Permanence Social Worker ( Maternity Cover)

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall Glenfield LE3 8RA

Salary: £38,776 - £47,692 (inclusive of market premia of £3,283) (Per annum (pro rata for part time )

Working Hours: 37 Hours per week

Contract Type: Fixed term for (12 months ) Or Secondment for (12 months) with manager's approval

Closing Date: 26th November 2026

Interview Date(s): TBC

Join a dedicated Permanence Team where you'll play a pivotal role in changing children's lives through securing loving, permanent adoptive families. From planning and matching to introductions and adoption orders, you'll lead children on their journey to permanence and make a lasting impact on their futures.

About the Role

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 child’s 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.

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 child’s 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 DBS with barred list 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 children’s services) and be registered with Social Work England.
• Substantial experience of working within Children’s Social Care Service settings and in the provision of Foster or Adoption Care Services .
• Be able to complete reports such as Child Permanence Reports, Adoption Support plans and Annex A’s to a high standard and working 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. Have Knowledge of relevant existing legislation and in depth knowledge of Fostering/Adoption National Minimum Standards, Regulations and Guidance
• Have a comprehensive understanding of child development and the impact of childhood abuse and a commitment to Trauma Informed practice.
• Have a full valid driving licence and access to a vehicle.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and 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 disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Please note: If you are appointed to this role on a fixed-term or internal secondment basis, you may later be offered a permanent appointment to the role, should the opportunity become available. Any such arrangements will be subject to organisational requirements and the relevant policy conditions being met.

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: 01163052345

Email: Emma.e.Johnson@leics.gov.uk

How to Apply

At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s 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, we’d 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 won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section 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 telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.