As Director of Children’s Services, I am passionate and care about the rights and needs of all children and young people. Enabling and supporting children and young people to aspire, achieve and believe in themselves, regardless of the adversity they may have faced is the ultimate ambition and outcome I want for them. To achieve this outcome, I am equally passionate on improving services for Dudley Children and Young people. It is clear there is a real commitment from politicians, partners and staff to making a real difference to ensure that children are at the heart of everything we do. Dudley Council is committed to protecting vulnerable children and families in need of support and protection.

Catherine Driscoll, Director of Children’s Service

We are looking for an experienced social worker to come and join our Children in Care Team here in Dudley. This is our last social worker vacancies so you will be part of a whole permanent work force in the Children in Care service area. If you are looking for the challenge of being a corporate parent to young people in care and can be driven about best outcomes and building good relationships with young people then this is the job for you.

Hours: 37 per week

Salary: Grade 8 to Grade 10

Working for Dudley you will receive:

• Manageable case loads
• A comprehensive learning and development package
• High quality professional supervision
• Supportive and collaborative team working
• Excellent progression opportunities
• A significantly streamlined IT system allowing more time away from admin and more time to work with children and their families

We require social workers with 1yrs post qualifying only. Candidates who have not completed their ASYE programme will not be considered for this vacancy.

For more information regarding Children in Care please contact Gayle Barry on 01384 813843 or email gayle.barry@dudley.gov.uk

For further information on Dudley Children's Social Care please go to www.childrenservicesjobs-dudley.org.uk

Please take a look at our promotional videohttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=26l0J7Wdwxk&t=28s

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children; therefore the post is subject to medical clearance and an enhanced DBS check.

NB. We reserve the right to close vacancies prior to the advertised closing date should a large number of applications be received.

We aim to create an inclusive working environment where everyone can achieve a healthy work/life balance. We are serious about our responsibility for personal and professional development and look to ensure that staff are equipped with the skills, knowledge and experience to succeed. The Councils Benefit Package is designed to boost and maintain the health, wellbeing and general quality of life of all our staff.

Security and support at work

We offer a wide range of benefits, to ensure that staff are paid fairly for the work they undertake and have the flexibility to enjoy a great work/life balance. We offer:

• A competitive salary package, including a career progression scheme
• A range of flexible working options, including flexitime and home-working, dependent on service requirements
• A generous holiday allowance and special leave provisions
• The Local Government Pension Scheme
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme – whatever life throws at you, we are committed to supporting you
• Bullying and Harassment and Dignity at Work policies to protect your everyday working life

Your professional future

We invest in our staff, to enable them to develop personal and professional skills and progress in their Social Work Career.

All new employees receive a comprehensive induction, training and development programme, with regular opportunities to update their skills and achieve their full potential. We welcome fresh thinking, recognise real talent and encourage innovation and ingenuity.

We train staff at all levels. We have a huge range of training opportunities, through the Centre for Professional Practice Service. We encourage and support Continual Professional Development, with opportunities to attend external training, secondment opportunities, and earn extra qualifications through the Apprenticeship Levy.

A summary of all benefits for staff is attached.

We are recruiting Qualified Social Workers with a minimum of 12 Months post-qualifying experience.

If you have been qualified as a Social Worker less than 12 months, or have not yet completed your ASYE programme, and are interested in working at Dudley Children’s Services then please contact our Centre for Professional Practice who will be able to advise of any vacancies available and describe the ASYE Programme on offer, please contact CPP@dudley.gov.uk and a member of the Team will contact you directly to discuss.

The following has information about the ASYE programme and a link to the handbook:-

https://www.dudleycpp.org.uk/careerprogression-ld

If you have previously been registered as a social worker in England but your registration has lapsed, and you would like to restore your registration we would love to hear from you. Email the Centre for Professional Practice cpp@dudley.gov.uk and a member of the team will contact you to talk about our 'return to social work' scheme.

So that we can demonstrate Dudley’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and to improve bias in the recruitment process that could create barriers for candidates. Your personal data will be anonymised when you apply, to ensure that you comply with our anonymisation process please ensure you have removed your name and date of birth from any attachments prior to uploading them to your application.

Online application forms will only be accepted for this vacancy, online facilities for jobs are available at public libraries within the Dudley Borough.

If you require support completing an online or paper application form and or interview techniques, please contact Dudley Adult and Community Learning on 01384 818 143 or acl@dudley.gov.uk who can support with Digital Skills and Job Applications.

If you have a disability and require assistance in making an application please contact the HR Resourcing Team via

If you are experiencing a problem whilst applying for a position, please follow the link below to the WM Jobs Help Page in the first instance https://help.wmjobs.co.uk/

If the WM Jobs Help Page does not resolve your issue then please contact the HR Resourcing Team via HR.Resourcing@dudley.gov.uk

Dudley Council will check the information that you have provided against any details already held for accuracy and completeness. The Council will check, share and cross match your information both internally within the council and with external organisations to protect public funds and prevent or detect crime, only where the law allows us to do so. The Council’s full Privacy and Disclaimer Statement can be accessed on the website at http://www.dudley.gov.uk/

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Supporting documents
JD/PS
CPF
Benefits List