Principal Social Worker

The London Borough of Merton is "A place where children young people and families feel they belong, stay safe and can thrive." 

The London Borough of Merton was judged outstanding in our last ILACs inspection and we are ambitious to build on our successes. Our vision is for our Borough to be a safe place for every child to grow up in and to give every child the best start in life. This has never been more important as our families face the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and legacy of Covid-19, and our leaders and managers are focused and committed to supporting staff to be creative, child focused and impactful in our work. 

In Merton we have a blended practice model which combines Systemic Practice, Relationship Based Social Work and Signs of Safety and is embedded throughout all of our work with Children and Families. There is also a well-established and connected multiagency partnership and together we strive to:

• make decisions alongside our children and families. 
• keep children and families at the heart of our work. 
• support children remaining in their families wherever it is safe to do so.
• "Think Family" and focus on strengths. 
• commit to doing what we say we will do. 
• learn from what we do to improve the experiences of children, young people and families. 
• celebrate difference. 

We are looking for an experienced manager who can lead the development and maintenance of practice standards across the service, liaising closely with the corporate learning and development team to ensure we continue to drive practice forward, to deliver an outstanding service for children, young people and their families. To manage and be fully responsible for all aspects of learning and development related to social care and the learning and development budget.

You will need strong operational social work management experience, a sound understanding of what best practice looks like, a passion for supporting staff to drive improvement. You will be someone who places children at the heart of everything they do and is able to practice in a way that is respectful and enables our families to make the best possible decisions for their children.

You will lead a service area which supports teams working with children whose needs are being assessed, are subject to child in need and child protection plans and legal processes and those in the care of Merton. You will be a key member of the leadership team in the Family Support and Safeguarding Service and will be integral to contributing to the future shape of our practice system in light of the new National Framework.

We welcome applications from Black and Global Majority groups to apply to Merton in the interest of valuing and promoting diversity within the senior leadership team. 

For an informal discussion feel free to contact Jo Ross, Head of Service – jo.ross@merton.gov.uk