Social Worker

Essex County Council; United States; Hybrid; USD 48,000 - 51,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

CPD

Flexible hours

Wellbeing support

Lease car

Life assurance

LGPS

Volunteering leave

Annual leave

EAP

Employee networks

Registration fees

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking a passionate Social Worker for the West Essex Neighbourhood teams. The role involves carrying out assessments, reviews, and support planning for adults, with a focus on safeguarding and person-centred care.

It is a hybrid role based in Harlow with some travel across Essex. You will work with families, carers, and partner agencies, ensuring the welfare and independence of adults while meeting statutory responsibilities under the Care Act 2014.

Qualifications

• Current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.
• Driving licence and car, or mobility to meet role requirements.
• Experience with Care Act 2014 assessments, reviews, and safeguarding.

Responsibilities

• Undertake assessments, reviews, and care planning for adults aged 18+.
• Carry out mental capacity assessments and adult safeguarding tasks.
• Develop and maintain positive partnerships with health, housing, and voluntary sector agencies.
• Attend and chair meetings as required and build strong relationships with providers and the community.

Skills

Communication

Assessment

Safeguarding

Relationship building

Mobility/Driving

Education

Social Work degree

Job description

We're an adult social care service that wants to see citizens of Essex have as much choice and control over the way they live their lives as possible. We think everyone should have the chance to live a full and fulfilling life with people they love and care about, doing things that matter to them and living in a place they can call home. We're determined that with the right support, everyone can maintain or achieve some independence and we're proud to be working to make these ambitions a reality. Our Social Workers work alongside people and their families and carers to help them think through what might help them get on with their lives in the way that works best for them. We do this within the framework of our statutory Care Act requirements. This means many of our conversations are framed as 'assessments', 'reviews', 'support planning' and 'safeguarding'. But our aim is always to listen and understand what matters to the person and then to work with them to think through how this might be achieved. Take a look at our short video here to get a glimpse into the role and what it's like to be a Social Worker at Essex County Council. About the Team We are looking for passionate and proactive Social Workers to join our West Essex Neighbourhood teams. Opportunities are currently available in the Harlow North and South Neighbourhood team and the Epping Forest North Neighbourhood team. The teams form part of a Neighbourhood approach, linking closely with our partners in health, housing and voluntary sector. Relationships, partnership working and community connections are at the heart of everything we do. Working with people aged 18 and above across all specialisms, the role will involve undertaking a wide range of duties under the Care Act 2014 from assessment, reviews, mental capacity assessments and adult safeguarding. This role offers hybrid working, with an expectation to be office based at Goodman House in Harlow around 2 to 3 days per week depending on business need for collaborative team working and training. Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK. This advert is open to Experienced and Newly Qualified Social Worker's (NQSW). The starting salary for a NQSW is £36,124 per annum, rising to £38,487 per annum upon successful completion of the ASYE programme., If you share our vision, enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories you might be interested to find out more about what we do. If you're also a Social Worker and registered with Social Work England with that winning combination of creative thought, reliability and practical ability to get things done, we'd really love to hear from you! You'll have a broad understanding of our statutory responsibilities and a commitment to meeting these in a person-centred way. You may have experience of chairing meetings, and you'll have an ability to develop strong relationships with partner agencies and the local community to provide a supportive framework. Our Social Worker roles involve travelling around Essex. A driving licence and car - or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means - is essential. In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government's devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR)) on our careers site Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We're committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We're also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying. Once you've secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs. At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone. As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service. Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. In June 2025, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated our Adult Social Care services as "Good" with a score of 73% "The local authority had a good structure and processes in place to enable people to be supported successfully, and support people to remain independent and live healthy lives. The workforce was passionate about supporting people to achieve these outcomes and the local authority had good knowledge of their area, the people living there and the demographics." You can read the full report on the CQC website here. Our teams are busy but warm, friendly and supportive. Our fabulous team managers will help you manage your workload and develop your practice. We take your career just as seriously as you do, and we have a continuing professional development offer that's second to none. We welcome diversity because it makes us grow and we're determined to become a fully inclusive and an anti-racist organisation. What We Offer We'll support you to be your best and will offer:

• Ongoing opportunities for continuing professional development
• Flexible working options
• Employee wellbeing and counselling
• Lease Car scheme
• Life assurance of three times annual salary
• Local Government Pension Scheme. View Key Factsand FAQ's about the LGPS.
• Volunteering leave
• 27 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), rising with service
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - access to free and confidential information, support, and guidance from a team of highly qualified professionals.
• Employee Networks - communities to support you, connect you and help influence change at ECC
• Payment of your Social Work England registration fees!