Vacancies

Practice Development Lead

About the role

West Northamptonshire Council are seeking to recruit a dynamic, experienced, skilled, and innovative Professional Development Lead to work within Adult Social Care, leading on the learning and development of our workforce.

We are committed to providing a positive learning and working environment, where people feel safe and supported to develop their practice. In order to foster a learning environment, you will work closely with internal and external partners, including team managers, practitioners, the Senior Leadership Team, training providers and academics.

This role will be critical in supporting the workforce maintain and/or develop the required social work skills and knowledge to enable the best possible outcomes for those people who use our services.

What will you be doing?

You will be leading and managing the Learning and Development within WNC adult social care. Your key responsibilities will be:

To identify the learning needs of the workforce in order to develop and deliver high quality training which meets the identified need.
To procure and evaluate high quality training which offers value for money.
To manage the Learning and Development roles within the Adult Services Directorate
To coordinate, alongside the Principal Social Worker, the Degree Apprenticeship in Social Work (DASW) and Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) programme.
To coordinate post qualifying social work programmes such as the Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS) and Best Interest Assessor (BIA).

About you

The ideal candidate will:

Be forward thinking, innovative and self-driven
Have strong organisational and inter personal skills
Be an excellent communicator, in terms of clear and effective verbal and written communication. This includes active listening and providing constructive feedback.
Be experienced in management
Be able to demonstrate knowledge, skills and experience of an Advanced Social Worker, in accordance with the Professional Capabilities Framework
Be an expert in Social Work Practice, demonstrating a thorough understanding of social work principles, values, and legislation.
Be committed to continuous professional development, committed to your own, and others, ongoing learning and development by remaining updated with the latest research, policies, and best practices in social work.
Be a qualified social worker, registered with Social Work England and have PEPS 2 (or equivalent).

Our benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
Cycle to Work scheme.
Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
Car Lease scheme
Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
Ongoing training and development opportunities.
A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

About us

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential.  We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.

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