Senior Social Worker - Risk Outside the Home Team

London Social Work for Children; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

35‑hour week

Generous holiday entitlement

Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

Flexible working

Season ticket loan

Bicycle loan

Staff discounts

Subsidised gym memberships

Job summary

Lewisham Council is seeking a Senior Social Worker for the Risk Outside the Home (ROTH) Team in London. You will work with vulnerable young people facing exploitation and contextual safeguarding concerns, balancing office and home working in a hybrid role.

You will lead on complex cases, build strong relationships, and contribute to safeguarding plans across police, education and health partners. An enhanced DBS check is required and professional development is supported.

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Worker with minimum 3 years post‑qualification experience and registration with Social Work England.
• Specialist knowledge of contextual safeguarding and extra‑familial harm.
• Strong understanding of adolescent development and safeguarding.
• Experience with multi‑agency partnerships and professional challenge.

Responsibilities

• Hold and manage a caseload of adolescent safeguarding cases.
• Lead on assessments, interventions and planning for youth at risk.
• Build trauma‑informed relationships with young people and families.
• Chair and participate in multi‑agency meetings and networks.
• Collaborate with police, education, health and community partners for robust safety planning.

Skills

Contextual safeguarding

Adolescent development

Risk assessment

Multi‑agency working

Trauma‑informed practice

Communication

Analytical thinking

Anti‑oppressive practice

Education

Social Work degree

Registered with Social Work England

Job description

Senior Social Worker - Risk Outside the Home Team

Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities! We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK's first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.

Are you an experienced and passionate Social Worker committed to safeguarding young people and tackling extra-familial harm? Lewisham Council is seeking motivated Senior Social Workers to join its innovative Risk Outside the Home (ROTH) Team, working with some of the most vulnerable young people exposed to exploitation, serious youth violence, county lines, missing episodes, and other contextual safeguarding concerns.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a specialist team that focuses on understanding and reducing harm occurring beyond the family home, whilst working collaboratively with young people, families, networks, partners, and communities. The role is primarily based at the Old Town Hall, Rushey Green, London, SE6 4RY, with a hybrid approach requiring regular office and home working.

Key responsibilities include:

• Holding and managing a caseload of adolescent safeguarding cases
• Leading on assessments, interventions, and planning for young people experiencing extra-familial harm
• Building trusted, trauma-informed relationships with young people and their families to achieve positive outcomes
• Chairing and contributing to multi-agency meetings and professional networks
• Working collaboratively with multi-agency partners, including police, education, health, youth justice, and community partners, to deliver robust safety planning

Excellent training and development opportunities are available, alongside a generous holiday allowance, Local Government Pension scheme, flexible working and family-friendly policies, season ticket and bicycle loans, a range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships, and supportive staff networks.

About you

Lewisham Council is looking for an experienced and passionate Social Worker who is committed to achieving outstanding outcomes for vulnerable young people. The successful candidate will bring specialist knowledge of contextual safeguarding and extra-familial harm, alongside the confidence to work across multi‑agency partnerships and challenge professionally where needed.

The ideal candidate will:

• Be a qualified Social Worker with a minimum of three years' post-qualification experience, registered with Social Work England
• Have a strong understanding of adolescent development and contextual safeguarding
• Be knowledgeable in exploitation, serious youth violence, contextual safeguarding, and trauma-informed practice
• Be skilled in building purposeful relationships with young people who may be reluctant to engage
• Have excellent communication, analysis, and risk assessment skills
• Be confident in multi‑agency working and professional challenge
• Demonstrate a commitment to anti‑oppressive practice and young person‑centred approaches

Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer and welcomes and encourages job applications of all abilities. Reasonable adjustments can be made throughout the application and interview process — please contact the lead contact on this advert to discuss. This post is subject to an Enhanced DBS check. All appointments will be offered at the minimum spinal column point (SCP) for the grade of the role, with the exception of current salary matching (up to the maximum of the scale), subject to evidential proof.

About Lewisham

Welcome to Lewisham – a vibrant and culturally diverse borough that is bursting with fantastic things to see and do. As a truly international borough with over 170 languages spoken in our homes and businesses, a thriving cultural scene, and a treasure trove of indie shops, bustling markets and more, it’s a great place to start and build a career.

Social work in Lewisham is changing and we have set out our vision and values for how we practice. In Lewisham Children’s Social Care (CSC), we know what good social work looks like and we are passionate about creating the right conditions and culture for good practice to thrive.

Our social workers benefit from working in small, supportive teams with caseloads on average between 15-20 children. Our ‘Signs of Safety’ practice framework means we are committed to working in a relationship‑based way with children and families, focussing on strengths in the family network to effect change. A positive learning culture which promotes opportunities for reflection and relationship‑based practice is important to us. We are committed to developing our practice using reflective practice spaces such as case mapping, thinking spaces and group supervision.

Our permanent and stable senior management team are visible and approachable. Our dedicated PSW and workforce team supports professional development across the service so that you will;

be supported through our comprehensive learning and development offer, which includes subscriptions to ‘Research in Practice’ and ‘Making Research Count’.

receive regular supervision and appraisal.

have 1-1 practice development coaching as a case holding practitioner, and professional development coaching as a manager.

have access to regular ‘Signs of Safety’ training and the opportunity to become a practice leader through attending our bespoke practice leader course.

have access to external leadership development opportunities such as Pathways and the Black and Asian Leadership Initiative (BALI).

have a clearly defined career progression pathway with opportunities for professional development at all levels.

We have a strong working relationship with Goldsmiths, University of London as part of the South East London Teaching Partnership so our practitioners have the opportunity to teach on social work courses as teaching consultants. We host ‘Step Up’, ‘Frontline’ and traditional route students and social workers have the opportunity to become practice educators.

Core CSC Staff Benefits include:

We have been awarded the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard – a benchmark for high employment standards. We are also one of the first London Councils to be accredited a London Living Wage employer and are a Disability Confident employer as well as a Timewise accredited Flex positive employer. We offer a 35‑hour working week, and:

The opportunity to work in a thriving, diverse and developing inner London borough with a stable management team, manageable caseloads and a workforce group committed to promoting your development and emotional wellbeing

Generous salary for social workers at all levels

Generous holiday entitlement - starting at 27 days a year(pluspublic holidays)rising to 32 and 35 days after 5- and 10-years’ continued service.

Oyster card access for travelling in and around London for work and we are exploring initiatives, including Zip cars

Flexible working policies and a variety of hybrid, and flexible working options – we know how important this is to you

Smarter Working with new modern technology and training to support this

Career average pension scheme

Family friendly policiesincluding maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and special leave for emergencies.

Variety of support schemes including key worker housing, tax‑free childcare scheme, access to Civil Service Sports Club which offers financial discounts and savings on days out and entertainment. KAARP activities and entertainment discounts. We offer a shop local discount scheme, volunteering leave, long service awards, membership of the Crownsavers Credit Union and access to Payroll Giving.

Health and Wellbeing support includes a staff support hub and 24/7 employee assistance programme which incorporates mental health support, counselling services and access to the PAM Assist health and wellbeing app.

We have signed the Menopause Pledge and offer gender specific and gender‑neutral health and wellbeing support with access to financial advice. We offer discounted gym and leisure centre membership including free lunch time swimming; interest free loans for season tickets, nursery childcare, and bikes, a “try before you buy” bike scheme and cycle training, smoking cessation, free eye tests and money towards glasses.

Active Employee Groups including the Black and Multicultural Forum, Anti‑racist Network Group, LGBTQ+ Forum, Disabled Staff Forum, Climate Emergency Staff Forum, Trade Union Memberships, and a staff‑led Change Network

Staff tell us they feel valued and enjoy working in Lewisham and are well supported by their managers with regular reflective supervision and good access to training.

“Lewisham has so much to offer any social worker. I feel supported, respected and valued every step of the way”

Lewisham Social Worker

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