Local Authority Designated Officer

Job title:

Local Authority Designated Officer

Company

Portsmouth City Council

Job description

Salary: Band 12, £49,497 to £53,658 per annum (pay award pending)Contract: PermanentHours: Full time (37 hours per week)Closing date: Thursday 26 September 2024, 23:59Interview date (provisional): Tuesday 8 October 2024Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. It is also committed to promoting quality childcare across the city that works to improve outcomes for children.DBS Disclosure at Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children’s Board safer recruitment procedures.Why come to live and work in Portsmouth?Portsmouth is a great waterfront city and a vibrant place to live and work. It is an island city with an “inner city” feel, a seaside location packed with attractions and events, and the advantage of fantastic countryside on its doorstep. With fast road and rail links to London, Brighton and major airports, and ferry links to Europe, it is the perfect place to live and work. Portsmouth has a strong history of partnership working and has successfully integrated several local services.The Service:Following our Ofsted inspection in May 2023, Portsmouth City Council Children’s Services continued to be judged as ‘Good’. We are now striving to become ‘Outstanding’ and are committed to promoting a ‘think family’ approach to safeguarding and reunification in Portsmouth. We want families to bring up their own children, where support may be required to keep families together, we want to work with families to do this in the most helpful way possible and when it is necessary for children to come into our care we want to reduce the number of days that this is for and reunify children whenever it is safe and in their best interest to do so. This is why Portsmouth City Council continues to provide significant investment in social work with children, young people and their families to make this a reality.Your New Role:You will give advice and guidance to employers, organisations and other individuals who have concerns about the behaviour of an adult who works or volunteers with children and young people. You will coordinate the safeguarding and investigative process in response, provide advice and guidance to employers or voluntary organisations, and liaise with police and other agencies including Ofsted and professional bodies. You will monitor the progress of referrals to ensure they are dealt with as quickly as possible, consistent with a thorough and fair process, alongside resolving any interagency issues. You will collect strategic data and maintain a confidential database, and disseminate learning through the children’s workforce.Please read the job profile for the full details of this role.What you’ll need to succeed:You are a qualified social worker registered with Social Work England, with substantial post-qualifying experience in child protection work including management or supervisory experience and experience of performance management. You have experience in managing complex child protection and safeguarding concerns, and are knowledgeable about managing allegations against persons working in a position of trust. You are a confident and competent children’s social worker, with excellent communication skills and experience in multi-agency working. You are organised and self-motivated, and have experience in contributing to the development and training of others and organising learning events.Please read the job profile for the full details of this role.You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it.What you’ll get in return:We really appreciate our employees and fully realise they are essential to our success and look to offer an inclusive, supportive working environment where employees can reach their potentials with a healthy work life balance, offering the following rewards:

• Generous annual leave (27 days per year rising to 31, pro rata for part time hours) with the potential to purchase additional leave.
• A fantastic pension which allows you the opportunity to pay in more for that greater return.
• Flexible working options including hybrid working with a minimum of two days office based per week pro rata, giving you the flexibility to work up to three days at home every week. Hybrid working is dependent on the role and service needs, exact details will be discussed with you at interview.
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities including apprenticeships.
• Extensive wellbeing support through the Employee Assistance Programme
• Discount on travel, travel loans and the bike loan scheme
• Discounts on a wide range of goods and services – access a range of discounts and offers from thousands of restaurants, shops and more.

Staff rewards: https://careers.portsmouth.gov.uk/working-for-the-council/Additional Information:The full job profile is attached here.Contact Details for an Informal Discussion:If you have any questions, or would like an informal discussion about the role, please email Terri Johnson Terri.johnson@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or Kate Soutter: Kate.soutter@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.A commitment to our values:We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focussed. These values set out how we can contribute to the success of the council and our own success as individuals. Learn more about our values and behaviours.Application process:How to complete your application: https://careers.portsmouth.gov.uk/how-to-apply/We are a disability confident employer – committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible and welcome applications from all areas of society.Please submit both a CV and a cover letter/personal statement. Remember to demonstrate in your cover letter/personal statement why you are suitable against each of the points described in the ‘Who is the Person’ points on the Job Profile, using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience, which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had.If you upload a CV without a cover let

Expected salary

£49497 – 53658 per year

Location

Portsmouth

Job date

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 23:00:36 GMT

To help us track our recruitment effort, please indicate in your email/cover letter where (jobsnear.org) you saw this job posting.