Lead Child Protection Practitioner

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Job Reference Ref/1660/9140

Apply for this job Contract Type: Full Time Contract Details: Permanent Contract Salary Range : £52,515 - £56,054 Working Hours: 37 Location: Ely with countywide travel expected Job Category: Social Worker - Children Organisation: Cambridgeshire County Council

Our benefits

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage…

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family
• 6 days of protected time each year to support in maintaining your Continuous Professional Development
• A relocation package (eligibility applies)
• A Refer a Friend Scheme where if you refer another Social Worker to us who is subsequently employed by us as a result of that introduction, we’ll pay you an introduction fee of £350
• Access to our Cambridgeshire Academy for Reaching Excellence (CARE) who will support your development, enabling you to become the best practitioner you can be

For more information and to see our other benefits, take a look at the benefits brochure attached to this advert.

About the role

Are you an experienced Child Protection professional, Team Manager, Child Protection Conference Chair or Senior Practitioner looking to further your career development? Do you want the opportunity to use your expertise to support the development of a new Families First model? Are you passionate about improving outcomes for children, young people and their families? We'd love to hear from you.

As a Lead Child Protection Practitioner (LCPP), you will work collaboratively with managers, social workers, colleagues within the Family Help Service and partner agencies as part of a Multi-Agency Child Protection Team.

This is a senior practice leadership role with a focus on strengthening and promoting high-quality child protection practice across the partnership. You will provide professional oversight, scrutiny and challenge to support effective decision-making, consistency of practice and positive outcomes for children.

This role carries significant responsibility for safeguarding decision-making and requires sound professional judgement, confidence and substantial safeguarding expertise. A central aspect of the role is making complex threshold decisions for children suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. You will lead multi-agency decision-making forums, including decisions relating to Section 47 enquiries, determining when multi-agency investigations are required, chairing strategy discussions and child protection conferences, and making recommendations on threshold for Child Protection and Child in Need plans. You will ensure safeguarding processes are robust, supportive, transparent and child-focused, while also supporting frontline practitioners through professional advice, guidance, consultation and mentoring.

While this is not a line management role and does not have direct responsibility for a team, you will be expected to influence practice through your expertise, consultation and professional leadership, supporting practitioners and managers to make safe and effective decisions for children and families.

This role commences in a pilot scheme within East Cambridgeshire with a mix of office, based at Noble House in Ely, and home working. Beyond the pilot, more LCPPs will be recruited to various other locations across Cambridgeshire and you will have the opportunity to look at these alternative locations. There is also an expectation to attend conferences and potentially home visits across the county. 

If you would like to discuss the role in more detail, please email Hannah Watt, Interim Head of Service for Integrated Front Door (IFD) & Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT), at [email removed] to arrange a phone call or Teams meeting.

This is a rolling campaign and we check applications daily. We will close the advert once the positions are filled so don’t wait to apply!

Interviews will be held in person at New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon, wherever possible.

Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoti