Permanence Social Worker ( Maternity Cover )

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall Glenfield LE3 8RA

Salary: 35353 - 45982 (inclusive of market premium 3283) per annum (pro-rata for part-time) (Pay award pending)

Working Hours:37 hours per week

Contract Type: Fixed term (12 months Maternity Cover)

Closing Date: 4th May 2026

Interview Date(s): W/C 11th May 2026

The work of the team is to provide permanence through identifying and matching children and adopters together. This requires taking the lead in securing early permanence by taking responsibility for a childs journey to an adoptive placement from the point that adoption is considered to be a potential outcome. The team are looking for experienced and passionate social workers to work within our stable and developing team alongside supportive and approachable managers.

About the Role

The Permanence Social Worker will work alongside the fieldwork teams when care plans are being twin tracked with a plan of adoption. The Permanence Social Worker will complete Child Permanence Reports and Sibling Assessments during court proceedings and will take the lead for ensuring that the child is fully prepared and that adopters are well supported by providing all relevant paperwork that gives detailed and robust analysis of the childs current and predicted needs based on their past experiences. This will inform matching introduction and placement support.

The Permanence Social Worker takes on the role of allocated social worker from point of Placement Order and therefore supports children through the process of being matched introduced and settled in their adoptive families up to the granting of an Adoption Order.

An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders please see our policy statement.

About You

To apply for this post you must be able to evidence in your application how you meet the following criteria:

• Have a Social Work degree or equivalent e.g. CQSW DipSW (with specialism in childrens services) and be registered with Social Work England.
• Preferably you will have a number of years post qualifying experience in Child Care social work including experience of adoption i.e. family finding and matching through to Adoption Order.
• Be able to complete reports such as Child Permanence Reports Adoption Support Plans and Annex As to a high standard and work within tight deadlines where needed.
• Be able to evidence your skills and knowledge of creative innovative and relationship-based social work working in collaboration with families and professionals. Ideally you will already be confident in the application of the Signs of Safety methodology.
• Demonstrate enthusiasm and passion for practice and be committed to helping us build a real culture of reflection and learning.
• Commitment to Trauma Informed practice.
• Have a full valid driving licence and access to a vehicle.

In addition we also expect you to shareour commitment to our valuesand to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a are aDisability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working

We are open to discussions about flexible working which may include part time working job sharing term-time working flexible start and finish times and hybrid working depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion please contact:

Emma E Johnson- Permanence Team Manager

Telephone:

Email:

How to Apply

At Leicestershire County Council were looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are wherever youre from and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation not just whats on your CV. Thats why weve designed a recruitment process thats fair accessible and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire wed love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the About You section above. Without this information we wont be able to assess your suitability for the role and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement see theHow to Applysection on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore if you are interested please submit your application as early as possible.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning0(select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: applying for this post you agree to ourTerms and Conditions.