Senior Practitioner - Placement Finding Team, Mid Essex

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

Job summary

Essex County Council in Chelmsford is seeking a Senior Practitioner for the Placement Finding Team. The role focuses on CLA placements, duty oversight on a rota, and supervising Placement Officers to ensure timely and quality referrals.

You will build relationships with quadrants, foster teams and partners to develop in-house and external placements, including NRPF and SIA, supporting practice standards and complex social care needs.

Qualifications

• Social work qualification (Dip/BA/Masters) with SWE registration.
• Continued professional development or CPD.
• Extensive CLA experience in child welfare.
• IT/Word processing skills.
• Recent practice at experienced social worker level in Children Services.
• Experience in Child Protection work including section 47 investigations.
• Experience communicating with children of all ages and with parents/carers.
• Experience in planning activities for children, young people and families.
• Experience of Court work in Child Care matters.
• Knowledge of current legislation pertaining to Children in Care.

Responsibilities

• Provide supervision to Placement Officers and support staff development.
• Support quadrant networking and cross-team collaboration.
• Lead assigned work streams and oversee placement referrals on a rota basis.
• Manage day-to-day operations of the Placement Finding Team.
• Ensure quality and assurance of referral requests and data integrity.

Skills

Supervision

CLA experience

IT/Word processing

Stakeholder engagement

Team leadership

Education

Social work degree/Dip/Masters, SWE registered

Tools

IT/Word Processing

Job description

Senior Practitioner - Placement Finding Team, Mid Essex

Permanent, Full Time

£48,205.00 to £57,988.00 Per Annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Fixed-base worker

Closing Date: 5th October 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

We care looking to recruit to a full time Senior Practitioner post in the Placement Finding Team with experience of CLA (Child Looked After). To support the operational responsibilities of a duty service and to oversee duty on a rota basis.

• Experience of providing supervision to alternatively qualified staff.
• To support assigned Quadrant networking.
• Good relationship working with the fostering and other teams to ensure good communication and the developments of the Placement Finding function.
• To lead assigned work stream areas.

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

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

The Opportunity

The Placement Finding Team is part of the Children & Young People's Placement Service's (CYPPS). Our operational responsibility is to provide an effective response to referral requests and ensure appropriate placements are made with:

• In-house foster placements -which includes short breaks and respite
• In-house Supported Lodging Carers
• External placements [IFA/Residential] and Semi-Independent Accommodation Placements (SIA)
• No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) accommodation- post 18 and families
• Welfare Secure Accommodation

Within the Placement Finding Team we are looking for a Senior Practitioner and in this role you will be required to be part of the senior duty requirements for the team - office and working from home with the other senior practitioner's in the team on a rota basis, be confident in overseeing duty as well as managing the day-to-day functions for the team e.g. overseeing the incoming placement requests, allocating referrals to Placement Officers to undertake placement searches, and quality and assurance of the referral request.

You will be required to provide supervision to Placement Officers as part of supporting them with their allocated work and development / training needs.

You will also have assigned links with one the four quadrants to build relationships with the fostering and other teams to ensure good communication and the developments identified for Fostering are implemented. As part of these developments you will be assigned work stream lead/ project work to ensure that continued review and development of as part of the CLA placements.

Driving Licence and use of car for travel to other local offices across Essex required as part of post requirements.

The role requires an experienced social work practitioner, who is able:

• To manage higher levels of risk, mentor and advise staff, manage performance and deliver improvements.
• Build strong working relationships with key partners and stakeholders is essential and to have a sound knowledge of the CIC processes.
• Be linked to a quadrant to promote the relationship with the respective child care and fostering teams, to promote the in-house fostering business plan and engage with in-house carers through a range of mediums.
• Take the lead in assigned work to ensure the continued review and development of the service and will have a sound knowledge of the LAC process.
• Be responsible for providing a source of expert advice and professional supervision for Placement Officers and contributing to the development of practice standards.
• Accountable for being involved in the assessment of complex social care needs and development of support for vulnerable people, children and families as part of the placement finding process in the service.
• responsible for maintaining accurate and timely data, reports and presentations as required.

The Experience You Will Bring

• A recognised social work qualification i.e. Diploma, degree or Masters in social work, CQSW, CSS or equivalent, with current Social Work England (SWE) registration.
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• As part of the recruitment to this post we are looking for someone who has extensive CLA experience.
• IT/Word Processing Skills
• Evidence of recent practice at an experienced social worker level, supported by comprehensive working knowledge and experience within the field of practice in Children Services
• Preferably with experience of Child Protection work including section 47 investigations and assessments since the implementation of the Children's Act 1989.
• Considerable, recent experience of communicating with children of all ages and working in partnership with parents and/or carers.
• Experience in planning activities and programmes for children, young people and parents.
• Experience of Court work in relation to Child Care matters and have an understanding of the legal process.
• Detailed knowledge of current legislation pertinent to Children in Care Guidance and Regulations.
• Knowledge and understanding of child development, relating theory and practice.

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 ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. 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 all veterans and care 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 would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

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

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