Job Description

This is a Gloucestershire County Council job.

• Job Title: Practice and Quality Lead
• Job Location: Gloucester/Gloucestershire
• Salary: £49,817 - £53,051 per annum
• Hours per Week: 37.00
• Contract Type: Fixed Term/Permanent
• Closing Date: 27/09/2026
• Job Requisition Number: 14867
• This post is open to job share

1x Fixed Term Contract position for 12 months based in Gloucester.

1x Permanent position based in Gloucester, covering Gloucestershire in the Disabled Children's Service.

Make a real difference to children and families

Following significant investment in Gloucestershire Children's Services and the implementation of the Department for Education's Families First Partnership Programme reforms, we are seeking an experienced and passionate Practice and Quality Lead to help shape the future of Family Help services across the county.

This is a unique opportunity for an experienced Social Worker who is passionate about practice excellence, workforce development and improving outcomes for children and families. Working alongside Family Help Team Managers, Team Leaders, the Academy and Senior Leaders, you will play a key role in developing a strong learning culture, supporting Social Workers at the beginning of their careers and driving continuous improvement in practice quality and performance.

About the role

As a Practice and Quality Lead, you will provide professional leadership, coaching and quality assurance across Family Help services. You will support Newly Qualified Social Workers during their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE), supervise and develop Student Social Workers on placement, and work closely with teams to embed excellent practice and drive improvement.

You will:

• lead on quality assurance and improvement activities, including audits, dip sampling and thematic reviews to ensure high standards of practice
• provide mentoring, coaching, reflective supervision and professional support to Social Workers, Apprentices and Students
• support the successful implementation of Family Help by embedding new ways of working and evidence-based practice approaches
• work alongside Managers and Practitioners to analyse performance information and identify opportunities for improvement
• facilitate reflective group supervision sessions that encourage professional curiosity, critical thinking and learning
• take a lead role in developing and improving a key thematic area of practice across the county, such as domestic abuse, neglect, child sexual abuse or supporting children with disabilities

What we offer

• the opportunity to be part of significant national reform and service development
• a supportive, experienced and values-led workforce
• practice underpinned by Systemic Practice and a commitment to learning and development
• meaningful work that helps prevent escalation to higher-level services
• flexible working arrangements where service needs allow

You will be joining an authority that is committed to delivering the best possible outcomes for children and families, recognising the importance of reflective practice, collaboration, and professional curiosity

Reward and support

For all your hard work, you will receive the following:

• between £49,817 - £53,051 per annum subject to experience
• flexible and agile working opportunities
• 25.5 days annual leave rising to 30.5 days after 5 years continuous service
• option to purchase 10 days of additional leave per year
• family friendly policies and benefits to help support you and your family
• supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• in-house Occupational Health service
• employee discount scheme
• employee networks including Prism (LGBT+) and the Young Employees Network
• career development and qualification opportunities
• access to our Academy
• cycle to Work Scheme
• green Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme

About you

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Social Worker who will:

• be a qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England
• have extensive experience in statutory children's social work
• have experience of mentoring, supervision, coaching or workforce development
• demonstrate a strong understanding of quality assurance, practice improvement and evidence-based interventions
• be passionate about supporting the development of students, apprentices and newly qualified social workers
• hold a full driving licence
• a Practice Educator qualification, or willingness to work towards one, would be advantageous.

How to apply

For an informal chat about this role, please contact cswrecruitment@gloucestershire.gov.uk and we will put you in touch with the hiring manager.

We reserve the right to close an advertisement earlier than the stated closing date if we receive a suitable number of applications.

Interviews are due to take place in person week commencing 12th October.

If you would like to find out more about our children's services, please look at our: Children's Social Care Careers | Careers hub

We may be able to offer sponsorship for this role, in line with Home Office guidance and subject to pre-employment checks. Applicants must already hold a valid right to work in the UK that Gloucestershire County Council can transfer.

Under the terms of our Safer Recruitment Policy, if you are invited to interview, we will take up safeguarding references prior to your interview to understand your suitability to work with vulnerable children. These references will then be discussed in your interview. Please give details of at least two referees, one of whom must be your present and/or last employer and the other from a previous employer(s). These will need to cover the last three years of employment/education. In the case of applicants leaving full time education or not having worked since doing so, the Head of School, College or University should be one of the named referees. We do not accept references from friends or family members or workplace colleagues (who are not more senior). To ensure we process your application in a speedy and efficient way, we will contact your referees by DocuSign. Where appropriate, please inform them of your application.

Additional Information

To access the Job Profile for this role, please follow the link below:-

Practice and Quality Lead job profile

This position is subject to a DBS check.

Gloucestershire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people or vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We want to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining excellent people to work for us, so that we can best serve all of Gloucestershire’s diverse communities. Our promise to you is that we will provide an inclusive and supportive working environment that enables you to bring your whole self to work and realise your full potential.

It is a legal requirement, under the Immigration Act 2016, that anyone appointed to a ‘customer facing role’ must be able to demonstrate an ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in fluent English.

Hybrid working arrangements are available for the majority of our roles, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice, with a mix of both remote and office working.