Experienced Social Worker (Job Ref: 4322)

Salary: £50,790.50 - £54,056 (based on experience) + Travel Allowance & SWE Reimbursement
Location: 5 Pancras Square, London N1C 4AG / Hybrid
Hours per week: 36
Contract Type: Permanent / Full Time
Closing Date: Sunday 1st November 2026 at 23:55
Interviews: TBC

**We are recruiting for experienced Qualified Social Workers. You must be registered with SWE and have at least two years post-qualifying experience. Please kindly specify which area/s you’re applying for on your supporting statement in your application. **

About Camden
Camden is changing on the inside to make life better for everyone. Our residents and communities are at the heart of everything we do. We’re home to the most important conversations happening today and we’re making radical social change a reality, so that nobody gets left behind. Here’s where you can help decide a better future for us all.

We’re recruiting experienced Social Workers across four areas within Children’s Services:

Family Help CIN Service

As a Social Worker supporting and monitoring children in need and those subject to child protection plans, you will be skilled in identifying and addressing risk, and work alongside families to ensure the children’s safety, development and wellbeing are paramount.

Children and Young People’s Disability Service (CYPDS)

CYPDS is a specialist service supporting disabled children and young people and from childhood through transition into adulthood. The service undertakes a broad range of work including short breaks, children in need and child protection, children looked after, PLO and court proceedings, as well as Preparation for Adulthood, Care Act assessments and relevant adult social care responsibilities for young adults.

Family, Friends & Fostering Service

The Camden Fostering Service provides alternative accommodation for looked after children ‘LAC’. The team is part of an integrated service comprising of a Looked After Children’s and Leaving Care team, a virtual Looked After Children Academy, a specialist health team, targeted CAMHS provision and Permanence team.

Children Looked After Service

The Children Looked After Service supports children and young people in care, working closely with families, carers and partner agencies to ensure they receive safe, stable and nurturing care that promotes their wellbeing, development and future outcomes.

Please kindly specify which area/s you’re applying for on your supporting statement in your application.

Our Children's Family Help and Safeguarding Service values are that we put children and families at the heart of our practice, which is the core of relational practice.

We use a unique way of working within Camden’s Relational Practice Framework, which is a relationship-based practice, where relationships are at the heart of what we do. It is based on strong relationships between social workers and families and informed by their experiences. Being relational means Camden children, young people, parents and carers, networks, residents and communities experience a workforce that is curious, kind, courageous, honest and collaborative.

Our staff are central to our success and their work supports improved outcomes for children, their families, and care leavers.

We have been rated outstanding by Ofsted and are continually looking to innovate and maintain these standards.

What You’ll Be Doing / How You’ll Be Involved
You will be an experienced Social Worker with experience of working with children, young people and families with complex needs. Depending on the service you join, your caseload may include children in need, child protection, children looked after, disabled children and young people, fostering and permanence work.

You will undertake complex assessments, identify and address risk, develop and review plans and undertake direct work with children and young people, ensuring their views and wishes inform their care and support.

Working within Camden’s Relational Practice Framework, you will build strong relationships with children, young people, families, carers and partner agencies to achieve positive outcomes.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and will require an Enhanced DBS. Please note Camden also offers the DBS update service.

All About You
You must be a fully qualified Social Worker with current Social Work England (SWE) registration and at least two years post-qualifying experience.

You will have experience of working with children, young people and families with complex needs, undertaking complex assessments and developing, implementing and reviewing plans. You will also have sound knowledge of relevant legislation, statutory guidance and procedures.

For CYPDS, you will also require a sound working knowledge of legislation and statutory guidance relating to disabled children and young people, including SEND, safeguarding, transition to adulthood and leaving care, together with relevant adult social care and mental capacity legislation.

For Children Looked After, relevant experience includes care planning, permanence and working with children and young people in care.

For Family, Friends & Fostering, relevant experience includes fostering, assessment, support and permanence arrangements.

To view the CIN Job Profile, please click HERE

To view the CYPDS Job Profile, please click HERE

To view the CLA Job Profile, please click HERE

To view the Family, Friends and Fostering Job Profile, please click HERE

What We Offer

At Camden, you’ll receive a host of benefits including:

• 27 days annual leave for new starters, rising to 31 days after 5 years
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Flexible working opportunities
• Interest free loans
• Access to our incredible staff networks
• Career development and training
• Wellbeing support and activities

Visit 'www.camdenjobs.co.uk/staff-benefits' for more details.

What makes us different – why Camden?

We believe Camden is one of the best places you can develop your career in Children's Family Help and Safeguarding.

Additional benefits for Social Workers at Camden:

• Competitive Salary based on experience.
• Reimbursement of the cost of Social Work England Fees for all qualified social work staff.
• Payment of a travel allowance equivalent to the cost of a Zone 1 and 2 Travel card - currently £1,708.
• Vibrant central London location with excellent transport links
• A comprehensive core social work training offer provided in partnership with the Learning and Development Service.
• Opportunities for post-qualifying study including The Tavistock Clinic or the Institute Working in the heart of London in a vibrant location with brilliant transport links.
• Care experience recognised as a ‘protected characteristic’ by Camden.
• Camden Children’s Safeguarding and Social Work Learning Academy that provides a framework to deliver workforce development activity and our learning and development programme.
• Opportunity to progress to an Advanced Social Worker Role, which will include developing an area of specialism and support team development.
• Strong values and ethos informed by our Relational Practice Framework, based on strong relationships between social workers and families and informed by their experiences.

Relational practice forms the basis of many working relationships within Camden, including Camden’s well-being offer to social work staff. This includes:

• Support for social workers from managers, who can refer staff to clinicians at the Tavistock Clinic for counselling if needed.
• Camden’s comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme that also offers counselling.
• A regular social work “health check” to measure the wellbeing of the workforce.
• Listening boxes and surveys to gather feedback from staff.
• Wellbeing passport for carers, disabled staff (with both visible and non-visible disabilities), staff with long-term health conditions, and staff experiencing mental ill health.

Please click below for the full Social Worker Benefits and read about Camden’s continued Outstanding Ofsted rating Work in Children's Social Care - Camden Careers - Camden Council

If you would like to have an informal conversation or to arrange a time to visit our offices for a walk through, please contact:

childrensocialworkrecruitment@camden.gov.uk

Inclusion and Belonging

At Camden, we want every colleague to feel they belong and can thrive. We welcome applications from all parts of our community, and particularly encourage people from Black, Asian and Other Ethnic Heritage communities, LGBTQ+ people, disabled and neurodiverse people, survivors of domestic abuse, and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds or with care experience. We know that different voices and perspectives make us stronger, and we are committed to providing the support, adjustments and flexibility people need to succeed.

To discover more about Camden and our commitment towards diversity, equality and safeguarding, please visit https://www.camdenjobs.co.uk/inclusion-and-diversity

Asking for Adjustments

Camden is committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments or changes for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions. If you would like us to do anything differently during the application, interview or assessment process, including providing information in an alternative format, please contact us on 020 7974 6655, at resourcing@camden.gov.uk or post to 5 Pancras Square, London, N1C 4AG.

Anonymised Application – in keeping with Camden’s commitment to inclusion the recruitment to this role is anonymised and supports the objective of reducing the impact of unconscious bias.