Senior Social Worker – Family Lead Practitioner; Yate​/Hub

Position: Senior Social Worker – Family Help Lead Practitioner (Yate / Central Hub)
Location: Yate

How you'll make a difference

South Gloucestershire’s children’s social care service is rated Good by Ofsted, and we are committed to building on this strong foundation by delivering high-quality support that helps children and families thrive. As a Senior Social Worker within our Family Help service, you will play a key role in providing experienced, relationship-based social work practice, supporting children, young people and families to achieve positive and lasting outcomes.

You will manage the most complex cases, using your expertise to assess risk, strengthen safety and ensure children receive the right support at the right time. Contributing to the ongoing development of practice across the team, you will support colleagues, promote reflective learning and help to maintain consistently high standards of service delivery.

What you will be doing

Working within a multi-disciplinary Family Help and Best Start Community team, you will combine complex casework with professional leadership. Children’s voices, family networks and relationship-based practice will remain central as you coordinate statutory support and help families build safety, confidence and resilience.

• Holding the most complex cases across Child in Need, Child Protection and early Children in Care, you will complete high-quality assessment, planning, intervention and review.
• Using your professional judgement, you will make robust and timely decisions where there is risk of significant harm, balancing children’s safety, family rights and statutory responsibilities.
• You will facilitate family group decision-making, strengthen family networks and coordinate effective multi-agency support.
• It will be your responsibility to provide professional oversight, supervision, mentoring and practice guidance to alternatively qualified staff, students and less experienced social workers.
• Leading group learning, workshops or a specialist area of practice, you will contribute to service development, policy, performance and continuous improvement.
• You may directly manage a small number of alternatively qualified practitioners and will support the Team Manager with service quality, professional standards and team performance.

What we need from you

• It is essential that you hold a recognised social work qualification and current registration with Social Work England, alongside a relevant post-qualifying award.
• You will have significant post-qualification experience within a local authority children’s services setting, including evidence-based work with vulnerable children and families.
• We are looking for someone who has detailed knowledge of children’s legislation and practice, with strong skills in assessment, risk analysis, safety planning and complex statutory decision-making.
• You must have experience of staff supervision, mentoring or practice development and be able to support others through constructive challenge, reflective learning and professional guidance.
• As an effective communicator and relationship builder, you will be confident handling difficult and sensitive issues with children, families, colleagues and partner agencies.

What you need to know

• We are unable to accommodate applications from newly qualified social workers or candidates who require an Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE). Applicants must already have successfully completed their ASYE.
• This position is based in our Central Family Help Hub, Yate (Badminton Road).
• Although this post is advertised as full time, we welcome applications from experienced Social Workers seeking part-time, job-share or flexible working arrangements.
• You will be expected to travel throughout the authority and surrounding area, so you must have a full, valid driving licence with regular…