At Hammersmith & Fulham, rated nationally by Ofsted as one of the top Local Authorities, we never stop moving forward. Our ambition is to focus even more on increasing the quality of our practice and the work with children, young people, and families to sustain positive change. To do this we need the best people to help build our vision.
The Panel Agency Advisor role is an exciting opportunity for an experienced social worker to join our Fostering and Permanence Shared Service (WCC, H&F and RBKC).
Role Responsibilities:
You will:
Attend meetings for the permanence and fostering panels for the shared services.
Maintain a central list for the Shared Services Permanence and Fostering services in consultation with the Head of Service, ensure each panel is balanced with members of suitable background and experience to ensure quoracy.
Attend Panel, or exceptionally, arrange a substitute. Contribute a professional social work opinion on any relevant matter, advising the Chair of Panel on process and professional issues as required.
Supervise and appraise the Panel Co-ordinator and ensure developmental needs are met.
Read Panel papers prior to panel to quality assure the documentation.
Contact details for an informal discussion: Marsha Rainford-Hay, Head of Fostering & Permanence at Marsha.Rainford-Hay@lbhf.gov.uk
You will hold a degree in Social Work, CQSW, DipSW or equivalent and will have at least 5 years post-qualification experience of working within Children's Services with at least 2 years' experience in family placement work.
You will have excellent communication, literacy skills and an ability to work to timescales. You will be responsible for liaison between the Agency, Agency Decision Maker, Chair and the Panel. You will quality assure and oversee the collation and presentation of papers to the Chairs, Panel Members and Agency Decision Maker.
Our mission is to be the best council. To do this we need the best people to help build our vision. If you’re looking to develop your career in a fast-paced, professional environment whilst making a difference, then we look forward to hearing from you.
Hammersmith & Fulham is a vibrant and exciting London Borough to live, work and socialise in. Our borough is home to over 195,000 people from communities all over the world, all benefitting from some of the best public services and amenities in the country.
We strive to be a place where every child has the best possible start in life, grows up feeling cherished, loved and realises their full potential as young citizens. We offer our children's social workers:
An opportunity to work for an Ofsted ‘GOOD’ local authority with ‘Outstanding’ Youth Justice Service
Supportive, nurturing and friendly environment with a commitment to EDI initiatives
Manageable caseloads
Very competitive pay rates with well established social work career progression scheme
Access to the Local Government Pensions Scheme
Annual leave entitlement of up to 34 days
Cycle to work scheme
Season ticket loan scheme
Flexible and hybrid working
Employee wellbeing and assistance programme
Excellent learning & development opportunities
Staff benefits portal that gives you access to a wide range of local and national offers and discounts
People Values:
How we act defines who we are. At the heart of our organisation is a common approach to defining ‘who we are’. We are looking for people who can build this into everything they do.
We are fair
We treat everyone with compassion, dignity and fairness. We value the views and opinion of others, and promote benefits and opportunities for all.
We are caring
We care about our borough and doing things well. We focus on standards and continuous improvement; learning from our mistakes and celebrating success.
We are collaborators
We work together for a better society. We work with our residents, businesses, schools, third sector and others for better outcomes for everyone.
We are driven
We will only settle for the very best. We seek to continually improve and put our residents, customers and businesses at the heart of everything we do.
Recruiting for Attitude:
Your skills and ability are important however, we recruit as much for attitude as we do experience. We are looking for people who have the following attributes:
Complex problem-solving
The ability to work within a complex system and find simple solutions and outcomes that deliver real change.
Critical thinking
The ability to challenge the norms through evidence-based approaches using both numerical and critical reasoning and thinking. You can rationalise decision-making and form views quickly and soundly from a range of sources.
Creativity
You take approaches that demonstrate how doing things differently and creatively changes the dynamic in situations. You can apply creative solutions that deliver hard outcomes.
People management
You can get the best out of people. You have a coaching-style and drive through a commitment to personal and professional development. You are clear in your expectations and have exceptional feedback from your team about their working environment. You recognise and support people as individuals.
Coordinating with others
You have the knack of working well with others. You have an appreciation of your own presence and approach and can demonstrate how you have developed and continue to develop how you work with others. You can also recognise how others work, think, and feel to get the most out of collaboration.
Emotional intelligence
You have a high degree of self-awareness and self-regulation in a wide range of situations from one-to-one conversations to team and group dynamics. You can recognise motivating factors and demonstrate empathy appropriately applying a wide range of adaptive social skills.
Judgement and decision making
You can take rational and evidence-based decisions and take responsibility for your decisions and actions. Where there is ambiguity or a lack of evidence you can demonstrate the ability to understand the environment and show flexibility in applying your judgement.
Negotiation
You can demonstrate an understanding of the range of skills and techniques required to successfully negotiate with a range of other partners. This includes understanding how to structure and undertake successful negotiation on an organisational-wide level.
Service orientation
You must be unequivocal in your commitment and drive for outstanding service delivery. Both in terms of the quality of products and work delivered as well as the achievement of objectives. You and your team can demonstrate how your overall contribution to the organisation and service delivers to our organisational aims and objectives.
Cognitive flexibility
The ability to recognise the environment in which you work and adapt and shift to this environment to maximise your own personal achievement and lead others in the same approach. Applying cognitive flexibility to situations of significant change and transformation.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment.
Corporate Equalities Employment Policy: In order to combat discrimination, no unnecessary conditions or requirements will be applied which could have a disproportionately adverse effect on any one group. All sections of the population will have equal access to jobs. No applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment because of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership and pregnancy or maternity, unless a Genuine Occupational Qualification (GOQ) applies.
We are a Disability Confident Employer – committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.
If you have any questions about applying for roles within H&F Children’s Services, please contact via email CYPSrecruitment@lbhf.gov.uk