The posting
Job Description
Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest
Salary: PO1 - PO4 £41,133 - £52,194 Retention Bonus/ Market Supplement: This position will attract the retention bonus of £2000 per year in two instalments of £1000
Contract Type: Full-Time/Permanent Working hours per week: 36
Application Deadline: 17/11/2026
Proposed Interview Date(s): TBC Reference: 2207
About Us:
Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.
We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.
London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.
About the role:
Reporting to the Permanence & Post Order Advanced Practitioner/Team manager, to hold a caseload of assessments and/or support cases in Permanence and Post Order Support Team. To ensure that the necessary assessments (Viability/Regulation 24 & 25/Connected Person/SGO) are completed to a high standard within court timelines, predicated on sound judgement and decision making, safeguard children and young people and achieve the best possible outcomes. To ensure that practice is in accordance with the relevant legislation, regulations, and guidance. To exemplify best practice and apply professional rigour to assessment and/or support cases. To attend Practice Support Group and provide professional advice and case-related guidance to social workers and other professionals, sharing knowledge, skills, and behaviours to develop the practice of others. The Permanence Social Worker will maintain accurate case related records.
We are a Home Office–licensed sponsor; however, for this specific role we are not able to provide Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. To be considered, you must already hold a form of UK work authorisation that does not require sponsorship.
>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<
Key Responsibilities:
To exemplify expert and best practice in relation to assessment and/or support cases of varying complexity
The relevant assessments (Viability/Connected Person/SGO) are completed to a high standard and to required timescales. Assessments accurately identify need/s and vary in complexity Practice complies with the relevant legislation, regulations, and practice standards and risks of varying complexity are well managed/mitigated effectively Professional advice and other case-related guidance is provided to team members Regular attendance/contribution to Practice Support Group.
Hold a caseload including kinship assessments and delivery of support services to Kinship carers.
Carry out all duties with an awareness and understanding of the Safeguarding requirements within area of responsibility
Demonstrate knowledge of the relevant theories/models and incorporate these into professional practice, PSG discussion and case-related guidance to others
A critical knowledge of the range of social work-related theories and models is demonstrated in professional practice and case-related guidance (including PSG) to social workers and other professionals
Qualifications and Requirements:
To be considered for this position, you should meet the following requirements:
Professional registration with the relevant body (Social Work England) Experience of completing the assessments Knowledge of Fostering/Connected carers and Special Guardianship area
Terms and conditions:
The below terms and conditions apply to this role:
- Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
- Satisfactory declaration of interest;
- This role is subject to safer recruitment practices as it involves work with children and/ or vulnerable adults;
- Satisfactory DBS check;
- Continued professional body registration;
- As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.
To suPport the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.
We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.
For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.
Contact Information:
If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]
If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at [email protected].
The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email [email protected] so we can arrange an alternative application method.
Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.
Fraud Awareness Notice The London Borough of Waltham Forest only advertises vacancies via our official website and approved recruitment platforms (e.g. Jobsgopublic).
We will never ask for payment or request sensitive personal or financial information as part of our recruitment process.
If you are contacted by a third party claiming to represent the Council, please verify the vacancy via our official careers website before sharing any information.
If you have concerns about a job advert or communication, please report it to: [email protected]
