This is an exciting time to be joining Dorset Council, we are investing and strengthening our service to meet the needs of all unaccompanied children in and beyond our care. A new, dedicated team of Social Workers and Personal Advisers is being created. This opportunity is now available for social workers who are interested and passionate about offering the best service to unaccompanied children.

Social workers will support children to receive a warm Dorset welcome, as they come into our care. Settling into homes where they can be offered the stability, care, and safety they need to adjust to living in the UK, develop their skills and transition into adulthood.

You will deliver the full range of statutory responsibilities for Children in Care, under the Children Act 1989, as well as working within the Leaving Care Act 2000 and alongside Personal Advisors, when a child reaches 16.

You will be working collaboratively with multi agency partners to identify and assess each child's needs and reflect these and their individual strengths and aspirations within all aspects of care planning. There will be a particular focus on their health, education, and social needs, which will include supporting cultural links within communities and advocating for them to receive the best care and support.

You will be aiming to achieve permanence for our children ensuring triple planning is started early and clear to our children and those supporting them. In this role you will work closely with our legal service and the Home Office to progress our children's asylum applications promptly.

About you:

You will have a Social Work qualification, be registered with Social Work England and be able to fulfil the travel requirements of the post. This post has a significant travel requirement, both locally and nationally, and you are contractually required to have a vehicle (or transport deemed to be suitable by the council) available for use as required.
You will need experience of working to meet competing demands and be able to adapt to changing situations and respond appropriately.
You will need to be an effective communicator, be creative in your work and use reflective thinking to inform your practice.
Experience in working with unaccompanied young people is desirable but not essential.
Due to the current need, applications can only be accepted from candidates who already have the right to work in the UK.

Further Information

This is a full time role at 37 hours per week.

This post requires significant travel. You must have a vehicle (or transport we deem suitable) available for use as needed.

This post involves working with children and/or vulnerable adults and/or having access to significant information about them. It will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. See our policy on the employment of ex-offenders.

See our policy on safeguarding children and young people.

The friends and family referral scheme applies to this post. If an employee recommended this post to you, mention them when asked on your application form.

Employees can share this advert by using the button links alongside the job title.

You must:

have a degree in social work or equivalent
be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
be able to fulfil the travel requirements of the postSee the children's social worker framework.

About Us

We're passionate about making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit. Working for us should be no exception.

At Dorset Council we:

provide more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents
have ambitious aspirations
are excited about our future
care about Dorset and all the people who live here
know that all roles make a difference and that our employees are key to our successYou will:

have access to a range of employee benefits
be part of an organisation that supports each other to grow and succeed
have access to range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progressionWe are challenging ourselves to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation.

We recognise that recruitment and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to the council and our communities. We have a commitment to equality and welcome applications from everyone.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We offer an interview to everyone who declares a disability and meets the essential criteria for the role.

We are keen to make our interviews accessible. Let us know on your job application if you have a disability and need any reasonable adjustments.

We also look for applicants who share our commitment to our behaviours. We will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process.

If appointed, the personal information we collect from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found at (url removed) role is UK based and we will need to establish your Right to Work as part of the appointment process.

We use generic job descriptions and person specifications. This means the job title on any attachments may differ from the job title in the advert. We may provide specific information in a context statement if relevant.

Find out more about how to apply.

Connect2Dorset is a trading style of Dorset & Kent Commercial Services LLP - A joint venture between Dorset Council & Commercial Services Kent Ltd. Connect2Dorset is an equal opportunities Employment Agency & Business. It positively encourages applications from all suitably qualified and eligible candidates