Children and Families Social Worker/ Senior Social Worker

·         Salary: £39,152- £47,181 per annum

·         Hours per week: 37

·         Contract Type: permanent

·         Closing Date: 12/04/2026

·         This post is open to job share.

We are currently recruiting for Social Workers and Senior Social Workers in all our locality teams. Gloucestershire covers six localities: Gloucester, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Forest of Dean, Stroud, Cotswolds

About us

For all your hard work. You will receive the following;

• between £39,152 - £40,777 per annum for a Social Worker or between £41,771 - £47,181 per annum for a Senior Social Worker subject to experience
• welcome payment of £4,000*
• annual retention payment of £2,000*
• up to £8,000 relocation package*
• flexible and agile working opportunities
• 25.5 days annual leave rising to 30.5 days after 5 years continuous service
• an option to purchase 10 days of additional leave per year
• family friendly policies and benefits to help support you and your family
• supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides free, confidential, counselling and advice for employees, available 24 hours a day, online and by telephone.
• an in-house Occupational Health service
• employee discount scheme
• cycle to Work scheme
• links to employee networks such as Prism (LGBT+) and the Young Employees Network
• career development and qualification opportunities
• access to our Social Work Academy
• paid SWE registration renewal

Right child, right support, right time, every time

In our recent inspection in June 2025, our Children’s Services have been officially judged as ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ elements. Ofsted also said ‘Leaders have set out a clear vision for delivering success for children, by modelling values and creating a culture where the workforce, children and families feel valued and heard; risk is managed confidently with bottom lines clearly set out.’

This marks an important step in our journey to improve outcomes for our children and young people, and we remain focused on our mission: to continue building on this success and ensure that every child and young person in our county has the opportunity to thrive.

Gloucestershire offers a range of opportunities to develop your career, supported by a phenomenal Social Work Academy offer, a developing systemic practice methodology, an ambitious leadership team and an award-winning workforce.

We are a local authority adopting, and training all colleagues in, systemic social work practice. If you would like to be part of an authority that takes a relational approach to working with families and focuses on what needs to change in the system around a child and family to enable children to thrive, then consider a role with GCC.

Our team structures are designed to ensure there is the right level of support available to staff and that caseloads are kept at a manageable level with a Team Manager, Advanced Practitioner, 4 Social Workers and an NQSW making up each team’s full complement of staff. We need resilient, driven individuals who will play their part in making our vision for Children’s Services a success. You will be joining an authority with a strong set of values that underpin the work we do: Accountability, Empowerment, Excellence, Integrity and Respect.

About you

As a Social Worker, you will be instrumental in delivering a first-class service to ensure the best outcomes for the children and young people of Gloucestershire. Through building positive relationships with colleagues within the service and partner agencies you will ensure we are able to provide support and protection for children and young people in need and at risk.

As well as your experience as a frontline social worker, there are some things we require of you to be successfully appointed to this post:

• Social Work England/ Wales registration
• a recognised qualification in Social Work
• to have passed your Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) (if you qualified after 2012)
• a full driving licence and willingness to drive
• DBS clearance (Enhanced Adults and Children’s)

We welcome applications from newly qualified and social workers in the early years of their career. Depending on your qualification date and previous experience, you will be invited to either join our accredited ASYE programme or to complete an alternative early‑career development in-house pathway. The appropriate option will be explored and confirmed as part of the interview and offer process.

*Please note, all our welcome payments and retention payments are non-contractual, pro rata for part-time staff and subject to National Insurance and tax deductions.

We reserve the right to close an advertisement earlier than the stated closing date if we receive a suitable amount of applications or fill the vacancy/vacancies.

The council will consider sponsorship for this role, in line with Home Office regulations and subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks.

Under the terms of our Safer Recruitment Policy, if you are invited to interview, we will take up safeguarding references prior to your interview to understand your suitability to work with vulnerable children. These references will then be discussed in your interview. Please give details of at least two referees, one of whom must be your present and/or last employer and the other from a previous employer(s). These will need to cover the last three years of employment/education. In the case of applicants leaving full time education or not having worked since doing so, the Head of School, College or University should be one of the named referees. We do not accept references from friends or family members or workplace colleagues (who are not more senior). To ensure we process your application in a speedy and efficient way, we will contact your referees by DocuSign. Where appropriate, please inform them of your application.

This position is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

For more information about the job, view links, download attachments and apply please click on the Apply Now button.