Social Worker - Children & Families - Fostering & Permanency Team

Join us in Hackney for your next career move and start afresh in 2025. We work to achieve the best outcomes for every child in the borough. Our Systemic, Trauma-Informed and Anti-Racist (STAR) practice model informs everything we do.

Our priority is to provide the highest quality support and care for Hackney's children and families, providing the right support at the right time. We are rated Good by Ofsted and are continually seeking to improve our services and set this out in our Action Plan .

We are an innovative borough where we collaborate to support change for the children and families we work for and for each other. In partnership with families, carers and our partners, we run an integrated service for children, young people and their families, which is made up of six service areas: Early Help and Prevention; Assessment and Planning; Child Protection and Child in Need; Corporate Parenting (Children in care, Fostering, permanency and leaving care); Safeguarding and Quality Assurance; and Business Systems and Operations.

So, why don't you find yourself in Hackney?

We are currently looking for experienced, enthusiastic, motivated and dynamic social workers to work full-time in our Fostering and Permanency teams, we currently have two Fostering Support Teams and one Permanency Team. The social workers in the Fostering Support Teams hold all the approved Foster Carers and the Permanency Team Social workers hold all our temporary approved cares and support our Special Guardians. The teams are made up of 5 social workers, a senior social worker and a Team manager. To find out more about the teams within Children and Families services, click on this link .

Our Offer To You:

• Our Practice Academy will offer Systemic, Trauma-Informed and Anti-Racist training, reflective spaces, joint work with clinicians and a career framework. We have clinicians working alongside practitioners to embed STAR and are developing a tailored wellbeing offer to maximise the support to staff
• Dedicated Race Equality and Inclusion leadership within the council working to embed active anti-racist practice and support staff's anti-racism journey
• Monthly group supervision for collaboration and support when things feel stuck
• Flexible working options including family friendly leave for parents and dependency leave for carers

In addition to the above you will have access to a range of council-wide benefits:

• Generous holiday allowance - 27 days per year, rising to 32 days after five years
• Unrivalled pension scheme
• Flexible working options including part-time options
• Family-friendly policies
• A range of discounts, including subsidised gym membership and local eating
• Access to financial and season ticket loans
• Health and wellbeing benefits, such as lunchtime fitness classes
• A comprehensive training and development offer
• We are a member of Cycle Scheme and offer free pool bikes

Read more about our services and offer to employees on the Hackney Council website .

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.

If you want to work in a place where you can represent our values, so we achieve the best for our residents, please click on the apply button below.

We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CV's.

To proceed with your application, you will need to create an account and submit your application.

As part of the application process, you will need to complete a number of competency-based questions. These questions allow you to demonstrate your suitability for the role and provide examples of your skills, knowledge and experience outlined in the job description.

We understand the benefits of using AI in the workplace. However, if you are thinking of using this tool to submit your application, we ask you to think about what value it will add. AI tools tend to lack the personal touch and authenticity we value in candidates. We encourage you to showcase your unique knowledge and skills using your own voice.

Closing date for applications: 16 March 2025 (22.59).

Interview and assessment date: 28 March 2025.

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud; a place that celebrates diversity and where everyone can feel valued, included and involved. In order to achieve this, we look for people who are: Proud; Ambitious; Pioneering; Open; Proactive; Inclusive.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: