Senior Practitioner - Youth and Family Team

Opus People Solutions Limited; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; On-site; GBP 48,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

Opus People Solutions Limited is recruiting a Senior Practitioner for Peterborough Borough Council's Youth and Family Team. You will lead practice, provide supervision, and mentor less experienced colleagues while managing high‑quality child and family caseloads within an integrated service.

The role supports complex casework, assessments, and care planning, with opportunities to influence practice and contribute to service improvement in a collaborative environment.

Qualifications

• Hold a recognised Social Work qualification.
• Be registered with Social Work England.
• Significant experience within Children's Social Care services.
• Experience managing complex cases involving children, young people, and families.
• Strong assessment, planning, and risk management skills.
• Previous experience supervising, mentoring, or supporting other practitioners.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building abilities.
• A commitment to high-quality practice and positive outcomes for children and families.

Responsibilities

• Manage a complex caseload of children, young people and families.
• Complete high-quality assessments in line with statutory requirements, policies, and procedures.
• Develop, implement, and review care and support plans to achieve positive outcomes.
• Support children and families through interventions designed to reduce risk and improve wellbeing.
• Provide supervision and support to Social Workers and other practitioners as directed by the Team Manager.
• Act as a practice lead, offering guidance and mentoring to colleagues.
• Support the induction and development of new team members.
• Work as a Practice Educator for ASYEs and less experienced practitioners.
• Maintain accurate, confidential and up-to-date case records.
• Build strong partnerships with internal teams and external agencies.
• Contribute to service development projects and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Promote safeguarding, equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of practice.

Skills

People leadership

Case management

Risk assessment

Communication skills

Mentoring

Team collaboration

Education

Social Work qualification

Job description

About the Role

Are you an experienced Social Worker ready to take the next step into a leadership role? Peterborough Borough Council are seeking a skilled and motivated Senior Practitioner to join the Youth and Family Team. This is an exciting opportunity to combine high-quality casework with practice leadership, supporting children, young people, and families while helping to develop and mentor less experienced colleagues within a supportive and collaborative team environment. As part of the integrated working arrangements between Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, there may be occasions where you support children and families across neighbouring authority boundaries when this is in the best interests of service users.

Location: Sand Martin House, Bittern Way, PE2 8TY

Rate: £42.50 per hour (Umbrella rate)

Contract: Temporary

Hours: 37 hours per week

Office Requirements: Office based a minimum of 2 days per week

Key Responsibilities

• Manage a complex caseload of children, young people and families.
• Complete high-quality assessments in line with statutory requirements, policies, and procedures.
• Develop, implement, and review care and support plans to achieve positive outcomes.
• Support children and families through interventions designed to reduce risk and improve wellbeing.
• Provide supervision and support to Social Workers and other practitioners as directed by the Team Manager.
• Act as a practice lead, offering guidance and mentoring to colleagues.
• Support the induction and development of new team members.
• Work as a Practice Educator for ASYEs and less experienced practitioners.
• Maintain accurate, confidential and up-to-date case records.
• Build strong partnerships with internal teams and external agencies.
• Contribute to service development projects and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Promote safeguarding, equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of practice.

About You

• Hold a recognised Social Work qualification.
• Be registered with Social Work England.
• Significant experience within Children's Social Care services.
• Experience managing complex cases involving children, young people, and families.
• Strong assessment, planning, and risk management skills.
• Previous experience supervising, mentoring, or supporting other practitioners.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building abilities.
• A commitment to high-quality practice and positive outcomes for children and families.

If you're an experienced Social Worker looking for a rewarding Senior Practitioner opportunity where you can influence practice, support staff development, and make a lasting difference to children and families, we'd love to hear from you.

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. A DBS check may be applicable for this role, applicants are required to declare any cautions and convictions that are not protected under current filtering rules.