Supervising Social Worker

Surrey County Council; Woking; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 49,000; Part time

Job summary

A local government organization in Woking is seeking an experienced Supervising Social Worker for a 12-month secondment to cover maternity leave. The role requires supervising foster carers and supporting them to meet specific standards. Applicants should be qualified social workers with experience in working with children. The position offers a starting salary of £42,239 per annum and supports hybrid working with both in-person and remote tasks. Excellent benefits include generous leave entitlements and a supportive working environment.

Benefits

26 days' holiday, rising to 31

Option to buy additional leave

Local government salary related pension

Carer's leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Wellbeing discounts

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England.
• Experience working with children and young people.
• Ability to produce clear, evidence-based assessments.

Responsibilities

• Supervise foster carers to meet National Minimum Standards.
• Support foster carers and complete assessments for kinship carers.
• Work in the fostering team, including evening tasks.

Skills

Qualified Social Worker

Experience with children and young people

Strong communication skills

Analytical assessment skills

Self-motivation

Education

Registered with Social Work England

Job description

• Category: Qualified Social Work - Children's
• Contract type: Secondment
• Working hours: 36 hours per week
• Posted on: 24 December 2025
• Closing date: 16 January 2026
• Location: Victoria Gate, Chobham Road, Woking, GU21 6JD

Description

We are committed to the development of our workforce. This position is only available to applicants who already work for Surrey County Council. We thank you for your interest in our roles and would encourage you to review our vacancies which are open to all.

This role has a starting salary of £42,239 per annum, based on a 36 hour working week.

This is a 12-month secondment to cover maternity leave.

We have a great opportunity to join our General Fostering team to cover a secondment post for a Supervising Social Worker

We support hybrid working with the right balance. We come together in person for duty week every 7 weeks and a couple of days per week on average. We come together for service meetings and team meetings a couple of times a month. We support working from home the rest of the time.
Our Offer to You

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents.

About The Role

• The primary focus of this role will be to supervise foster carers and support them to meet the National Minimum Standards for Foster Carers.
• You will also be part of the duty team which will involve supporting foster carers in the absence of their allocated workers and completing assessments for temporary approval of kinship carers.
• General tasks within the fostering team and working closely with the team around the children will include some evening work.
• This role will require you to be self-motivated and accustomed to working to deadlines. You will have good IT and communication skills, with experience of establishing and nurturing multi-agency relationships.

Your Application

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours :

• Be a qualified Social Worker, registered with Social Work England
• Experience of working with children and young people and a comprehensive knowledge of legislation relating to looked after children and fostering.
• Ability to work directly with the wider public, Foster Carers and young people and able to produce clear, evidence based and analytical assessments
• Flexibility to work evenings and occasional weekends, as the role includes attending recruitment events and home visits outside office hours

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and Social Workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long-term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description & OurLife at Surrey handbook to get an insight into working at Surrey.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on Friday 16th January 2026 with interviews to follow.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Contact Us

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment. Please contact Carol Norrington Beard on MS Teams for a further conversation.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we're committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.