We have an exciting opportunity for a full-time Social Worker to join Southampton City Council in the Specialist Assessment and Family Drug and Alcohol Court Team.
About the team:
The Specialist Assessment and Family Drug and Alcohol Court Team is a highly skilled, multi-disciplinary team made up of experienced assessing social workers and family practitioners. The team provides specialist assessments and targeted interventions across Children’s Services, as well as leading Southampton’s Family Drug and Alcohol Court service. Our practice is rooted in trauma-informed, relationship-based and systemic approaches, to support our understanding of complex family histories, patterns of risk and the impact of adversity, while also identifying strengths, capacity for change and opportunities for safe family-led solutions.
The team holds some of the most complex assessment work within the service, including care proceedings, complex Public Law Outline assessments, ParentAssess reports, adult sexual risk assessments and work with families where substance misuse, learning needs, mental health or trauma are significant factors ensuring the children and families that we work with benefit from analytical, evidence-informed and proportionate assessments that support timely and robust care planning.
About the role:
We are looking for a Social Worker with a minimum of two years post-qualifying experience, strong assessment skills and a proven background in court work. You will complete high-quality specialist assessments and contribute to care planning for children and families where needs and risks are complex.
You will work alongside skilled family practitioners who provide targeted intervention as part of the assessment process, helping families to access practical learning opportunities and evidence change. The team’s intervention offer includes complex Resolutions Approach family work, pre-birth and post-birth support, Non-Violent Resistance work and emotional coping skills intervention.
Southampton’s Family Drug and Alcohol Court service also sits within the team and provides an intensive, problem-solving approach for families where substance use is a central factor in care proceedings. The service supports parents to address their substance use, improve family functioning and work towards safe reunification where this is achievable, offering a specialist alternative to standard care proceedings for families with entrenched difficulties. As such, we are looking for a Social Worker who is also skilled in working directly with adult effected by substance use difficulties.
For further information about this role please view the job description.
About you:
- Qualified and registered Social Worker with a minimum of two years post-qualifying experience in children and families social work
- Strong specialist assessment skills, with formal training and proven experience in one or more areas such as ParentAssess, substance and alcohol misuse, sexual risk assessment or complex parenting capacity assessments
- A proven track record of work within care proceedings or complex Public Law Outline processes – including both written work and in providing oral evidence
- Confidence in producing analytical, evidence-informed assessments that are proportionate to risk and support timely care planning
- Additional skills in systemic practice, trauma-informed intervention, motivational interviewing, the Resolutions Approach, AIM3 or Family Drug and Alcohol Court practice would be highly desirable
- Experience working in a UK based statutory social work setting
If you feel you have the necessary background, experience, and skills to undertake this role we would like to hear from you.
What we can offer you:
Salary: The salary band for this role is £41,771 - £46,141. The starting salary is £41,771 with annual progression through the salary bands.
Here at SCC we have a range of different benefits, a few examples can be found below.
- Excellent local government pension with 15.2% employer contribution
- Death in service benefit of x3 salary, and optional salary sacrifice shared cost AVC (additional voluntary contribution)
- Generous holiday 25–31 days, based on role and service
- Flexible working options (role-dependent)
- Family-friendly policies - Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared/Unpaid Parental Leave, Time off for Dependents
- Training and development, including coaching and mentoring
- Health and wellbeing support - Employee Assistance Programme, Menopause Pledge, Mental Health First Aiders and access to a variety of staff networks
- Veteran-friendly employer with the Armed Forces Covenant
- Retail discounts and savings through the Southampton City Council benefits platform
- Discounted memberships at local sports and fitness centres
- Sustainable travel benefits - low emission car scheme, cycle to work, season ticket loans
- Employee volunteering scheme with 2 paid days leave to volunteer
For further information on our benefits package please visit: Employee benefits (southampton.gov.uk)
Contact details for informal discussion:
For further information and details regarding the Social Work Post in the Specialist Assessment & FDAC Team please contact Alison Street, Team Manager on 07796479855 [email protected]
Recruitment contact details:
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 023 8083 4033
For more information about SCC please visit Southampton City Council
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