Jobs

This is a part time (22 hours per week) 12 month fixed term contract or secondment opportunity. The pro rata'd salary range is £28,662 to £34,479 per annum.

Interviews will be held in person at County Hall, Chelmsford on 9th June 2026.

The Team

The Early Professional Development team supports all students and newly qualified social workers as they start their social work careers. The team also oversees all practice educators, ensuring that they maintain currency and modelling high standards of practice.

Essex Social Care Academy (ESCA) is a busy service, and the Social Work Leads in the team play a pivotal role in upholding social work standards and ensuring those entering the profession do so with the best support and preparation possible.

The role will primarily be supporting the Adults ASYE Programme and year 2 support, but will also work alongside colleagues in the team to oversee student placements and Practice Educators.

The Role

The development of a professional, knowledgeable and skilled workforce is central to achieving practice improvement and driving change. The Social Work Lead will coordinate the ASYE programme across our Adult Social Care service, providing coaching and mentoring support for both NQSW and more experienced Social Work staff.

This role is well suited to an experienced social work practitioner with experience in managing a complex caseload, providing expert supervision, building strong working relationships and a thorough understanding of Adult Social Care learning theories.

Responsibilities

• Developing the ASYE programme, to ensure a high quality support and professional development route.
• Contribute to the strategic development of the ASYE programme within Essex, the Eastern Region and on a national level and lead on delivery, aligning commissioning with Partner programmes.
• Confidently design and deliver training and workshops, ensuring effective facilitation and learner engagement.
• Work closely with operational service managers to promote and support the development of social workers, coaching across social care to think creatively and reflect on best practice.
• Responsible for developing a Workforce Development strategy which supports staff in delivering high quality, customer-focused services.
• Develop and commission a range of blended learning and training opportunities, tailored to the individual needs of staff groups which support excellence in practice and represents value for money.
• Contribute to building capacity for workforce planning, ensuring effective developmental support is available through a range of initiatives including training opportunities, career development and flexible career pathways.
• Providing a source of expert advice and guidance for social workers.
• Builds strong effective working relationships across the Council, with partners and members of voluntary agencies to help people get the best start in life and age well.

About You

• Qualified Social Worker with current Social Work England registration
• Qualified Practice Educator with significant experience of supervising learners.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Significant experience of social work practice within Adult Social Care, demonstrating a comprehensive and up to date understanding of all relevant legislation, regulation and guidance.
• Experience of mentoring both Social Work students and newly qualified and experienced Social Work staff.
• A subject matter expert in professional social work practice.
• Ability to develop strong relationships with partners, other agencies and the local community.
• In depth understanding of delivery of value for money interventions balanced against need.
• Proven track record of clear decision making in order to highlight and limit the potential risks associated with intervention.
• Evidence of successful delivery and development of workforce projects and initiatives.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

To read more about our social care services, please visit: Adult Social Care and Children & Families

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we're committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We're committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We're also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you've secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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Company: Essex County Council

Salary: £48205 - £57988 per annum

Location: Chelmsford, Essex

Sector: Health and Social Care

Sector: Social Care

Job Role: Social Worker