Social Worker - Family Support and Protection, Mid Essex

Social Worker - Family Support and Protection, Mid Essex

Permanent, Full Time

£38,487.00 to £51,834.00 Per Annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Community-based worker

Closing Date: 11th August 2026

Here in Essex, we continue to raise the bar about practice and our investment in our workforce is second to none. It's an exciting time to join us having received our 2nd Outstanding Ofsted rating in a row.

Essex County Council understand how important flexibility and wellbeing is for our colleagues working across children's Social Care and that we need to think differently. We have therefore developed a nine-day working fortnight for full time frontline Social Workers within Children's services.

Essex County Council is seeking a Experienced Social Worker to join Family Support and Protection (FS&P) - Mid Essex covering Chelmsford and surrounding areas. We are looking for a dedicated professional who are passionate about supporting families facing complex, long-term issues and making a positive impact in the community.

Join our Family Support and Protection (FS&P) teams dedicated to supporting families facing complex, long-term issues. We collaborate with families needing extended interventions, particularly when children are under child protection plans or require alternative care arrangements. Our approach involves building strong relationships and employing systemic and strengths-based methods to guide families towards positive change while managing risks.

Key responsibilities include:

• Assessing complex social care needs and devising support plans for families.
• Ensuring adherence to legal frameworks for statutory intervention.
• Collaborating with various stakeholders and partners to provide comprehensive support to children and families.
• Developing child-centered approaches for early intervention, prevention, and independence.
• Influencing inter-agency planning and decision-making, contributing to case discussions and interventions.
• Communicating assessments and professional judgments clearly, both orally and in written reports, including court statements.

Requirements:

• A recognised social work qualification and current registration with Social Work England.
• Continued professional development in line with relevant competency frameworks.
• Experience in challenging social and family situations.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to engage with diverse groups.
• Building strong relationships with partners and the community to achieve shared goals.
• Understanding the balance between cost-effective interventions and meeting needs.
• Demonstrated ability in clear decision-making to manage potential risks associated with interventions.

Join us in supporting families, promoting resilience, and working towards brighter futures for children and young people in need.

To read more about us please visit Children & Families

Please take a look at our 'No Magic' Children & Families video

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we're committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We're committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We're also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you've secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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