Senior Practitioner

**About Us**:
**THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF SHOFA’S MARKET**

Children’s Services in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where courageous and inspiring professionals bring everything to their work.

Sometimes this even includes heartbreak. Shofa is a shining example. Shofa’s brother suffered with his mental health and died tragically young. She uses his memory as motivation to give Westminster Youth Council members the opportunity to have a voice and get involved in decision making. This passion resulted in in her innovation: The Westminster Youth Market. Here local teenagers learn about entrepreneurship and develop their personal skills. This is an inclusive platform where everyone’s contribution and abilities are celebrated. Inspired by a promising life cut short, Shofa believes without vision there is no direction and every young person should be supported to realise their dreams.

Please view the extraordinary story of Shofa’s Market **here**.

**The Role**:
As a Senior Practitioner with our Disabled Childrens Team you can make your own powerful contribution as you use your technical expertise to manage a caseload of complex cases, and act as a mentor to other social workers or specialist workers. This caseload will include children and young people who exhibit serious risk factors or need high level intervention to see them safely through their childhood and prepare for adulthood. You’ll be expected to operate with a high degree of professional autonomy and authority while delivering excellent outcomes.

Responsible for social work provision to allocated and newly referred cases in accordance with national statutory guidance and local departmental policy, you’ll safeguard and secure the well-being of the children and young people you work with by employing a systemic therapeutic approach. Empowering families and strengthening their resilience to safely care for their children and achieve positive outcomes, you’ll engage effectively in the formulation and implementation of their plans, and deliver protective, supportive services for children at risk, in need, or being looked after.

Dedicated to achieving security and stability for those children who are unable to live safely with their families, you’ll represent the local authority as the corporate parent for children who are looked after or leaving care. You’ll also work collaboratively with colleagues and in partnership across agencies in accordance with our statutory duties for the benefit of all the children, young people and families in your caseload.

Please refer to the **Job Description** for more information.

**About You**:
With a recognised Social Work Qualification and registered with Social Work England in the UK, your post-qualifying training will consist of continuous professional development in addition to foundation level (DipSW) training. You’ll have experience of managing and directing your own work and the work of colleagues, and at least 2-3 years’ experience of working to safeguard children and families in accordance with the expectations set out in the Children Act 1989 and 2004. This should include qualified social work experience in at least one of the following areas: disabled children services, early help/child in need, child protection, care proceedings, permanency care planning or LAC/leaving care/UASC services.

We’ll expect you to have experience of assessing and engaging with families from a range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and of establishing links and leading collaboratively with a range of professionals to protect and support children and their families. You should also be capable of organising needs-led planning and reviews for children in need of help, protection and care, and of conducting direct work with children of different ages, needs and cultural backgrounds.

Ready to keep up-to-speed with the latest research, knowledge and best practice in the fields of child care practice and youth justice, legislation and government guidance, you’ll have the ability to undertake student supervision and take on a mentoring, coaching or supervisory role with junior staff. We’ll also expect you to have the ability to undertake risk management, and possess the organisational skills to manage time effectively to balance the competing demands of direct work, record keeping and statutory processes.

**What We Offer**:
Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and whe