Senior Social Work Assistant

Senior Social Work Assistant – Kinship Fostering Support Team

Birmingham Children’s Trust is looking for a Senior Social Work Assistant to join our Kinship Fostering Support Team on a permanent basis. The role supports children who cannot remain with their parents by keeping them within their wider family network wherever safe.

Responsibilities

• Undertake home visits, including urgent visits for safeguarding concerns or immediate family support needs.
• Provide practical support such as transporting children and their belongings to family members or for contacts and placement moves.
• Organise transportation for carers to training, events, or essential meetings.
• Assist carers in accessing and completing training, both online and face‑to‑face, to develop knowledge and skills.
• Support supervising social workers in delivering training to carers.
• Set up and manage carer support groups.
• Help carers complete referrals and application forms to secure additional services, e.g., alternative accommodation from housing departments.
• Provide guidance to carers on parenting and managing behaviour.
• Mediating between carers and children during relationship breakdowns, and facilitating family meetings to develop support plans.
• Offer practical assistance in the home, such as decluttering or budgeting support.
• Engage directly with children to support them during placements.

Requirements

• Experience and background in direct work with vulnerable children, young people and families in placement settings.
• Knowledge of children’s legislation and fostering processes, and understanding of the needs of children with trauma and complex needs.
• Ability to build strong relationships with children, carers and a range of professionals, and strong communication and report‑writing skills.
• Strong administrative and IT skills, balancing office tasks with community visits.
• Organised, flexible and capable of managing time effectively in a busy environment.
• Proactive and creative with the initiative to solve problems independently.

Benefits

• Large annual leave package: 30 days plus bank holidays, increasing to 33 days after 5 years and 35 days after 10 years.
• Free on‑site parking at our offices and free electric car charging ports.
• Access to an internal employee benefits scheme, including occupational health services, rewards schemes, benefits discounts (e.g., Blue Light Card), health and fitness, and wellbeing support.
• Flexible and hybrid working policy with time spent in the office and at home.
• Local government career average pension scheme.

Working Conditions

The role is hybrid and based in Birmingham. Applicants must live within a suitable commute around Birmingham and possess the right to work in the UK. Sponsorship is not available.

On‑boarding and Checks

Successful candidates will undergo background checks with Experian (including DBS, Right to Work and Digital ID verification) as part of the on‑boarding process.

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