Specialist Practitioner Independent Reviewing Officer

Warwickshire County Council; Warwick; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Social Work England fee reimbursement

Volunteering & Wellbeing Day

Generous annual leave

Refer a Friend package

Pension with employer contribution

Job summary

Warwickshire County Council is seeking an experienced Social Worker in the Specialist Practitioner (Independent Reviewing Officer) role. You will oversee statutory reviews, influence care planning, and work with a dedicated IRO team across Warwickshire.

Strong multi-agency collaboration and protective practice are essential. The role offers a permanent full-time position (37 hours per week) within a supportive team culture focused on high standards of practice and positive outcomes for children

Qualifications

• Experience as Social Worker in children and families.
• Experience as Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) or similar role.
• Experience conducting statutory reviews of care plans and working with multi-agency partners.

Responsibilities

• Conduct statutory reviews of children’s care plans.
• Contribute to quality assurance and service improvement.
• Maintain practice standards for children and young people.
• Support decision-making for Social Workers and Managers.
• Promote restorative approaches and direct engagement with young people.

Skills

Team leadership

Independent reviewing

Education

Level 5 qualification in social work

Job description

Ready to take your social work career to the next level?

This is your chance to gain a unique county-wide perspective, work across a range of practice areas, and use your expertise to influence better outcomes for children and young people in care across Warwickshire.

As part of our respected Independent Reviewing Service, you’ll join a team of experienced professionals committed to ensuring children receive the care, support and opportunities they deserve. Through effective challenge, partnership working and child-focused planning, you’ll play a key role in improving outcomes and driving high standards of practice.

There’s never been a better time to join Warwickshire. Our ambitious Families First model is transforming how we support children, young people and families, bringing together local, multi-agency teams to deliver the right support at the right time. By working closely with colleagues across Health, Education, Police and wider community services, you’ll help shape a more connected and effective support network for families.

If you’re looking for a rewarding role where your experience, influence and passion can truly make a difference, join Warwickshire’s Children and Families Service today.

Our Offer to you includes:

• Supportive managers who provide recognition and a robust supervision policy focussed on wellbeing and workload.
• Full reimbursement of Social Work England annual fee.
• A Volunteering & Wellbeing Day in addition to generous annual leave and an additional day at Christmas
• We also offer a Refer a Friend package for some roles. Terms and Conditions apply

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Social Worker, ideally someone who has Team Managers experience and/or Level 5 and/or with 5 years’ experienceto join us on a permanent basis. We are recruiting for a Specialist Practitioner (Independent Reviewing Officer) position. This is a full-time role (37 hours per week) within a well-established and experienced IRO team, with excellent staff retention and a strong track record of consistency over many years.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct statutory reviews of children’s care plans
• Contribute to quality assurance and service improvement
• Maintain practice standards for children and young people
• Support decision-making for Social Workers and Managers
• Promote restorative approaches and direct engagement with young people

Team Culture

• Skilled, experienced, and supportive colleagues
• Focus on listening to children and families
• Encouragement of innovation and independent challenge
• Strong emphasis on relationship-based practice

Your knowledge and experience will be a key factor in supporting Social Workers and Children Service managers in their decision making. Likewise, your ability to, review information, ask the right questions,make decisions quickly and ensure decisions are carried out is as important to us as it is to our young people.

Working for Warwickshire – This is the difference you make:

Warwickshire County Council is a place where everyone feelsvalued, included, safe, supported,andwelcome. Our people are at the heart of this vision, could you be one of them!

At Warwickshire County Council we are committed to ensuring Warwickshire’s economy is vibrant and supported by the right jobs, training, skills and infrastructure. Our people vision for Warwickshire County Council is a great place to work where diverse and talented people are enabled to be their best.

Your future matters to us, we provide a generous pension scheme which includes an employer contribution rate of typically around 19 percent per month, to help support your financial security during retirement. The scheme also offers a valuable package of benefits for members and their dependants. To find out more please visit: Warwickshire Pension Fund homepage – Warwickshire Pension Fund

The benefits we offer include agile working, a valuable part of the pay and reward package for employees working in local government, generous annual leave entitlement, plus bank holidays and an additional day at Christmas, and access to Vivup benefits and discounts platform.

Julie Smith, Service Manager - [e-mail] or Deborah Rodney [e-mail]

Closing Date: 13th November 2026

Interview Date: 17th November 2026

Warwickshire County Council is committed to equality of opportunity for all employees and is keen to address areas of under representation in its workforce.