Social Worker – CYPPS, Quality & Improvement Team

Essex County Counci; Chelmsford; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Essex County Council is recruiting a Permanent Social Worker for the CYPPS Quality & Improvement Team in Chelmsford. You will assess complex needs, develop child-focused support plans, and work within statutory frameworks to safeguard welfare. The role involves collaboration with external providers, carers and multi-agency partners.

Applicants must have a social work degree, be registered with Social Work England, and demonstrate ongoing professional development. Closing date 9 November 2026.

Qualifications

• Degree in Social Work or equivalent.
• Registered with Social Work England.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Experience in challenging social and family situations.
• Strong communication and rapport-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Assess complex social care needs and provide support to children and families.
• Develop support plans that enable resilience and brighter outcomes.
• Work within statutory, policy and guidance frameworks and determine thresholds for intervention.
• Collaborate with partners and stakeholders to deliver improved outcomes.
• Conduct assessments and plan responses to safeguard welfare of children and young people.
• Promote early intervention and value for money in service delivery.

Skills

Communication skills

Relationship building

Risk assessment

Analytical thinking

Education

Degree in Social Work

Social Work England Registration

Job description

Social Worker - CYPPS, Quality & Improvement Team

Permanent,Full Time

£38,487.00 to £51,834.00 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 Children and Young People’s Placement Service CYPPS (Children and Young People’s Placement Service) Quality & Improvement Team are a centralised team, working with external care and support providers for children and young people both in Essex and further afield.

The CYPPS Quality & Improvement Team plays a key role in ensuring that children and young people placed in externally commissioned services receive high-quality care and support. Working closely with providers, social care professionals and commissioning colleagues, the team promotes quality, safeguards standards and supports continuous service improvement, helping to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and young people.

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.

Social workers manage a defined caseload, includingassessment of risk and purposeful intervention through direct relationship based work and review. Delivering excellent practice and value for money services.

A registered social worker, educated to degree level, with ability to demonstrate practice in accordance with current professional standards. Experienced in developing strong working relationships with partners, other agencies and stakeholders to deliver improved outcomes.

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

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

Accountabilities

• Assess complex social care needs and provide support to children and families.
• Develop support plans that gain commitment to solutions that enable the child, young person and family to build resilience and look forward to a brighter future.
• Accountable for working within the statutory legal framework, policy and guidance and determining when the threshold for statutory intervention has been reached.
• Work collaboratively, building effective relationships with internal and external partnerships and stakeholders and the voluntary sector, to assist children and their families and carers in gaining support.
• Accountable for conducting assessments and plan responses to safeguard a child or young person and promote their welfare, including appropriate intervention as determined by need.
• Develop a child centred approach which enables early intervention and prevention and increases independence.
• Pro-actively influences in a range of inter-agency planning, decision making and case discussions.
• Communicate assessments and professional judgements clearly and succinctly both orally and in writing, including report writing and court statements.
• Work with families, communities and individuals to help people get the best start in life and age well, supporting strategic aims.
• 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
• Evidence of continuing professional development, aligned to any relevant Professional Competency/Capability frameworks or Knowledge and Skills Statements.
• Experience within a social work setting with evidence of challenging social and family situations.
• Strong communication skills and an ability to develop a rapport and engage with diverse groups of individuals.
• Developing strong relationships with partners, other agencies and the local community, to achieve joint objectives and offer a supportive framework for children and families.
• Understand delivery of value for money interventions balanced against need.
• Evidence of clear decision making in order to highlight and limit the potential risks associated with intervention.

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.

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