Vale of Glamorgan Council
Cyngor Bro Morgannwg

Children Services Jobs

Now is a really exciting time to join the Vale of Glamorgan Council. Make a change you won’t regret; join Social Services in the Vale of Glamorgan.

 

We have learnt a lot from the experiences of the last year which have challenged children social services to do things differently as we have managed the evolving nature of the pandemic. We are using this learning to inform our preferred operating model going forward and see our workforce and those we support being central to this. 

 

Cwm Col-huw

Care Inspectorate Wales’ most recent inspection of Children Services in the Vale of Glamorgan found -  “an Authority with motivated frontline staff who report job satisfaction, good provision of training and good management support at all levels including regular supervision.”

 

Current Vacancies

The Vale of Glamorgan is welcoming applications for a range of posts within its Children and Young People Services Division.  

 

Salary and Benefits

We recognise that our greatest asset is our workforce. Our pay is competitive, and we enable salary progression through our Social Work Career Progression Framework.

 

  • Competitive Pay

    The following salaries are per annum for 2020/21, based on working 37 hours per week (pro rata if part time): 

     

    • Social Worker: 

      £30,451 – £38,890

    • Practitioner Manager:

       £39,880 – £42,821

    • Team Manager: £43,857 – £46,545
    • To support recruitment and retention into our Intake and Family Support and Care Planning and Proceedings Teams we pay an annual enhancement of £5,000 to the Social Workers and Managers in those Teams.
  • Manageable case loads and time for direct work 

    In partnership with our workforce, we have reviewed our structure to add increased resilience to the front door, to create a dedicated team for children looked after and to enable adequate resources for the completion of pre and care proceedings.
     
    Social Work caseloads are carefully monitored to ensure capacity for direct work with children and their families and the completion of core tasks.  Business support has been further enhanced to ensure there is adequate support for Social Workers and there are additional resources in our Placements Team.
  • Flexible work / life balance 
    We recognise the importance of a work and home life balance and offer a range of family friendly policies. We provide IT equipment that supports agile working and enables working from home; subject to agreement from your line manager and the needs of the service.
  • Staff Appraisal and Development  
     

    Informed by the employee engagement strategy, the Vale of Glamorgan’s annual appraisal scheme has been refreshed to make the process easier to use and more meaningful for all employees and, crucially part of the ongoing discussion between managers and staff. 

     

    We are committed to training and career development, offering a rewarding and progressive career pathway that is open and equitable for all.  All staff receive regular formal supervision and access to experienced managers.

     

    We encourage our staff to take opportunities to explore working in other teams as part of enhancing their learning and experience.

     

    Social Workers wishing to seek promotion are encouraged to do so and we have a positive track record for succession planning.

  • Employee Assistance Programme 

    Our Employee Assistance Programme offers emotional and practical support for issues at work and at home. 

     

    The services are available both online and through a Freephone number at any time, day or night. 

    Support is available in a number of ways:

     

    • A telephone counselling service, providing advice, information and support 24/7, 365 days of the year.
    • Access to free and impartial information, advice and support, to help you find practical answers to real life questions. Common subjects include family and personal issues, finance/debt management, benefits, employment, childcare provision, health, writing wills and consumer matters.
    • An online health and wellbeing service with a vast resource of regularly updated articles and information designed to help you manage a healthy lifestyle.
    • A website and mobile app which provides free interactive health and personal fitness support.
  • Free parking 
    Staff are currently working from home in the context of the pandemic. Our usual office location benefits from a large car park with free parking and direct access to the local train station.
  • Annual Leave Purchase Scheme 
     

    As part of a continued commitment to help employees to balance their work commitments with their home life, the Vale of Glamorgan operates a scheme allowing employees to purchase additional annual leave. 

     

    Employees can choose to purchase either 5 or 10 days annual leave (pro rata for those who work part-time).

  • Local Government Pension Scheme  

    We offer membership to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).  The scheme is very secure because its benefits are defined and guaranteed in law. The LGPS is contracted out of State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) and must, in general, provide benefits at least as good as most members would have received had they been members of SERPS.

     

    www.lgpsmember.org 

     
  • Help with the cost of relocating 
    We offer relocation assistance of up to £8,000, to help you move to the Vale of Glamorgan (subject to eligibility).This covers specific removal and relocation costs, which can include removals; lodging or travelling allowance; disconnecting and reconnecting utilities; and certain professional fees (e.g. estate agents and solicitors).

"I relocated to the Vale because I wanted to work for a smaller authority, I had worked for big cities before and wanted an opportunity to work somewhere where I could build relationships with the people I was working with, both professionals and service users." - Amanda, Team Manager

 

To enable you to be the practitioner you want to be, we are concentrating on building our service to develop strengths-based approaches, with a consistent framework and shared language that means everybody involved with a child, young person and their family knows exactly what the work is trying to achieve.

 

We recognise our workforce as partners and experts in the development of our service.

 

As a permanent member of staff, you will have the opportunity to become involved in our service development in a range of areas depending on your interest.  

 

No vacancies?

Contact us at any time to express an interest. 

 

Please note: You need to be currently qualified as a Social Worker.

 

Amber Condy, Operational Manager

 

Karen Conway, Operational Manager

 

Rachel Evans, Head of Children and Young People Services

 

Please Note: Canvassing members of the Authority, directly or indirectly will disqualify the candidate. The Vale of Glamorgan Council is an equal opportunities employer, all appointments are made on merit. Applications for job share as well as full-time working are welcomed. Applications from Welsh speakers are welcome. Only completed application forms are accepted.