Fostering Social Worker

Salary: circa £38,000 per annum + £700 on call allowance

Location: Inverness, Highlands

Contract/Hours: Permanent / Full Time – 37 hours per week

Benefits:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 29 days PLUS bank holidays
• Up to 5 more days leave for continuous service plus the option to buy and sell leave.
• Gain professional qualifications with excellent training, and development opportunities.
• Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages.
• A pension with a up to a 7% employer contribution rate. Plus, if you pay in to the pension you will receive life assurance cover.
• Staff discount portal with your favourite brands.
• Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 discounts from national retailers.

Vulnerable children in the UK need your help

Wherever you work in the Action for Children family, you'll be helping to change the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK.

Last year, we helped more than 670,000 children and families across the UK. From direct work in communities to national campaigning, we are focused on making sure every child has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive.

Why Action for Children?

Working here is more than a job. Everyone in the Action for Children family is passionate about protecting and supporting children. It's the sense of purpose that drives us every single day. Because we know that, when we work together, we can make a huge difference to bring lasting improvements to vulnerable children's lives.

A bit about the role

Action for Children's Fostering Service is a specialist fostering service that offers therapeutic care to children and young people who cannot be looked after at home. We offer the highest standard of care providing carers with excellent training, supervision, and support to achieve the best outcomes for the young people we look after. We have excellent fostering inspections and provide good quality of care to young people, always ensuring we listen to our young people every step of the way.

You'll promote the highest standards of care and wellbeing for our young people, and guide and deliver training to foster carers with opportunities to really get to know young people and support them on their journey. By thinking therapeutically and creatively (with and for) young people and ensuring best practice, you'll make a real and lasting difference. You'll be part of a team that values relational- based practice, as this is at the heart of all that we do!

Our Service is growing, and as a Fostering Social Worker you'll be working in Gael Og, our Fostering Scotland team covering the Highlands. Our Fostering Head Office base is in Glasgow with a local office in Inverness and we can discuss the frequency of office-based work at the interview stage.

How you'll help to create brighter futures

Some key responsibilities for the role are;

• Bringing your experience values and enthusiasm.
• Being part of a team to support fostering families to provide stable and loving experiences for young people.
• Working with others to inspire, support and keep children and young people safe.
• Creating memories and support connections with young people's families and their siblings.
• Feeling confident and skilled in your role.

Let's talk about you

• A degree in social work or equivalent and experience of safeguarding/ public protection is essential.
• Experience of family-based care or post qualifying training would be an advantage as would experience of assessing, supervising and supporting foster carers.
• Registered or willing to be registered with SSSC (Scottish Social Services Council).
• Strong commitment to work within our therapeutic framework to support the needs of children.

Good to know

Please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

Application Process: There are five sections to complete: Personal Details, CV, Supporting Statement & Information, Equality & Diversity, Submission & Declaration.

Talent Pool: We know talent when we see it. But sometimes we find the right person but not for the right job. We'd love to keep your details for when the right job comes up. Let us know if you'd rather we didn't.

Contact: If, for any reason, you need support with your application, please contact Laura McCarthy at Laura.McCarthy2@actionforchildren.org.uk. We'll be happy to give you any support you require.

Diversity, equality, and inclusion

At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society and for Action for Children.

Don't meet every single requirement?

If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with the job description, we'd love you to apply anyway. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role within the Action for Children family.

Male staff are under-represented within our Children Service roles. We would like to encourage more male applicants for our Children Service roles.

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