Senior Social Work Assistant - Fostering Recruitment and Assessment

at  Somerset Council

Some key information

This exciting opportunity for a Senior Social Work Assistant to join the fostering recruitment and assessment team. You will focus on identifying and supporting potential foster carers through to fostering panel.

• Flexible working available, using a hybrid model - working from home and County Hall, Taunton.
• 25 days annual leave, raising to 28 after 5 years service
• Through efficiency, organisation and positivity you will ensure we provide excellent service and meet internal KPI’s and timescales, providing support to the Recruitment Co-Ordinator.
• Fixed term contract until 31/12/2024

There is a real potential to grow in the service and we are really keen to speak to individuals who are motivated to support in this part of the service.
What will I be doing?

We’re working to improve the lives of children and young people in Somerset – and you’ll be a key part of that. Your day-to-day work will involve:

• Proactive and timely response to potential carer enquiries.
• Completing initial home visits and making evidence-based recommendations.
• Supporting applicants in completing the application process.
• Supporting Assessing Social Workers with fostering assessments, including completing applicant checks.

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?
We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you have good IT skills, enabling effective input, manipulation and retrieval of data and other information.

You will need:

• Relevant childcare qualifications (NVQ3 or equivalent) or appropriate experience.
• To be literate and numerate to GCSE level/Level 4

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.
We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.
What’s in it for me?
We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more.

Anything else I should know?
The salary range for this role is £19,372 to £21,064 per annum for 30 hours per week
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the role further, please contact:
Elaine O’Dwyer-Gill (Recruitment and Assessment Manager) - elaine.odwyergill@somerset.gov.uk or
Ian Snow (Recruitment Co-Ordinator) - ian.snow@somerset.gov.uk
When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.
If you have all the information you need, just hit the apply button - we can’t wait to hear from you.
DBS information
This post requires a criminal background check via the Disclosure procedure.
Job Reference: SCC0484

Please refer the Job description for details