS (Children and Young People’s Placement Service) Quality & Improvement Team is at the heart of ensuring that children and young people placed in externally commissioned services receive high-quality, safe and effective care. As a Senior Practitioner, you will take a leading role in monitoring and improving service quality, working closely with providers and professionals to promote excellence in practice and positive outcomes for children and young people.

This is an opportunity to influence and shape quality across a diverse provider network, using your professional expertise to support continuous improvement, provide challenge where required, and champion the voices and experiences of children and young people. Through partnership working, quality assurance and a commitment to high standards, you will contribute to ensuring every placement provides the care, stability and support that children need to flourish.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Children & Families

Please take a look at our‘No Magic’ Children & Families video

The Opportunity

Children and Families is recognised as a service in which social work can develop and prosper, with a culture of collaboration, integrity and compassion; promoting development and wellbeing of children, young people and their families; protecting them from neglect and abuse.Working together with partners delivering a range of early help, family support and effective social work interventions which build resilience, remove barriers and enable children and young people to look forward to a brighter future.

A Senior Practitioner manages a complex caseload and provides expert supervision and coaching for colleagues, to achieve positive change for children, young people and families. Deputising for the Team Manager, leading the team and management of duty services.

An experienced social work practitioner, able to manage higher levels of risk, mentor and advise staff, manage performance and deliver improvements. Building strong working relationships with key partners and stakeholders is essential.

Accountabilities

• Responsible for providing a source of expert advice and professional supervision for social workers and contributing to the development of practice standards.
• Accountable for assessment of complex social care needs and development of support for vulnerable people, children and families.
• Accountable for working within the statutory legal framework, policy and guidance and determining when the threshold for statutory intervention has been reached.
• Responsible for managing a complex caseload, maintaining accurate and timely data, reports and presentations as required.
• Participates in a range of case conferences, court attendance, meetings and statutory
• reviews, pro-actively taking the lead when a social care perspective is required.
• Accountable for conducting assessments and plan responses to safeguard and promote a child’s welfare including appropriate intervention as determined by need.
• Builds strong effective working relationships across the Council, with partners and members of voluntary agencies to help people get the best start in life and age well.
• Delivers a high level of expertise in particular areas of practice and leads on those areas, contributing to the development.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Degree, diploma in Social Work, CQSW, CSS or equivalent.
• Social Work England Registration as a registered social worker
• Responsible for providing a source of expert advice and professional supervision for social workers and contributing to the development of practice standards.
• Accountable for assessment of complex social care needs and development of support for vulnerable people, children and families.
• Accountable for working within the statutory legal framework, policy and guidance and determining when the threshold for statutory intervention has been reached.
• Responsible for managing a complex caseload, maintaining accurate and timely data, reports and presentations as required.
• Participates in a range of case conferences, court attendance, meetings and statutory reviews, pro-actively taking the lead when a social care perspective is required.
• Accountable for conducting assessments and plan responses to safeguard and promote a child’s welfare including appropriate intervention as determined by need.
• Builds strong effective working relationships across the Council, with partners and members of voluntary agencies to help people get the best start in life and age well.
• Delivers a high level of expertise in particular areas of practice and leads on those areas, contributing to the development.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we are dedicated to making a positive difference for residents, communities and businesses across the county. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, Greater Essex was accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview allveteransandcare leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email [e-mail]