Lead Child Protection Practitioner (INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY)

Be at the forefront of children's social care reform.

As one of our Lead Child Protection Practitioners, you'll champion excellent practice, support innovation, and help deliver outstanding services that keep children safe and families strong.

Families First is the name given nationally to the reform of children’s social care. The Multi-Agency Child Protection Team is a new way of working, bringing together social care, health, police and education. For children’s social care, the role of Lead Child Protection Practitioner is pivotal.

An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.

About You

To apply for this post, you must respond to and evidence the following essential criteria within your personal statement. This should be no more than 1,000 words

A UK recognised professional social work qualification, registered with Social Work England, Extensive post qualification social work experience in Child Protection work

Able to take decisive action where children are at risk of significant harm, to include leading and Chairing Strategy Discussions, and overseeing and signing off Section 47 Investigations. The LCPP will lead and facilitate multi-agency decision making, ensuring shared accountability and demonstrable evidence of thresholds being met.

Experience of working in partnership with other agencies in the field of child protection

Detailed knowledge of relevant legislation and practice guidance, including the statutory responsibilities of a registered Social Worker

Ensure wherever possible/appropriate practitioners are supported to develop family-led solutions, including the use of family group decision-making at the earliest possible opportunity

Provide expert consultation to practitioners across Family Help and wider services. Work closely with Family Help Lead Practitioners to ensure consistent plans and relationships for families.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Helen Rhind - Assistant Service Manager

Email: [email protected]

How to Apply

At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.