Supervising Social Worker

National Fostering Group; Belfast City District; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days holiday

Bonuses

Pension scheme

Enhanced family leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Life Assurance

Job summary

National Fostering Group seeks a Supervising Social Worker in Belfast to supervise and support foster carers, ensuring safe and nurturing homes for children and young people. You will work with clinical teams to access therapies and supports, and visit families to monitor outcomes.

The role requires a social work degree, registration, and a driving licence, with a focus on trauma-informed practice and building strong carer–child relationships. Competitive benefits apply.

Qualifications

• BA or MA degree in social work and registration with the appropriate body
• Full driving licence
• Experience with young people who have trauma and enhanced needs

Responsibilities

• Supervise and advise foster carers to ensure safe, supportive homes for children.
• Visit foster homes and maintain contact with carers and young people to monitor progress.
• Collaborate with clinical teams to provide appropriate therapies and supports.
• Ensure safety, well-being, and high standards across all cases.

Skills

Driving licence

Trauma experience

Communication

Education

BA or MA in social work

Job description

Job Title: Supervising Social Worker

Location: Belfast

Contract Type: Permanent, Full Time

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Salary: £36,000 - £46,000 dependent on experience (+£3,000 car allowance)

About Kindercare

Kindercare is a local, non-profit making Fostering Agency. We are part of the National Fostering Group – the largest Independent Fostering Agency in the UK.

Its official, we have been rated as a Great Place to Work 2025! 88% of employees at National Fostering Group say it is a great place to work, compared to 54% of employees at a typical UK based company!

With over 20 years experience, National Fostering Group is the largest independent children's fostering group in the UK with a community of over 2,500 foster carers.

In Northern Ireland, we work with Local Health and Social Care Trusts to provide the highest quality of care for children and young people. All of our fostering agencies across the UK are officially recognised by Ofsted, Welsh and Scottish regulators as either ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ which we are extremely proud of.

We also offer a 4 day working week - this means 80% of the hours for 100% pay! This will be given following a successful 6 month probationary period and is a performance based benefit.

The role

As a member of our brilliant team of social workers, you will understand the life-changing potential of a safe and supportive home life.

You will play a key role in helping vulnerable children and young people find a foster home that can transform their future. You will also supervise and advise foster carers, and make sure that both carers and children have the support they need to thrive.

You will visit homes and keep in touch with both carers and young people, becoming an essential point of contact for all – a safeguarding champion with everyone’s best interests at heart. We keep caseloads lower to decrease risk and to offer more bespoke, person-centric focus. This means more time to work closely with both the young people and their carers to deliver the best possible outcomes.

You will collaborate with our specialist clinical teams to identify and make available the right kinds of support, from occupational therapy to art therapy, and clinicians with specialism in trauma and attachment theory.

As a key team member in one of our local fostering agencies, you will make sure that our children and young people are safe and secure, that they are well looked after, and that our high standards are consistently maintained.

Through your passion and commitment, you will inspire carers to grow in confidence and achieve their potential, with a real impact on the children they care for.

Who we are looking for

You will be passionate about building incredible lives for children, and helping foster carers be the best they can be. You will be confident and imaginative, with either a BA or MA degree in social work and an energetic and open-minded approach. You will also need to be registered with the appropriate body and hold a full driving licence.

Carers and children will be relying on you to create supportive, nurturing relationships, so you will need to show that you’ve had previous social work experience, with a record of working with young people who have a history of trauma and enhanced needs.

You will be excited by taking on real responsibility, and you will be ready and willing to benefit from all the support we offer to help you do your job. You will also be generous with your own skills and experience, helping our whole team to excel.

But what else is in it for you? Your health and wellbeing are important to us, so you’ll get an exceptional reward package including:

• 27 days holiday, increasing with service up to 32 days + buy/sell scheme + bank holidays
• Bonus schemes
• Generous salary sacrifice pension scheme
• Enhanced family leave (subject to qualifying criteria)
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Life Assurance

And a market-leading benefit offering through our Flexible Benefits Platform, Vista, enables you to choose the package that’s right for you. Just some of the things on offer:

• A wide range of health, wellbeing, and insurance benefits
• 100’s of discount options
• Salary sacrifice Cycle to Work Scheme
• Tech benefit

And that’s not all, we place the outcomes of the children and vulnerable young adults in our services at the heart of everything we do, so you’ll wake every day in the knowledge that your role will have a significant positive impact on the lives of others.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and we expect all employees to share this commitment and undertake appropriate checks.

We are an Equal Opportunities Employer

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