Social Work England is the specialist regulator for social work in England, focused on enabling positive change in social work. Every day, social workers support millions of people to improve their chances in life. We believe in the power of collaboration and share a common goal with those we regulate – to protect the public, enable positive change and ultimately improve people’s lives.
We are looking for customer focused and conscientious officers to be part of a team that is responsible for the registration of qualified social workers and ensuring that the register is up to date and accurate. The team provides advice and guidance to all people who contact Social Work England.
Successful candidates will play a key role in delivering a high-quality registration and advice service to social workers and the public.
- Manage a high volume and varied caseload, delivering quality assessments through effective planning, prioritisation and independent case management, by applying relevant guidance and regulatory frameworks. Analyse, assess related documents, draft case summaries and make decision and recommendations in accordance with the Social Workers Regulations (2018).
- Identify, request and obtain information relevant to assessment to registration cases. This may include contacting health professionals, police, employers, course providers and other regulators. Actively manage and follow-up requests in a respectful and sensitive manner.
- Making evidence based decisions against our regulations as to whether cases can be progressed or need to be escalated whilst considering risk to the public.
- Ensure timely assessments by prioritising work independently, managing your own workload and using initiative and problem-solving skills to manage competing demands.
- Develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external stake-holders (including overseas regulators and higher education institutions) by providing consistent and quality customer service, tailoring correspondence to meet the requirements of the recipient.
- Develop a wide range of knowledge and specialist understanding of the assessment of applications, restorations and renewals, to deliver accurate and tailored advice to col-leagues across the organisation, applicants and registered social workers.
- Manage large quantities of personal and sensitive information in accordance with data protection legislation and our data management policies and procedures.
- Collect payments for registration, renewal and restoration to the Social Work England register, including the regular chasing of outstanding payments and reconciliation of payments received
- Ensure that all work is carried out within set key performance indicators (KPIs) and ser-vice level agreements (SLAs)
- Act as the primary point of contact for Social Work England, providing consistent and high-quality customer service. You will need to make independent decisions about when to escalate issues of public protection and organisational reputation by taking ownership of enquiries and applying sound judgement.
- Be a change champion, assisting with implementing change within the team, by creating and collaborating with colleagues to improve processes, guidance and communications.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, ability to draft clear and comprehensive correspondence and to present information on complex issues clearly in tele- phone discussions or written correspondence.
- Strong personal resilience with the ability to work well in a team with a proactive, collaborative and reliable approach to teamwork - being adaptable to supporting the team that has service peaks throughout the operational year.
- Commitment to continuous service improvement: both in suggesting new, more efficient ways of working and in learning and following improved ways of working.
- Ability to work under pressure in a busy, demanding, environment using prioritisation and organisational skills when managing competing deadlines.
- Assessment skills and an ability to complete assessments in accordance with regulations and rules.
- Ability to deal discretely and sensitively with confidential and personal information including details of health and character, financial details and convictions.
- The ability to creatively troubleshoot, identify and resolve problems
- Commitment to ensuring quality and accuracy of work.
- An excellent working knowledge of databases and comprehensive records maintenance including a proven ability to use Microsoft Office applications to intermediate level.
- Strong customer service skills, and the ability to deal sensitively and effectively with a range of stakeholders, managing their needs and requests in a timely manner.
- Ability to work cross-organisationally, working well with others and responding positively, creatively and supportively to a variety of colleagues while maintaining high and consistent standards.
- Commitment to own training and development and induction, training and mentoring of colleagues.
- A proven role model for respectful, open and honest behaviour including a demonstrable commitment to equality and diversity in service delivery.
- A contributory NEST pension scheme, with employer contribution of up to 10%.
- Life insurance, an employee recognition scheme and cycle to work scheme.
- Hybrid working
- 25 days annual leave, rising with service to 30 days per annum, plus bank holidays.
- The option to purchase up to an additional 5 days of annual leave per annum.
- A TIDE award winning inclusive culture, made up of staff networks, social events and forums.
- Job type: Permanent
- Working pattern: Full time. We offer flexible working subject to business need.
- Salary: £30,080 per year, rising to £31,262 per year after successful completion of a 6-month probationary period.
- Location: Sheffield/Hybrid
During the application process, you'll be asked to provide answers to three questions from the job description. These answers will be what your application is scored on, please answer in as much detail as possible using examples where necessary.
If you are successful at interview, we will carry out a series of routine pre-employment checks. These include verifying your references, confirming your right to work in the UK, and completing a Basic DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check.
These checks are conducted in partnership with our third-party provider, Amiqus, who will guide you through the process.
Please note that all offers of employment are subject to the satisfactory completion of these checks. If you have any questions or concerns please contact our recruitment team via [email protected] and our team will be happy to help.
If you have any queries about the recruitment process, or would like to discuss the role, please contact [email protected].
To apply, complete the application form by the closing date.
At interview we will seek to further understand your skills, knowledge, experience and motivation and test the key competencies of the role. If you are successful, we will undertake routine pre-employment checks.
