Job Description

About Us:

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THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF KAKOLI'S PASSION AND DRIVE

Children's Services in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where inspirational people like Kakoli are dedicated to encouraging everyone they work with to be the very best they can be.





Ever since she was a child, Kakoli has believed that children are the ones who'll change the world for the better. Who'll create the future we all wish for. And she always knew her calling was to get on the front line and help those who might not be as fortunate as herself.





Driven and passionate about making a difference, she first joined Westminster as a Social Work Assistant, and her managers immediately saw she had huge potential, so they encouraged her to apply to study for a degree in social work. She passed with flying colours, and over the next fourteen years worked as a frontline Social Worker, a Senior Social Worker, a Deputy Service Manager and is now one of our Service Managers.





Kakoli's vision is as clear now as it was all those years ago - to encourage and support children, and help them grow in safe, vibrant communities. Her achievements are many, but she's most proud of the fact that these days Westminster doesn't 'do things for families' but 'does things with families'. And she believes this huge but subtle difference to the way we work has allowed thousands of children in Westminster to fulfil their potential and live their dreams.

The Role:

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As a Social Worker you can make your own powerful contribution to Westminster's success. We're currently looking for two committed and fully qualified professionals, and if you join our Looked After Children and Leaving Care team you'll provide comprehensive, wrap-around support as you carry out the full range of support functions. Dedicated to safeguarding and securing the well-being of the children and young people of our borough, and empowering children and young people to achieve positive outcomes, you'll be ready to fully engage with everyone you work with as you formulate and implement your ideas and plans and embed and align your practice within the systemic model used within Children's Service.





Dedicated to identifying and delivering the very best in protective and supportive services for children at risk, in need or looked after, you'll have an unrelenting focus on achieving security and stability for those children who are unable to live safely with their families. Representing the local authority as the corporate parent for children who are looked after or care leavers , you'll also liaise with placement providers to plan and explore housing and accommodation options with young people as they transition into adulthood.





The second Social Worker we're recruiting will be a member of our newly expanded specialist Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children and leaving Care team, and as with the previous role, if you join us you'll ensure that all statutory processes are fulfilled, and provide empathetic and holistic support to some of the most vulnerable children in our care. Helping them as they integrate into the UK, and liaising with solicitors and the Home Office as you assist with their immigration claims, you'll also provide any signposting and referrals to mental health or counselling services.





The young people you'll work with will - in many cases - be extremely distressed and at great risk of exploitation, so it will be your task to carry out safeguarding procedures and help them navigate their lives in a new and unfamiliar culture. With this in mind you'll use a systemic and trauma focused model as you work with them to deliver positive, outcomes that support their integration in the UK, care journey and transition to adulthood.





Please refer to the 's for more information:

Looked After Children & Leaving Care Team

Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children & Leaving Care Team

About You:

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To be a success in either of these roles you should have plenty of experience working with vulnerable children and families, ideally in a local authority children's services environment. With a good understanding of the legal expectations relating to safeguarding, you'll have worked in at least one of the following areas - early help, child in need, child protection, care proceedings, permanency care planning and leaving care services. It's important that you're skilled at assessing and engaging with families from a range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, helping them overcome complex problems and needs, and working collaboratively with other professionals to protect and support them.





Capable of producing needs-led planning and reviews, and of working directly with a diverse range of children, you'll possess the confidence to interact with young people who display challenging behaviours and underlying vulnerabilities. Always ready to assess needs and risk in ways which keeps the child or young person at the centre of your thinking, you'll also be skilled at drawing on systemic models of intervention to manage the personal impact of the work you do.





With a recognised qualification and registered with Social Work England, you'll have the organisational and communication skills necessary to produce good quality records and reports. Able to work collaboratively with other professionals, analyse complex information and implement SMART plans of action, you should also be capable of achieving positive results in a high-pressured, fast-paced and sometimes challenging environment.





Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme, will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role.

What We Offer:

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Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council's strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city's future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.



At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit

https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties

As a forward-thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.



The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application, we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.