Experienced Social Worker
Kent County CouncilAshford, South East
Overview
This is a local council role (full time) with Kent County Council based in Ashford. The advertised salary is £41,782 to £46,606 per year. Applications close on 11 September 2026. GovJobs has indexed this vacancy from its official source — use the apply button to view the full advert and apply directly.
Job description
What will you be doing?
We operate in a hybrid model of office-based working and working from home to meet the needs of the service.
£3000 Golden Hello payment to all new joiners (subject to criteria) and service-related payments following continuous service.
This is an exciting opportunity to join the adult sensory service which is a small Kent wide team which has the knowledge, skills and experience to work with d/Deaf and deaf-blind individuals, whatever their communication preferences, including British Sign Language (BSL). Our aim is to assist people affected by deafness or deaf blindness to empower them to lead as full and independent life as possible and put the person and good practice at the heart of what we do.
We work with adults with a range of care and support needs placing individuals at the centre of their support. You will undertake work of varying levels of complexity including, Care Act Assessments, Mental Capacity Act (MCA) Assessments, Court of Protection applications and s42 safeguarding enquiries.
Our social care interventions are structured around the three pillars of excellent practice, exceptional innovation, and meaningful measures. Therefore, our work is orientated around building relationships with the individual their families and carers. We engage with communities early on to help people feel empowered to find trusted help and support locally from a range of sources.
We welcome applications from experienced and newly qualified social workers, all of whom can demonstrate capability of practice in accordance with current professional standards, legislative and policy frameworks.
You will hold a registration with Social Work England.
You will have a high level of literacy and communication skills, both verbal and written.
We are looking for future employees who have a positive, forward-thinking attitude. Using strengths-based practice with individuals which is built around their desired outcomes and goals. Our teams are imaginative, locally focused and flexible and we are searching for registered practitioners with a likeminded approach, working collaboratively as part of a team.
Our Support Offer
In return, we offer an attractive benefits package and a commitment to ensuring that you achieve a healthy work life balance and opportunities for flexible working arrangements that meet business need.
We offer generous market premium payments (subject to eligibility). You will also be entitled to a generous annual leave allowance and the local government pension scheme.
You will have excellent opportunities for professional development with access to our social care academy, progression routes and our newly launched practice framework.
We will support you to consolidate your skills and knowledge, assisting you to develop areas of specialist practice development such as Approved Mental Health Professional Training, Best Interest Assessor Training and Practice Educator training.
You will receive regular professional supervision and have the opportunity to critically reflect on your practice. You will be supported to develop your practice and progress your career.
This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring service and registration as a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England.
This role is subject to holding a Full UK Driving Licence – The Council is committed to making reasonable adjustments so whilst this job requires the jobholder to drive your application will still be considered if you are unable to drive due to a disability.
This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.
We also welcome applications from experienced registered nurses and occupational therapists with relevant experience into our Community Practitioner roles. If you hold a registration with a professional body (Social Work England, HCPC, Nursing and Midwifery Council) and would like to know more about these opportunities please contact Nikki O’ Sullivan on 03000 418 709.
If you are about to qualify or waiting for registration, please get in touch.
Please note - if you are interested, please apply soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.
For an informal discussion regarding this role, please contact:
Nikki O’ Sullivan (Service Manager) on 03000 418 709 or
email nikki.o'sullivan@kent.gov.uk
or sensoryservices@kent.gov.uk
Work that works for you and us - let's talk flexibility!
KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.
Please note - if you are interested, please apply soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.
How this role compares
We hold 194 council vacancies in South East that publish a salary, and their median advertised starting figure is £34,660. This role pays more than about 71% of them.
There are 4,945 council roles open across the UK on GovJobs right now, 332 of them in South East.
You have 12 days left to apply. Council adverts we hold typically run for around 26 days, so this is a shorter window than usual.
Kent County Council has 77 other vacancies open on GovJobs, with a breakdown of what they pay and the kinds of roles they recruit for.
These figures are calculated from the vacancies GovJobs currently holds, not from official pay statistics. They are a guide to the market, not a valuation of this post.
How to apply
GovJobs does not take applications or send your details to the employer. Use the apply button to open the official Lg Jobs advert, then check the employer's instructions, attachments, person specification and closing time before applying.
This listing was last checked on 19 Aug 2026, 15:13. If the official advert has changed or closed, report it and we will review the listing.
Why this listing is on GovJobs
GovJobs indexes public-sector vacancies from official sources, normalises the title, employer, location, salary and deadline, and links back to the source so you can verify the advert yourself.
The source for this role is Lg Jobs. Applications stay on the official employer or source website, not on GovJobs.
