Senior Practitioner

• Suffolk County Council
• Address: Endeavour House, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 2BX - Hybrid
• Salary: £43,723 - £47,054 per annum (pro rata for part time)
• Hours: 37 hours per week, flexible working options available
• Contract: Permanent

Are you a creative and experienced Senior Social Worker with a background in Adult Social Care and a passion for leadership?

We’re looking for Senior Practitioners to join our Learning Disabilities and Autism Teams (South and Review and Quality Assurance). Based at Endeavour House in Ipswich, our teams work across Suffolk, supporting adults to live more independent and fulfilling lives.

This is a fantastic opportunity to advance your career in a specialist area, contributing to our Independent Lives programme and wider transformation agenda.

Your role and responsibilities

• Work collaboratively with individuals, their families, and service providers to carry out personalised assessments and reviews, ensuring support services are effectively meeting needs.
• Champion approaches that promote independence, strengthen support networks, and enhance wellbeing, including active involvement in multi-agency safeguarding and risk management.
• Lead on the most complex cases within the team, applying advanced professional judgement and expertise.
• Provide leadership support by deputising for the Team Manager when required.
• Deliver case supervision and mentoring to colleagues, fostering a culture of continuous learning and high-quality practice.
• Represent and promote Suffolk County Council’s values, priorities, and vision to individuals, partners, and the wider community, modelling excellence in all aspects of your work.
• Ensure the team fulfils its statutory responsibilities under relevant legislation and guidance for adults with care and support needs, as well as their Carers.
• Facilitate effective joint working with statutory, private, and voluntary sector partners to provide timely information, advice, and support that empowers individuals to achieve their life outcomes.

You will need:

• a recognised Social Work qualification and Social Work England registration
• strong partnership working skills and the ability to adapt to changing priorities
• a commitment to innovation, digital tools, and continuous improvement
• confidence in managing risk and supporting others to develop their practice.

You can view a full list of requirements in the Job and Person Profile (Word). If you believe you can succeed in this role, apply. Even if you don't meet all the requirements, still apply. We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

The team

The Learning Disability and Autism Team operates with a strengths-based approach, guided by the Signs of Safety and Wellbeing model. We focus on identifying and building upon existing strengths and support networks to help individuals achieve their goals and live more independently.

Our team includes a Team Manager, Senior Practitioner, Social Workers, and Independence and Wellbeing Practitioners. We are a passionate, welcoming, and supportive group, committed to making a positive difference.

We currently offer a hybrid working model, combining time at home with time in the office. Our management team is cohesive, forward-thinking, and dedicated to continuous professional development. We are proud of our reputation for driving service improvement and innovation.

At Suffolk County Council, we believe our staff are our greatest asset. By joining us, you’ll play a key role in helping us achieve our vision: enabling everyone in Suffolk to live long, healthy, and fulfilling lives while ensuring the most vulnerable are safeguarded.

Empowering Everyone

We're big believers in potential, possibility and the power of different ideas. We're always searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report.

For more information

Please contact Kristy O'Halloran (she/her) for a casual conversation. You can reach her by calling 01473 263227 or emailing kristy.ohalloran@suffolk.gov.uk.

For a casual conversation about the Review and Quality Assurance post, which is a county wide role focusing on service reviews, please contact Catherine Score (she/her) for a casual conversation. You can reach her by emailing catherine.score@suffolk.gov.uk.

How to apply

Step 1 - Read the Job and Person Profile (Word).

Step 2 - Click ‘Apply Now’ to start your online application.

Step 3 - Upload a supporting statement indicating how you meet each of the criteria in the ‘Person Profile’ section of the JPP.

• You should use the Supporting Statement template (Word).
• Please use Arial font size 11 and keep your statement to a maximum of two sides of A4.

We value authentic applications that showcase your genuine skills and experiences. Applications suspected of being generated by AI may be rejected. We ask you to present your own work and ideas throughout the application process.

Please note: Without a supporting statement, your interest will not be progressed. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the application process before the next selection stage, please contact our Recruitment Team by emailing recruitment@suffolk.gov.uk or calling 03456 014412. If you are invited to the next stage of selection, you will have another opportunity to request adjustments for the next stages of the process.

Closing date: 11.30pm, 7 September 2025.

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts. #LI-Hybrid

As a modern and effective council, we offer a wide variety of careers to suit people with a range of skills, abilities and ambitions. We offer working options that flex to reflect the way people work today and take the time to understand and support your individual needs. We’re driven to make a positive difference to the world around us and encourage everyone with drive and focus to join us and build an influential and impactful career. Reimagine the possibilities.

In return, you’ll enjoy:

• up to 29 days annual leave entitlement (pro rata), plus UK bank holidays and two paid volunteering days
• membership of a competitive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• travel, lifestyle, health and wellbeing benefits
• performance-related annual pay progression, in addition to an annual cost-of-living pay increase
• training and encouragement to expand your knowledge
• a variety of career development opportunities across our organisation
• diverse and active staff networks
• flexible working options, with the right to request flexible working from your first day

If you want to know more about our benefits, values and equality commitments please visit our Suffolk County Council careers website (careers.Suffolk.gov.uk).