Job Type
Fixed term
Fixed Term End Date
31st March 2027
Working Pattern
Full-time
Location
Sheffield/Hybrid working
Salary
£30,080 per year, rising to £31,262 per year after successful completion of a 6-month probationary period.
Closing Date
05/07/2026
The Role
Social Work England are 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 are taking a new approach to regulating social workers in their vital roles. 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.
Working to one of the policy managers for reform, you will support the policy priorities around key reform agendas. In collaboration with colleagues from other teams, you will engage with key sector stakeholders to gather intelligence to make evidence-based recommendations. You will also liaise with relevant internal colleagues to arrive at reasoned and well-evidenced regulatory positions and provide specialist advice and guidance to senior members of the organisation, and often the executive leadership, and policy committee.
What you will do
Support the policy manager to develop the organisation’s approach to proposals associated with the national social care reform agenda, working with colleagues to improve our collective thinking, problem-solve, and share best practice from our work to protect the public.
Work well in a collaborative project team, bringing an awareness of regulation systems designed for public protection, particularly in health and social care, to ensure that policy is led by engagement, evidence, and research, and flexing to business need.
With the policy manager and senior policy manager, consult with internal and external stakeholders and find best practice examples and benchmarks to underpin policy proposals.
Alongside the policy manager, develop a systematic means of developing and managing stakeholder relationships, increasing our integration into relevant sector communities, and raising our work and profile.
Monitor and identify relevant policy developments and, where needed, prepare written briefings summarising consultation proposals, gather feedback and prepare responses.
Design and deliver workshops or other engagement events with relevant stakeholders, attend external events, and support with practical and logistical support where necessary.
Provide high quality advice on relevant policy issues, developing and contributing your expertise within the team and as part of our wider role of providing policy advice across the organisation.
Bring an innovative approach to how we develop policy that effectively identifies and addresses disproportionate impacts of our work and seeks to protect the public modelling inclusivity and fairness.
Your skills, knowledge and experience
Education, experience of, or demonstrable interest in, public policy with a firm understanding of the role of a policy team in a national public body.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to write clearly, accurately and succinctly in a variety of formats, for a range of audiences.
Experience of, and/or a keen interest in, staying up to date with developments in legislation, policy, politics, and ideally experience of this in support of an organisation. An understanding of health and social care, or regulation would be a distinct advantage.
Excellent planning and organisational skills with the ability and commitment to deliver high quality, accurate work to agreed deadlines.
Knowledge of and/or experience of researching issues, analysing policy and legislation, or a willingness to develop these skills.
Experience with providing business support to a team, including organisation of records and documents, arranging meetings, taking minutes, and working flexibly to support the successful delivery of the team’s objectives.
Experience of supporting collaborative projects across teams and evidence of an ability to demonstrate initiative, respond to change flexibly, and take direction from others.
Strong IT skills with good knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, Forms and SharePoint, with a disciplined and rigorous approach to file management and version control.
A track record of respectful open and honest behaviour including a demonstrable commitment to equality, inclusion and diversity.
Benefits
In addition to your salary, we also offer:
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.
A pension scheme, life insurance, an employee recognition scheme and cycle to work scheme.
Details
Job type: Fixed-term contract until 31st March 2027
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
Application
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.
About us
Join us - Social Work England
Our behaviours and values - Social Work England
What our people say - Social Work England
Pre-Employment Checks
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.
Contact
If you have any queries about the recruitment process, or would like to discuss the role, please contact
[email protected].
How to apply
To apply, complete the application form by the closing date.
Interview
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.
Find out more about our application and interview process.
