Senior Social Worker - Willow, Justice Services

Senior Social Worker

Willow

Salary: £47,639 - £56,392 (pro-rata for part-time)

Hours: 23 per week

Edinburgh Justice Services are committed to providing high quality services while ensuring a compassionate approach to people accessing our services and supporting staff wellbeing.

We offer a high level of training to support continuous professional development and to deliver a broad range of interventions, including established accredited group work programmes. We are implementing Trauma Informed Care and Restorative Justice practice models and interventions across our services.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to be part of the Willow Service operating in the Women’s Justice Centre where we offer trauma informed, gender specific services.   Women that are aged 18 and above can attend as part of a statutory order or voluntarily, including women entitled to support due to their partner’s/ex-partner’s involvement with the Caledonian system.

The team is multi-disciplinary; including support workers, social workers, psychologists, nursing staff as well as 3rd sector partners and peer supporters, all of whom contribute to the delivery of a range of interventions and support offered to the women in an integrated way. This includes one to one and group work interventions as well as community outreach support.

Accountable to the Team Leader, the post holder will: ensure a high quality of practice is provided and maintained, appropriate services are delivered to meet service users’ needs within the Council’s statutory obligations, policies and procedures; provide professional support, supervision and leadership to a group of staff, whilst maintaining a direct involvement in social work practice; represent and promote the Council at multi-agency meetings, with local community groups and be a department representative at a range of information sharing and risk planning forums.

The post is open to female candidates only (Occupational Requirement exception under Equality Act 2010).

If you would like to have an informal discussion about this posts and service please email Kate.White@edinburgh.gov.uk [Kate.White@edinburgh.gov.uk] or Sarah.Fletcher@edinburgh.gov.uk [Sarah.Fletcher@edinburgh.gov.uk] (Willow Team Leaders)

Candidates will have a Social Work qualification recognised by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and be registered, or eligible to register, with the SSSC. In addition, they will be trained in and have extensive experience of using risk assessment tools and leading risk management processes.

This post is regulated work with children and/or protected adults under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. The preferred candidate will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update check.

Where an individual has spent a continuous period of 3 months or more out with the UK in the last 5 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required.

You will be required to provide this check. An unconditional offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of both these pre-employment checks being deemed satisfactory.

We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone feels valued and able to be their best.

We particularly encourage applications from women for senior roles, as well as people from minority ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities or neurodivergent people, care experienced people, carers and LGBT+ people across all levels of the organisation, all of whom are currently underrepresented.

All applicants will be considered fairly based on skills and experience. Disabled and care-experienced applicants who meet the minimum job criteria will be guaranteed an interview.

Find out more about our commitment to equalities https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/work-us/inclusive-edinburgh/4 [https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/work-us/inclusive-edinburgh/4]

As part of our goal to improve organisational culture and create a great place to work together for the people of Edinburgh, we want to make sure we're recruiting the best people. We’re interested not only in your skills and experience but also in your approach to work. Therefore, part of our interview process will be an assessment of how you would bring Our Behaviours of Respect, Integrity and Flexibility into your ways of working.

You can find out more on Our Behaviours web page Our Behaviours – The City of Edinburgh Council [https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/work-us/behaviours]

Our salary range typically reflects the initial starting salary and annually increases until it reaches the top of the range.

Happy to talk flexible working.

Follow us on X at @edincounciljobs

View Senior Social Worker Job Description

[https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/37127/justice-senior-social-worker-jd]

View Senior Social Worker Person Specification

[https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/39316/senior-social-worker-women-s-justice-services-ps-01-04]

The City of Edinburgh Council

About Us

Are you keen to shape the future of Scotland’s capital city? The City of Edinburgh Council is looking for dedicated and enthusiastic individuals to work with us and deliver key services across our capital city.

We’re the second largest local authority in Scotland with a workforce of over 19,000 who all play a crucial role in maintaining and supporting vital services to over 500,000 residents. We offer an incredible variety of career opportunities across a broad range of sectors. Join us and you’ll find a role where you can make a difference and grow your career.

Our Culture

Our Behaviours, respect, integrity, and flexibility guide everything that we do, and we strive to make sure all colleagues feel valued and have a sense of belonging in the workplace. We want to make sure that we bring people into our roles who demonstrate Our Behaviours and are dedicated and committed to our purpose of serving our community. We are focused on delivering excellent customer service to meet citizens needs and make the city a better place.

You can find out more on Our Behaviours web page Our Behaviours – The City of Edinburgh Council [https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/work-us/behaviours].

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We recognise the benefits that diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds bring to our organisation, and we’re committed to employing a workforce that represents the population of the city we serve. We particularly encourage applicants from under-represented groups including women, LGBT+ people, racially minoritised groups, people with disabilities and people who are neurodivergent.

As part of our commitment to inclusive recruitment, we're delighted to announce that we have extended our guaranteed interview scheme to include all applicants who are or have been care experienced, and who meet the essential criteria for the post. This extends our current arrangements of being a Disability Confident Employer, that guarantee an interview to applicants who meet the criteria for the post and who declare a disability.

Happy to talk flexible working.

Colleague Support and Wellbeing

As outlined in our People Strategy 2024-27, we aim to nurture a healthy workforce where we can all thrive. We offer regular events, initiatives and learning opportunities covering a range of different health and wellbeing topics.

We’re committed to supporting employees to achieve a healthy work life balance.

There are several policies in place to support this ranging from flexible work options to career breaks. Our full suite of employment policies can be found here.

We have a range of support options available including access to counselling, a mental health support service, an occupational health service, speak up supporters and a colleague listening service.

Reasonable Adjustments

We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience at work for all our colleagues and we’ll work hard to ensure that we meet the changing needs of colleagues throughout their time with us. We’re also geared up to support all candidates who may require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process. Candidates invited for interview, should let the hiring manager know what they need, and they will do everything they can to accommodate your request.