Senior Social Worker - Parenting Assessment Team

Southwark Council; London; On-site; GBP 48,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Join Southwark Council as a Senior Social Worker in the Parenting Assessment Team to make a meaningful impact on vulnerable children and families. This role involves conducting comprehensive assessments, developing support plans, and mentoring colleagues, all while benefitting from a supportive work environment and competitive benefits.

Benefits

Welcome Payment of £2,500

Retention payment structure of £3,000 and £4,000 after 2 and 3 years respectively

Professional development & training opportunities

Agile and flexible working arrangements

Regular supervision

Qualifications

• Registered with Social Work England.
• Experience in complex child protection cases and legal proceedings.
• Skilled in systemic and trauma-informed approaches.

Responsibilities

• Conduct in-depth parenting assessments for children in care proceedings.
• Mentor and coach less experienced colleagues.
• Develop tailored intervention plans in collaboration with families.

Skills

Social Work

Child Protection

Assessment

Intervention Planning

Decision Making

Education

Recognised qualification in Social Work

Job description

Make Every Decision Count. Empower Families. Shape Positive Outcomes.

Are you passionate about safeguarding children and empowering families?

Do you thrive in managing complex social work cases with compassion, expertise and a systemically informed approach?

If yes, we have the perfect role for you!

Our Safeguarding and Family Support Service is looking for a passionate senior social worker to join our Parenting Assessment Team (PAT) and help make a positive difference for vulnerable children and families in Southwark!

About the Role

This role will enable you to develop your knowledge and skills to undertake robust and analytical parenting assessments of parents whose children are subject to pre-proceedings and care proceedings.

As a Senior Social Worker in our PAT team, you will provide high-quality, integrated social work services managing complex cases with children and families. Your role will involve conducting in-depth assessments, developing tailored intervention plans, and working collaboratively with families, support networks and multi-agency professionals to manage risk and promote positive outcomes.

You will also play a key role in mentoring and coaching less experienced colleagues and social work students, helping to empower a culture of continuous learning and best practice.

About You

We are seeking a confident and skilled social worker who would like to enhance their experience in undertaking parenting assessments and working under the Public Law Outline. You will be expected to work directly with parents and their children to provide a robust and analytical assessment of a parent’s capacity to meet their child needs to assist the social work team and professionals to make important decisions regarding what is best for children in the long term. In working as part of a small practice group, you will be expected to attend and contribute to Group Supervision to offer support to colleagues undertaking their own assessments.

You will also:

• Be a registered Social Worker with Social Work England, holding a recognised qualification
• Have extensive experience in complex child protection cases, care planning and legal proceedings
• Be skilled in systemic, trauma-informed and evidence-based social work approaches (e.g., Signs of Safety, Secure Base)
• Build trusting, respectful relationships with children and families from diverse backgrounds
• Confidently manage complex caseloads independently, demonstrating excellent decision-making and prioritisation skills
• Be committed to ongoing professional development, coaching, and supporting less experienced colleagues

About the Team:

You will be joining a friendly team of dedicated professionals who share your passion for positive outcomes for children and families.We want you to thrive in your role whilst being supported through regular one to one and group supervisions alongside having access to key development and training opportunities to grow as a social worker.

In return for all your hard work, skills and experience, you will receive:

• A competitive base salary – Up to £55,710!
• For roles in our Assessment & Intervention and Safeguarding & Family Support service, we are offering for a time limited period a Welcome Payment of £2,500 for joining Southwark, followed by a retention payment of £3,000 per year for your first two years, and £4,000 after three years.
• Strong supportive senior management team
• Regular one to one supervision
• Professional development & training opportunities
• Agile and flexible working arrangements
• Working Hours: 36 hours per week, Monday - Friday
• A satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at an enhanced level.

Recruitment Timeline:

• Shortlisting date/s: week commencing 9th June 2025
• Interview date/s: week commencing 16th June 2025

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative . We particularly welcome applications from members of the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

About Southwark:

We are the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues and social enterprises, and we have a young, diverse and growing population.

At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities.Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark Stands Together, (which is our work with Southwark’s communities and the council’s staff to tackle racism, injustice and inequality) underpins all that we do.

Salary Range (Full time equivalent) £48,618 - £55,710