Senior Social Worker Organisational Safeguarding
Chelmsford - UK
Job Summary
Senior Social Worker - Organisational Safeguarding
PermanentFull Time
48205 to 57988 per annum
Location:Chelmsford
Working Style:Community-based worker
Closing Date: 16th September 2026
With us you can achieve more for yourself as well as the vulnerable adults you work to support. Were always looking for new ways to deliver even better services; Senior Social Workers play an integral role in our preventative approach to Social Care. We encourage our multi-disciplinary teams to share their ideas and experience. We work together to get things done. Bring your positive proactive attitude and well empower you to make the most of your experience within Essex County Council (ECC) Adult Social Care services. About the Role We are looking for Senior Social Workers to join ECCs Organisational Safeguarding Team within the safeguarding service. The Organisational Safeguarding Team provides supportive coordinated and preventative support to addressing provider failure and works with internal and external partners to undertake targeted prevention and skilled assessment of widespread risk in relation to organisational safeguarding. The successful applicant will be part of a team that will shape how we ensure safeguarding is made personal when applying Care Act thresholds. Working collaboratively with statutory non-statutory and voluntary sector partners you will help ensure a coordinated and joined-up approach to safeguarding and care planning. You will act as a role model for best practice providing expert advice guidance and support to colleagues and contributing to the ongoing development of professional standards across the service. About Us At Essex County Council Adult Services our mission is clear. We want to make the best and most sustainable use of all resources available to the adult their families and carers. To ensure they have access to information and tools to enable them to live healthily and independently for as long as possible and to exercise choice and control over their lives. And to ensure the safety dignity and quality of life for all the adults we work with. To make sure we achieve our goals weve transformed our service to be far more proactive. Moving from focusing on long-term care and support our new model is centred on four key principles - prevention early intervention enablement and safeguarding. Were very proud of our service and the work were doing with all our partners to build community capacity and resilience. About You To apply you should be aqualified social worker with a current Social Work England registrationand bepost-qualified 3 yearsas a minimum with an in-depth knowledge of complex cases and The Care Act. You will bring knowledge of safeguarding and will be able to work effectively in a fast-paced environment. Youll be a source of specialist advice and will enable the mitigation of high levels of risk. You will bring the ability to make clear decisions to highlight and limit potential risks associated with intervention. You should have a recognised qualification i.e. PE/BIA/AMPH or currently on the recognised programmes; or has completed an alternative relevant formal learning experience. Furthermore that social worker is actively applying the qualification to the role of mentoring/developing individuals or groups and can evidence this in practice. This role involves travelling around Essex and beyond. A driving licence and car - or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means - is essential. Why Join Us In June 2025 the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated our Adult Social Care services as Good with a score of 73% The local authority had a good structure and processes in place to enable people to be supported successfully and support people to remain independent and live healthy lives. The workforce was passionate about supporting people to achieve these outcomes and the local authority had good knowledge of their area the people living there and the demographics. You can read the full report on the CQC websitehere. Our teams are busy but warm friendly and supportive. Our fabulous team managers will help you manage your workload and develop your practice. We take your career just as seriously as you do and we have a continuing professional development offer thats second to none. We welcome diversity because it makes us grow and were determined to become a fully inclusive and an anti-racist organisation. What We Offer Well support you to be your best and will offer: Whatever you want to achieve in your social work career you can do it here. *T&Cs Apply. Apply now. To read more about our business area please visit: Why Essex As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents were committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity we ensure everyone matters inEveryones Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community Essex is the ideal place for you. In March 2026 the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes and what this may mean for this role on ourcareers site. Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. Were committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the also committed to interview allveteransandcare leavers who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying. Once youve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs. At Essex County Council we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and theNolan principles including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone. The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential. As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities blogs news events and industry related news at Essex County Council please joinThe Essex Talent Community If you have queries on this role or require anything further please Follow us onFacebookTwitterInstagramandLinkedIn. Further details can be found on ourcareers page. Downloads Pay and RewardOur Ways of WorkingAbout UsOrganisation Behaviours
In this role you will demonstrate expert and effective social work practice in complex situations confidently managing your own caseload while supporting colleagues with challenging cases. You will use your professional expertise to assess manage and mitigate high levels of risk ensuring that adults receive timely and proportionate interventions.
Required Experience:
Senior IC