- Do you want to play a key role in improving outcomes for children and young people?
- Are you an experienced social work leader who can build strong relationships, provide thoughtful challenge and keep children’s plans moving forward?
- Can you build shared understanding and influence positive change in complex situations?
- Are you committed to anti-racist, anti-oppressive and inclusive practice?
If so, we'd love to hear from you.
At Brighton & Hove, children, young people and families are at the heart of everything we do. We are looking for an experienced social work leader to join our Safeguarding and Review Service as an Independent Reviewing Officer / Lead Child Protection Practitioner.
Join an experienced and supportive team where relationship-based practice is at the heart of helping children thrive.
Contract type: This role is permanent.
There is full information about the role below and attached but, if you would like an informal discussion, please contact Sharon Martin, Safeguarding and Review Service Manager, via
[email protected].
About the role
In this role, you will:
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provide independent oversight of plans for children and young people, ensuring their voices, experiences and needs remain central to decision-making.
- build strong relationships that support constructive challenge, effective multi-agency working and timely progress for children.
- use your insight and professional judgement to identify themes and learning that help strengthen services for children and families.
You will join a highly experienced and supportive team that values reflection, professional curiosity, creativity and continuous learning. We believe achieving the best outcomes for children requires strong relationships, careful listening and a commitment to anti-oppressive and anti-racist practice in everything we do.
We are particularly interested in candidates who bring curiosity, reflection and thoughtful oversight, using these to help improve experiences and outcomes for children and families.
This role will primarily focus on Independent Reviewing Officer responsibilities for children in care. However, all posts are appointed across both functions and may work across either area in line with service needs.
What we're looking for
We would love to hear from experienced social work leaders who can demonstrate:
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substantial experience of working with children and families where there are complex safeguarding, care planning and permanency needs
- significant management, supervisory or practice leadership experience
- a strong commitment to child and family-centred, anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice
- the ability to build positive, respectful and influential relationships with children, families, practitioners and partner agencies
- confidence facilitating complex discussions and managing differing views and emotions constructively
- strong analytical skills, professional judgement and professional curiosity
- the ability to understand and respond to the lived experiences of children and families, including inequalities and discrimination
- experience of quality assurance, practice improvement or influencing positive change across services
You will also need
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a recognised social work qualification
- registration with Social Work England
- a sound understanding of legislation, policy and guidance relating to safeguarding, child protection and children in care
- experience of working effectively with partner agencies and influencing practice across services
- the ability to travel independently across the local area and, where required, further afield in order to meet the needs of children and families and fulfil the responsibilities of the role
Why join us?
We are committed to creating an environment where practitioners can do their best work.
You will benefit from:
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a supportive and experienced team environment
- opportunities for professional development and continued learning
- regular reflective practice and peer support
- strong partnership working across services
- access to the council's employee benefits package
- the opportunity to make a meaningful difference to the lives of children and young people
Key dates
Shortlisting: Monday 14 September 2026
Provisional interview date: Wednesday 22 September
Applicants are encouraged to keep this date free where possible. Please note that the interview date may be subject to change. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted with confirmed arrangements as soon as possible.
Encouraging a diverse workforce
Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. To achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.
How to apply
Please read our Apply for a job at the council pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you've submitted your application at interview.
As part of your application, you will need to provide your education and career history and answer some application/shortlisting questions. Your answers to the application/shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.
AI advice for candidates
We are interested in hearing about your experience and skills in your own words. While we value people who know how to use AI, we ask that you minimise using it in your application.
We are keen to hear how your experience and skills align to our values and the skills and experience needed to perform well in our roles with clear real examples from you. To support you in this, we have guidance on using the STAR model which can help you ensure you are telling us your whole story. We also provide clarity on the skills we are looking for in our adverts and in the job description/person specification attached to each job advert.
All the applications we receive are read by at least two hiring managers and we do not use AI in this process. Our experience of reading applications is that those that have heavily used AI contain generic paragraphs that are strikingly similar to other applicants’ responses. This makes it extremely difficult to differentiate between applications, and doesn't give us enough evidence of your individual skills. There is a risk that we will therefore not be able to shortlist you. Instead, we recommend you ensure your application stands out by presenting clear examples of your actual skills and experiences in your own words.
Additional information
Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.
Please note that this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and is subject to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check.
Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.
Recruitment scam alert
Some third-party websites may be using details from our vacancies to advertise roles that are not authorised by us. To protect your personal information, please ensure you verify the job details and application route through the Brighton & Hove City Council jobs board.
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