Social Worker - Duty and Advice

People and Place

Ref: G8/OL-91113

Contract: Permanent

Salary:  £40,221 - £44,428 per annum (Grade 8)

Essential Car user allowance provided.

Hours: 36.66 per week

Based: Spindles

Closing Date: Sunday 12th May 2024 

Interview Date: TBC

Informal Enquiries: Natassja Gollcher, Head of Duty, and Advice

Email:  Natssaja.gollcher@oldham.gov.uk

Job Description & Person Specification.doc

There's never been a better time to join Children’s Social Care at Oldham:

In Oldham we have the highest aspirations to achieve the best outcomes for our children and families and to sustain them in their communities. We put their needs at the heart of everything we do, and we’re committed to providing our staff with the resources needed to work effectively with children and families, including reducing caseloads. 

This has resulted in investment in more teams across a range of service areas and we’re now looking for motivated and ambitious individuals who share our aspirations to join us.

Situated in the heart of Spindles, the bustling centre of Oldham, our new building stands as a beacon of support and guidance, where the Duty and Advice Team will be based, ready to assist and advise those in need.

What do our teams like most about working for us:

• Competitive pay with a £2,000 retention payment.
• Free town centre parking
• Essential car user allowance of £500* and mileage expenses at 45p per mile.
• Reimbursement of Social Work England professional registration fees, currently £90 per year
• Generous relocation package of up to £8,000

Other generous benefits including:

• 25 days annual leave with the option to purchase additional days, and which increases after 5- and 10-years’ service.
•  Attractive defined benefit pension scheme with a market leading AVC option for additional retirement savings
• Discounted gym membership
• Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
• Salary sacrifice scheme, including Cycle to Work
• Wellbeing support, including an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
• Staff recognition and celebration events
• A supportive and enabling workplace with quality supervision from your manager.
• A comprehensive learning and development programme as part of your ongoing Continuing Professional Development
• Clear progression pathways

Oldham Children's Social Work Services are not currently considering applications from overseas, unless you have a prior registration with SWE and do not require a visa to work in the UK

What’s different about being a social worker in Oldham?

We work with one of the most diverse communities of any local authority in the country and this is reflected within our workforce which we believe is one of our greatest strengths. The life experiences and challenges facing our children and families are incredibly varied and require an inclusive response which recognises the family’s unique strengths and works with them to achieve solutions.

We will develop and reward you for your expertise - that’s why we make sure you have access to a range of support, continual professional development, and training opportunities to continually improve your practice.  We also offer a clear career development route based on your skills and experience through our progression pathway.

Here’s the role:

You will work as part of a co-located multi-agency team, which includes representatives from Greater Manchester Police, Health, Community Safety, Adult Social Care, IDVA and the Prevention Hub, this co-location enables more effective communication between partner agencies.  As a Duty and Advice social worker you will be required to respond to contacts made to the MASH in a timely way to identify and secure the most appropriate service to support and safeguard children and families.  As a Duty and Advice social worker you will communicate with families, partner agencies and members of the public members of the public and partner agencies to enable you to gain details and enable strong evidenced based decision making in line with our practice standards and statutory duties. You will have a good understanding of statutory social worker functions and be confident in making informed threshold decisions.

What we need from you:

To apply for any of these positions we need you to be a qualified, experienced social worker and registered with Social Work England.

Oldham Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

The successful applicant will be required to register to the DBS Update Service to enable the Council to undertake rechecks throughout your employment.  The cost to register is £13 and can be claimed back upon commencement to the role but will not be refunded if you do not accept the offer of employment.

If you would like support with this application, an interview or interested in looking at any courses that could help with this position please get in touch with Get Oldham Working - Get Oldham Working registration form - Oldham Council

NB. - Any candidate that meets the criteria of our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme and meets the essential criteria of the role, will be guaranteed the first stage of assessment (whether that is an interview or another assessment, as appropriate).

Our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme supports candidates with disabilities, carers, those who are aged 24 or under and have previously been in or currently in care, and those whose last long term substantive employer was the Armed Forces.

Diversity and Inclusion:

At Oldham Council, we are committed to creating a fair and inclusive workplace that is as diverse as the communities we serve. We aim to develop a culture of respect, where differences are recognised regardless of background. We aim to be an employer of choice by engaging in fair and open recruitment processes and Applications are encouraged from all communities across the borough to create a workforce that represents the diversity of our population.

About Us:

Oldham is committed to developing a Co-operative future; one where citizens, partners and staff work together to improve the borough.  Anyone joining the council is coming into an ambitious organisation with big plans. We are working hard to build a brighter future for our borough and we need people from a wide range of backgrounds to continue delivering the best for our communities.

The Council has a clear set of Values and Behaviours, our Values outline how we do business and we share these borough wide with our residents, partners and businesses.  Internally we have translated these values into five cooperative behaviours which outline the priority areas of focus for all staff at all levels. You can view the Values and Behaviours on our Greater. Jobs pages Working for Oldham

For details of how we use your data please see our Privacy Notice

Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for an at risk employee, it can be pulled back at any point up to the post being formally offered to an external candidate or an internal candidate that is not at risk of redundancy. 

Right to Work in the UK from 1st July 2021.doc