Senior Practitioner (MASH)

Contract Type: Fixed term contract (until August 2027)

Contract Reason: Vacancy cover

Secondment Opportunity: Permanent employees are encouraged to apply and will be supported as part of our workforce development

Salary: Grade I. Scale 35 - £23,711 to Scale 39 - £25,832 with a professional bar at Scale 37 - £24,782**

Hours Per Week: 18.5

Base Location: Tameside One, Market Place, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 6BH

Assessment Date: Week commencing 10^th August 2026

The Role

Are you passionate about making a real difference in the lives of children and families facing some of the most complex barriers to safety, stability and support? Do you bring compassion, curiosity, collaboration, conversation, and courage to your practice? If so, Tameside is looking for you.

We are looking for Senior Practitioner (Social Work Qualified) to support children, young people and their families in our front door arrangements.

You will provide our families with high quality support and respond to their individual needs as required.

You will support families to develop solutions to their needs.

You will support the leadership of the Front Door service by offering advice, support and guidance to practitioners within the Front Door and others, contributing to a consistently high standard of practice across services.

You will take into account the views of children, young people and families and partners to continually improve service delivery.

You will facilitate workshops and group supervisions to support decision making, provide opportunities for reflection and ensure appropriate plans are in place to meet families’ individual needs effectively, enabling families to make positive and sustained changes.

You will attend and chair a range of multi-agency meetings to share important information and contribute to decisions that support the individual needs of children, young people and families.

You will contribute to the leadership of the service through mentoring, coaching and practice development to support practitioners and achieve positive outcomes for children, young people and families.

This role is 18.5 hours working Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

About You

You will be passionate and motivated to achieve best outcomes for children, young people and their families.

You will have strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to handle sensitive information.

Have substantial post qualified experience within children’s social care services.

Excellent communication skills with attention to detail.

Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Knowledge of safeguarding principles and relevant legislation (Children Act, Working Together to Safeguard Children).

IT literate with experience using case management systems and Microsoft Office.

About Us

Message from Jill Colbert, Director of Children’s Services

“I joined the council at the beginning of 2025 and was instantly charmed by the warmth, openness, and energy of colleagues.

“I came to Tameside for one reason; because I know we can do fantastic things for our families here.

“We’re a children’s service on a significant improvement journey. We know what needs to be different for our children and families and we’re ambitious to deliver that change.

“We have a growing range of specialist services for children, where you can test and grow your skills and practice. We have a Social Work Academy that is led by people who bring passion to learning and who know that the DCS’ of the future are right in front of them. We are working on our progression pathways so that staying in Tameside is rewarded and recognised. We have investment in innovation and improvement from the council so that we can grow services and support for families that we can sustain, from family hubs through to complex safeguarding.

“I am so certain that we can build a proud, inclusive and safe climate for great practice to flourish in Tameside. I’d love you to join me on the journey here at Team Tameside.”

Our Heart of Support Practice Approach

At Tameside, we believe in:

• Compassion understanding the lived experiences of children and families.
• Curiosity asking questions that lead to deeper insight and better outcomes for children.
• Collaboration working together across services to deliver joined-up support.
• Conversation listening and engaging meaningfully with children, families and professionals.
• Courage leading with courage, making bold and compassionate decisions that put children first.

At Tameside, we are committed to ensuring all our Citizens lead long, fulfilling and healthy lives. We are committed to supporting economic growth, providing high quality health and care services, protecting our most vulnerable and creating strong and supportive, self-sufficient communities.

We recognise that our people drive our success and enable the organisation to deliver on its vision, purpose and priorities, and that our people are our most important resource and asset. Our values underpin our practice and behaviours, and are at the heart of everything that we do; and we understand that how we do things is just as important as what we do. We pride ourselves on living by our STRIVE values of Support, Trust, Respect, Integrity, Value Diversity and Engage. Our values underpin our practice and behaviours and are at the heart of everything that we do. How we do things are just as important as what we do.

Our employees’ skills, experience and knowledge are essential to our success along with their happiness, wellbeing, commitment, enthusiasm and motivation to be the best they can be.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults and expect all staff to share this commitment. This position is subject to Enhanced with Barred List Disclosure Procedures.

** This post is classified as being in a professional job category. As such the grade for the job has a professional grade development bar which employees can progress through subject to meeting the following criteria:

1. Relevant professional qualification for the job role at Level 6 or above, AND

2. Minimum of 2 years post qualification experience in the role, AND

3. Maintained membership of a regulated body where this is a requirement to practice in the role where applicable, AND

4. Professional standards practised to the highest expected level.

If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.

Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to offer sponsorship.

We are committed to developing a culture which respects individuals, appreciates difference and allows everyone regardless of background to reach their full potential. We are proud to be an accredited disability confident employer. Reasonable Adjustments will be considered in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 in relation to the Job Role Criteria.

Our rewards and benefits package can be viewed here

We have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel. Please click here for more information on our guaranteed assessment scheme.

For further information about this role please contact the recruiting manager Cath Mowll on 0161 342 2993 or cath.mowll@tameside.gov.uk