Job Introduction
Job Title: Independent Reviewing Officer
Salary: £49,282 - £54,785
37 Hours per Week
Location: Worcestershire
Team: Safeguarding & Quality Assurance
Permanent
The Role:
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Do you love working with children and young people?
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Are you looking for a new challenge or change?
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Do you want to further develop your social work career and knowledge working with permanent experienced colleagues and line managers?
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Do you want to work in an environment where equality and diversity is recognised, promoted, and practiced?
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Do you want to work for a service that has been rated as 'Good' by Ofsted?
Then Worcestershire needs to be your next move! We are recruiting to our Safeguarding Quality Assurance Team; we have one full-time position as an Independent Reviewing Officer for Looked after Children
This is an exciting opportunity to join an experienced and supportive team in the Safeguarding & Quality Assurance Service.
Independent Reviewing Officer:
We are looking to recruit 1 full time IRO; your role will be to be allocated to children and young people who are looked after. You will fulfil the statutory role and function of the IRO, chairing their reviews, and ensuring progressive permanency plans and achieving outcomes for our children – a key priority of this role is ensuring children’s voices are heard, they contribute to their plans, and we support them to attend their meetings. This role is supported by its own Practice Manager and well supported by Business Support.
Ofsted said “Children’s plans are regularly reviewed at meetings, which are well attended by parents and professionals involved in children’s lives. IROs appropriately visit most children before their reviews to gain their views and encourage them to attend their meeting.
Children’s views are well considered at the meetings and IROs ensure that the record of the meeting is written in a child-friendly way. IROs appropriately and successfully escalate their concerns about the progress of children’s plans”.
In this role you need to have the ability to scrutinise, challenge and support both Social Care Teams and partners, this is crucial, alongside strong quality assurance experience and skills.
You will be an experienced and qualified Social Worker with Management Experience, registered with Social Work England, who has a solid knowledge of policy, legislation, and good practice experience, and can demonstrate a strong commitment to strong multi-agency working and child focused practice. You will have extensive experience of chairing complex and challenging meetings with the ability to manage difficult conversations.
So, what’s next?
If you would like more information on this position, please contact Sally Branchflower (SQA Practice Manager) on 01905 845996.
Applications can be submitted by completing the online application process.
Benefits:
You’ll find an overview of the benefits Worcestershire County Council have to offer on our webpage
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Worcestershire County Council - Why work for us?
Some of these offers include:
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Great Holiday Entitlement: As well as bank holidays, you'll get 26 days paid holiday (pro rata for part-time staff). This goes up to 31 days when you have been with us for 5 years. If you get more than 26 days where you work now, don't worry because if you join us without a break, we'll match your holiday up to 31 days. If you’re successful and want to take advantage of this do let us know!
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Brilliant Pension Scheme: The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is a nationwide, career average pension scheme and is a valuable part of the pay and reward package for employees working in local government.
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Professional Learning & Development: We actively encourage learning and development for all our staff should they want to progress further or explore other areas within the organisation.
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Flexible Working: We are proud to offer hybrid working to provide a better work/life balance where possible.
Disclosure Barring Service (DBS)
This post is exempt under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of criminal records via the Disclosure and Barring Service before the appointment is confirmed. This will include details of cautions, reprimands, or final warnings, as well as convictions. The County Council has a commitment to safeguarding service users in our care.
Equality & Diversity: The County Council is committed to equality of opportunity for all citizens and celebrates the diversity of all its residents.
Application Closing Date: 31/07/2026
Anticipated Interview Date: 11/08/2026
