Are you ready to start a rewarding career in social work, providing children and families with the support they need and deserve?
If you are passionate about making a difference and seeking a meaningful career, Southwark is the place for you!
We are excited to invite Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) to apply for our outstanding Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) programme, beginning in early June 2025. This is an excellent opportunity to kickstart a fulfilling career in social work with a council that values excellence and innovation.
About Us:
Our vision is simple yet powerful: ensuring all children and young people in Southwark grow up in a safe, healthy, and happy environment where they can reach their full potential. We achieve this through our mission of Putting Children First and Keeping Families Strong.
Southwark Children’s Services benefits from a stable, experienced senior leadership team that is deeply connected to the community and committed to supporting outstanding social work practice. We provide clear career pathways, opportunities for professional development, and access to learning resources to help you become the best social worker you can be.
As a Council, we are successful, passionate and forward-thinking. We are committed to our ‘Fairer Futures for All’ promise which ensures that our residents and businesses are central to everything we do.
About the Role:
As an NQSW in Southwark, you will be part of one of our diverse Children’s Services teams, providing essential support to children, young people, their families, and carers. Our practice is child-centred, family-minded, and strengths-based. As a Newly Qualified Social Worker, you will join:
Regardless of the team or service you are interested being part of, we will ensure you are both challenged and supported to develop your practice, where you can apply and develop your theory, knowledge and experience so that you can make a real difference.
You will be supported to undertake the complex, skillful work needed to get to know children and really understand what their day to days lives are, by identifying family strengths and resources as well as issues and concern, you will develop plans with children, families, carers and networks to ensure that each child support needs are well catered for in planning and intervention to ensure the right support is put in place at the right to enable our children, young people, families and communities to achieve good outcomes.
About You:
We are seeking compassionate, dedicated, and skilled Newly Qualified Social Workers who share our commitment to excellence and innovation in social work. You will bring:
Eligibility Requirements:
To be considered for an interview, you must:
If you are completing your social work qualifications later in 2025, Southwark will hold a second round of recruitment to ensure you don’t miss this opportunity to join our team.
Additional Information:
This is a full time, 36 hour per week position.
This position requires an Enhanced DBS for both Children and Adults.
For detailed qualifications and requirements, please review the job description and person specification located at the bottom of the advert.
Contact Information:
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact our team via email at CandFASYE@southwark.gov.uk
Benefits and more information:
https://jobs.southwark.gov.uk/why-us/
Recruitment Timeline:
The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative. We particularly welcome applications from members of the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme:
As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:
We are the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues and social enterprises and we have a young, diverse and growing population.
At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities. Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark Stands Together, (which is our work with Southwark’s communities and the council’s staff to tackle racism, injustice and inequality) underpins all that we do.
At Southwark Children’s Services, we pride ourselves on doing our vital job differently. Our systemic, holistic, family-centred approach sits at the core of our values. And our endlessly supportive, collective, culture underpins everything we do to protect vulnerable children across our borough.
Southwark is a great place to grow and develop as a social worker. We continue to provide fantastic career progression opportunities. Supported by great partnerships and resources we are always growing and developing what we do through innovation, investment in our workforce and, most importantly, listening to children and families, and those that work with them.
Our offer to staff includes:
competitive remuneration packages
the opportunity to work in a vibrant borough in the heart of London with excellent access to Central London and easy transport links to the South East
a multi-cultural and diverse working environment, which provides excellent opportunities for enhancing your skills
modern digital plan with technology to support flexible working arrangements
professional development and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities through an established and extensive learning and development plan and opportunities.
opportunities to train as a Practice Educator and develop experience with student
clinical practitioners attached to every team to support you as an individual and your work with children and families.
culture of innovation and a ‘can do’ approach to problem solving in Social Care
stable, supportive leadership; Southwark has a lower ratio of workers to managers than most local authorities
small teams with supportive managers and manageable caseload
travel season ticket loans, cycle scheme, essential user care parking permits and local government pension
family friendly, flexible and agile working, from home or on-site
wellbeing programme, HSF Health plan and eye care scheme, EAP employee assistance programme, confidential counselling and support, and access to subsidised HSF health plan
If you are interested in having an informal discussion about this role, or working in children’s social care in Southwark, please contact Dan Comach, our Principal Social Worker at daniel.comach@southwark.gov.uk