Jobs in Ashford

Role Responsibility

Want to take the next step in your career?

A competitive basic salary between £43,810 and £49,989 dependant on your experience, and the potential to earn up to £57,989 per year when market premiums are applied.

Kent County Councils Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking (UAS) Childrens Service provides accommodation and support to newly arrived unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Kent. The Service leads on social work practice with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Kent, which Ofsted recognises as Outstanding. The Service is developing as a centre of excellence for social work practice nationally and we are seeking passionate social workers to join us on this journey.

This is an opportunity to work in a Service where you will be responding to newly arrived unaccompanied asylum-seeking children; you will support them on the start of the journey in the UK and ensure that their voice is heard.

We support our Senior Practitioner to ensure they have the resources they need to make a difference where it counts; as a social worker in the service, you will have the opportunity to enhance and develop your social work knowledge and skills. We are also invested in supporting you to progress in your career; there are opportunities to apply your skills to a variety of scenarios and use your social worker theories and tools to achieve the best outcomes for vulnerable children.

You will have the opportunity to consider your career progression, working in the UAS childrens service will allow you to manage a complex case load, supervise social worker assistants and have the opportunity to act as a duty senior to enhance your management skills. You will develop skills in age assessments, working with children in care, managing child protection concerns and interagency working with key partners.

As a Senior Practitioner in the service, you will work across Kent, and will also have the opportunity to work nationally across the UK both with other Local Authorities under the National Transfer Scheme. In addition, you could be part of exploring family that our young persons have in the UK and consider family reunifications and whether these are viable; thus allowing you to network nationally as part of your role.

We support our social workers to ensure they have the resources they need to make a difference where it counts. Kent is the ideal place to progress your career.

You will also receive the excellent training and all the great benefits that come with working for Kent County Council.

We will accept applications for both part-time and full-time and this will be discussed further at interview.

Our Offer

• Full induction
• Manageable caseloads
• A minimum of
• Basic salary of between £43,810 and £49,989
• Annual leave allowance of 29 to 30 days (plus bank holidays and an extra day off at Christmas)
• Up to £2,000 car market premium
• 3,000 annual market premium
• 3,000 golden hello (welcome) payment
• Relocation packages up to £8,000
• Excellent local government pension scheme
• Opportunities to develop in your career
• The opportunity to develop knowledge in niche areas of social work and expand your knowledge and skills of working with children seeking asylum

This role is subject to holding a Full UK Driving Licence The Council is committed to making reasonable adjustments so whilst this job requires the jobholder to drive your application will still be considered if you are unable to drive due to a disability.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English / Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description / Person Specification.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring service and registration as a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England.