Senior Practitioner - Childrens Social Work Team
Medway CouncilChatham, South East
Overview
This is a local council role (full time) with Medway Council based in Chatham. The advertised salary is £47,435 to £52,920 per year. Applications close on 13 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
Senior Practitioner - Childrens Social Work Team (CSC/26/751/BH)
Directorate: People (Childrens, Adults, Public Health, Education and SEND)
Department: Children’s Services
Salary: £47,435 and £52,920 per annum
Job Status: Full Time Permanent
Hours: 37 per week
Location: Broadside, Leviathan Way, Chatham, ME4 4LL
Working style: Hybrid – Works part from Broadside and part from home.
Closing Date: 13th September 2026
Are you a dedicated and experienced social worker passionate about championing practice? We are now looking for passionate Senior Practitioners who can commit to making a difference to our children in Medway.
As a Senior Practitioner you will hold a caseload of complex cases whilst supporting the Team Manager, alongside the Assistant Team Manager, in delivering high quality standards of social work to the children open for assessment, intervention, and support. You will support the leadership of the team and service through the provision of mentoring, coaching, support and practice expertise to other less experienced team members, supporting them in their professional development and progression. If you are passionate about an area of practice, we will support you to continue to develop in this area, become a champion and share your expertise with colleagues across Medway Children’s Services.
Children matter in Medway, and so do you. It’s an exciting time to join us as we offer competitive pay and conditions and hybrid working. We are committed to helping you to grow and develop throughout your career and reach your full potential. Our practice development offer, whether you are a manager or practitioner, ensures you will be guided, supported and cared for.
Whether you are an experienced social worker looking for the next step in your career or an existing senior practitioner we’d like to hear from you. You will be joining an experienced and dedicated social work team who have relationship and strengths-based work with children and families at the core of their practice.
The successful post holder will be subject to a Enhanced Childrens’ DBS check.
Shortlisting will take place on: 14th September 2026
If you would like to have an informal discussion with the recruiting manager, please call Charleen Carnell (Service Manager) on 01634 334254.
Children matter in Medway, and so do you. It’s an exciting time to join us as we offer competitive pay and conditions and hybrid working. We are committed to helping you to grow and develop throughout your career and reach your full potential. Our practice development offer, whether you are a manager or practitioner, ensures you will be guided, supported and cared for.
Candidates will be offered a competitive basic salary between £47,435 - £52,920 per annum, dependant on your experience, and the potential to earn up to £61,920 per year when market premiums and retention are applied.
Join us and #Make a Difference…
- We are proud to offer a range of benefits including –
- A market allowance of £6000 per annum (payable in 12 equal instalments)
- A retention payment of £3000 per annum (payable in April, following 1 years service in Medway)
- A generous annual leave entitlement up to 30 days plus bank holidays
- An excellent local government pension scheme
- An essential car user allowance with option to apply for a lease car after six months.
- Free car parking.
- Hybrid working - enabling you to work from home/office (minimum of 2 days per week will be required in the office). Assessment Teams are office based for duty weeks.
- Relocation package of up to £8,000.
- A range of staff benefits and discounts including access to fantastic discounts and savings on shops and services, travel discounts, health and wellbeing support, and an employee assistance service.
- Access to professional development and support including Community Care Inform.
- You will hold a recognised Social Work qualification eg. Degree in Social Work, PGC in Social Work, CQSW, DipSW or equivalent and be registered with Social Work England.
- You will have successfully completed your ASYE.
- You will have a full driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes (including business use for carrying passengers).
- For further information on the qualifications, skills and experience required, please refer to the Job Profile and Person Specification.
Important Information
- Applicants must be able to demonstrate all criteria which are essential for appointment to the role.
- For further information, and for details of the benefits of working for Medway Council, please refer to the Medway information pack available as a download or to view online.
- Please be advised that if you are not contacted within 3 weeks of the advert closing date then you have not been shortlisted. All recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email.
- Please note, we prioritise applications from current Medway Council redeployees. We will let you know if this post is to be filled by a redeployee as, in this instance, your application will unfortunately not be taken forward.
- We reserve the right to close this vacancy at any time prior to the closing date.
Please visit http://www.mindfulemployer.net/ for information on how Medway Council put good practices in place to ensure employees and job applicants who declare mental health issues receive the right level of support.
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 82% of them.
There are 4,945 council roles open across the UK on GovJobs right now, 332 of them in South East.
You have 14 days left to apply. Council adverts we hold typically run for around 26 days, so this is about the usual amount of time.
Medway Council has 40 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 28 Aug 2026, 15:06. 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.