Social Worker Unaccompanied Children and Young People Team

Job Introduction

About Us

The Unaccompanied Children and Young Person’s Team cares for children and care leavers. The team includes: - managers, senior practitioners, social workers, leaving care personal advisors and a family support worker.  

As a social worker in the team you will be responsible for unaccompanied children who are usually cared for by the local authority under section 20 of the Children Act. 

You will have your own case load and be responsible for completing all statutory duties within timescales.  

You will be part of a duty pod and this is usually when you will need to respond to newly arrived children. 

This role offers a unique opportunity to develop your knowledge in working with children of different cultures and gaining a good understanding of the asylum process.  

There will be opportunities to undertake specialist training to develop you in the role. 

This post holder is responsible for ensuring that all County Safeguarding and Child Protection policies are adhered to and concerns are raised in accordance with these policies.

About the Role

The role involves working with unaccompanied children and young people who have arrived in Oxfordshire spontaneously, or via the planned National Transfer Scheme route.  As a social worker you will need knowledge of the UK immigration system and the National Referral Mechanism.   

You will also need an understanding of the range of specialised services available in Oxfordshire/UK-wide. The role will be rewarding as you support a child through their journey of adapting to a new life in the UK and developing their independence.  
 

About you

You will be enthusiastic about working with unaccompanied children and young people.  You will be a natural advocate with an appreciation of the unique challenges face by unaccompanied children and young people. You will be a qualified social worker who has a current registration with Social Work England. 

You will demonstrate the following: -

• Motivation to work with children and young people. 
• Ability to form and maintain appropriate relationships and personal boundaries.
• Emotional resilience in working with challenging behaviours.
• Experience of working with Children We Care For
• An interest in working with young people who are seeking asylum in the UK

Would you like to know more?

For a confidential and informal discussion about the post, please email Emily Winfield-Jones, Team Manager at Emily.WinfieldJones@Oxfordshire.gov.uk 

Rewards and benefits

It really is true that every single job role here contributes to bettering the lives of the people in our county - we want to do this for our employees too. We are proud of our strong flexible working culture, including the opportunity for flexibility on working hours and the use of technology to support agile working. We offer some of the very best learning and development opportunities to support your ongoing development. 

We have a generous holiday allowance which rises as you remain in employment with us up to 33 days, as well as giving you the option to buy additional holiday. You will also have access to a Local Government Pension Scheme with employer contributions of up to 19.9% of your salary; a range of local and national retail discounts; and a host of enhanced family friendly policies including carers leave and paid time off for volunteering. 

There is a relocation package if eligible, please refer to the Intranet for this information.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Oxfordshire County Council we are proud of our diverse workforce. Everyone is accepted for who they are, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, race, faith or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or on maternity or family leave.  

We have a number of staff network groups which provide peer support, education and safe spaces for all.

Our commitment to Guaranteed Interview Schemes

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job. We also guarantee interviews to care leavers who have completed further education and who meet the essential criteria for the job. For those leaving care without any further education, we guarantee an interview for our apprenticeships.  We are also committed to helping an supporting those transitioning from HM Armed Forces to civilian life and guarantee an interview for those demonstrating the essential criteria for the role, within three years of leaving the service.

Our commitment to Safeguarding

Oxfordshire County Council are 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 these commitments.

Our commitment to Flexible Working

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which can include flexi-time, part time working, job sharing, nine-day fortnights and annualised hours, depending on the requirements of the role and the service.

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If you encounter any technical issues with the application system, please contact us at: careers@oxfordshire.gov.uk