Lead Child Protection Practitioner

Harrow Council; United States; Hybrid; USD 56,000 - 71,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Job summary

London Borough of Harrow's Harrow Children's Services is seeking an experienced child protection social worker to lead complex safeguarding decisions. The role sits in a co-located Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, delivering statutory duties under relevant Acts and procedures.

You will coordinate high-stakes safeguarding discussions, provide expert guidance to colleagues and partner agencies, and help shape family-centred safeguarding with a trauma-informed, inclusive approach.

Qualifications

• A recognised social work qualification and current Social Work England registration.
• Significant recent experience in front-line statutory child protection practice.
• Detailed knowledge of child protection legislation and safeguarding processes.
• Experience chairing or leading complex child protection meetings.
• Strong risk analysis and ability to hold complexity and uncertainty.
• Commitment to inclusive and culturally competent practice.
• Enhanced DBS check, satisfactory health and work record, and ability to travel.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate Section 47 child protection enquiries across Children's Services.
• Chair strategy meetings, child protection conferences and other safeguarding discussions.
• Provide expert consultation, guidance and professional challenge to social workers and partners.
• Support timely, evidence-informed and defensible decision-making where there is significant harm.
• Contribute to protection and safety planning focused on improving outcomes for children.
• Promote high standards of recording, analysis, information sharing and quality assurance.
• Model relational, strengths-based, trauma-informed and culturally competent practice.

Skills

Social work qualification

Social Work England registration

Front-line child protection

Child protection legislation

Multi-agency safeguarding

Chairing meetings

Risk analysis

Collaborative working

Inclusive practice

Education

Social work degree

Job description

Join Harrow Children's Services Be part of an ambitious Children's Social Care service improving outcomes for children and families. The London Borough of Harrow is embarking on an exciting period of change as we deliver a series of ambitious Children's Reforms Programmes - including Families First, Best Start Family Hubs, Best Start in Life and SEND Reforms. We strive to help every child thrive and through the reforms we are reshaping our future support for children, young people and families across the borough. As part of the Families First Programme, we are building a practice system where relationships are key, where we work alongside children and families encouraging family led decision making and offering multi-disciplinary help when its needed. We are building on our strengths to further improve our approach to child protection, remodelling our system to create a dedicated Multi-Agency Child Protection Service (MACPS), to have the lead role in keeping children and adolescents safe. Are you an experienced child protection social worker with the expertise, confidence and professional curiosity to lead complex safeguarding decision-making?

About the role You will work within a co-located Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, exercising the local authority's statutory child protection duties in line with the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004, Working Together to Safeguard Children, the London Child Protection Procedures and Harrow's local safeguarding arrangements. Key responsibilities will include:

• Leading and coordinating Section 47 child protection enquiries across Children's Services.
• Chairing strategy meetings, child protection conferences and other complex multi-agency safeguarding discussions.
• Providing expert consultation, guidance and professional challenge to social workers, managers and partner agencies.
• Supporting timely, evidence-informed and defensible decision-making where children may be suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm.
• Contributing to protection and safety planning that is clear, purposeful and focused on improving outcomes for children and young people.
• Promoting high standards of recording, analysis, information-sharing and quality assurance across the child protection pathway.
• Modelling relational, strengths-based, trauma-informed and culturally competent practice with children, families and professionals. We are looking for a confident and experienced practitioner who can bring professional authority, sound judgement and a strong commitment to child-centred safeguarding.

You will have significant operational experience in statutory child protection and a strong understanding of intra-familial and extra-familial harm, including adolescent exploitation and risk outside the home. You will be able to demonstrate:

• A recognised social work qualification and current Social Work England registration.
• Significant recent experience in front-line statutory child protection practice.
• Detailed knowledge of child protection legislation, statutory guidance, the London Child Protection Procedures and relevant multi-agency safeguarding processes.
• Experience of chairing or leading complex child protection meetings, including strategy discussions, child protection conferences or risk outside the home meetings.
• Strong risk analysis, professional curiosity and the ability to hold complexity, uncertainty and multiple hypotheses.
• The ability to work collaboratively with families and partners while providing clear professional challenge when needed.
• Be committed to inclusive and culturally competent practice, ensuring anti-discriminatory engagement with children and families., This post requires an enhanced DBS check, satisfactory health and work record, and the ability to travel for business purposes where required. We operate a hybrid working model with office base and work from home and this role requires the majority of time within the borough working closely with children, families, social workers, managers and multi-agency safeguarding partners.