Social Worker - Separated Migrant Young People's Team

Sandwell Childrens Trust; Oldbury; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave up to 31 days +

Retention bonus

Birthday/Paid days off

Job summary

Sandwell Children's Trust is seeking a dedicated Social Worker to support unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the UK. The role involves safeguarding, care planning, and advocacy to ensure permanence and positive outcomes for the children in our care.

You will work within the Children We Care For service, engaging closely with families, carers and multidisciplinary teams to secure suitable permanency solutions and pathway planning for young people as they approach adulthood.

Qualifications

• Be social work qualified and registered with Social Work England.
• ASYE programme completed in a children and families setting.
• Strong analytical and communication skills.
• Ability to assess risk and make informed decisions.
• Experience with looked-after children and young people, including asylum-seeking cases, is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Assess the vulnerability of Sandwell’s children and provide improved quality of life.
• Inform Care Planning to promote positive outcomes for young people.
• Advocate for young people to help them reach goals and futures.
• Focus on Pathway Planning for independence as young people approach adulthood.
• Develop knowledge on issues affecting older young people (immigration, exploitation, missing, substance misuse, mental health, placements).
• Listen to children and young people to ensure they are heard and involved in planning.

Skills

Analytical skills

Effective communication

Active listening

Self-motivation

Decision making

Teamwork

Risk assessment

Education

Social Work degree/qualification

Registration with Social Work England

ASYE completed in children & families setting

Job description

Sandwell Children's Trust - rated as a Good Provider.

At Sandwell Children's Trust, we firmly believe that the voice of the child should be at the centre of everything we do. We are on an ambitious journey to ensure that children and families in Sandwell are safe and empowered to thrive.

Our ‘Sandwell Deal’, brings together our offering that make Sandwell Children’s Trust a great place to work.

What we can offer you:

• Generous annual leave of up to 31 days, plus 5 additional days for long service recognition.
• Retention bonus of £2,000 in year 1, £3,000 in year 2 and £5,000 in year 3.
• Your birthday off paid in addition to annual leave entitlement and 8 Bank Holidays, plus a concessionary day at Christmas.
• We recognise individual loyalty with service awards from 2, 5, 10 and every 5 years onwards.
• Flexible working patterns that suit you and all of our roles have well-defined career progression.

To find out more please visit The Sandwell Deal via this hyperlink

https://sandwelldeal.co.uk

Job title: Social Worker - Separated Migrant Young People
Grade/Salary: Grade F/G£41,010 - £52,317 per annum (includes market supplement of £2,500)*
Retention bonus of £2,000 in year 1, £3,000 in year 2 and £5,000 in year 3
Relocation Allowance: Up to £6,500*
Contract Type: Permanent
Working pattern: 37 hours per week
Location: Oldbury/Hybrid
Closing date: midnight on Monday 16 November 2026

We currently have a vacancy within one of our Children We Care For Teams Specialist Hubs. As a Service we work with children once a Care Order has been granted and our main focus is on securing permanence via SGO’s, long term-fostering and reunification.

In the Hub we primarily work with young people who are unaccompanied minors who are seeking asylum in the UK.

We welcome applications from Social Workers with relevant experience working with children we care for and it would be beneficial if you have completed the Age Assessment training, but this is not essential as this will be provided. We will also consider applicants interested in gaining new experience. The teams work closely together, and we offer a supportive working environment with many opportunities to develop skills, knowledge and career pathways.

As a Social Worker working in the Children We Care For service you will:

• Assess the vulnerability of Sandwell’s children, providing a service that will significantly improve their quality of life.
• Utilise your developing skills and knowledge to inform Care Planning in order to promote change and positive outcomes for our young people.
• You will be passionate about supporting and advocating for young people to ensure they reach their goals and have the best possible futures.
• For young people approaching adulthood, you will focus on Pathway Planning and help young people to prepare for independence. This will involve ensuring young people are at the centre of their plans and fully understand and are involved in their planning.
• Develop and apply your knowledge of specific issues impacting on our older young people including Immigration, Child Exploitation, missing, substance misuse, mental health, placement breakdown, return to family, accessing Adult Social Care and working with unaccompanied Asylum Seeking children.
• Most importantly you will need to be passionate about listening to our children and young people to ensure that they are heard, using your social work skills to advocate, plan and take action to enhance the opportunities, achievements and their quality of life.

About you:

• You must be social work qualified, registered with Social Work England and have completed your ASYE programme in a children and families setting.
• Have excellent analytical skills and be able to make informed decisions with information you have gathered, that has a positive impact on the child’s journey.
• A skilled listener, you will demonstrate how you have understood and ensured a child's voice is heard.
• You will need to be self-motivated, organised with effective communication skills both written and verbally.
• Be a clear decision maker and good team worker.
• Have an ability to assess risk and the knowledge of the relevant procedures to manage and reduce risk.
• You will need to demonstrate that you have experience of working with children in care, which could have been gained through working in other teams.
• Have knowledge of the relevant legislation and procedures that relate to looked after children and young people.

For an information discussion about this role please contact Bernadette Anderson – Team Manager via email [e-mail]

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment. Reasonable adjustments are available at every stage of the recruitment process and throughout employment, helping everyone to thrive, perform to the best of their ability, and achieve success in their role.

Sandwell Children's Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable groups including children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Completion of an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is a requirement for working with children and young people.

If you require further information on the role or working for us please email [e-mail] and a member of our Recruitment Team will be happy to give you a call.

Please note that pre-employment checks will be carried out in line with the Department for Education KCSIE Guidance 2022.

* Pay rate is inclusive of market supplement

* Terms & Conditions apply for relocation allowance