Independent Reviewing Officer

The main purpose of this role is to co-ordinate multi-agency child protection planning in respect of individual children and their families and to review and monitor the care plans and progress of children who are in our care (looked after) by Stockport Council. The role will have a specific focus on those children experiencing harm from high risk and complex domestic abuse; including harmful practises and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

The role involves promoting high standards in safeguarding and childcare practice, providing effective quality assurance, offering multi-agency consultation, and contributing to developments in safeguarding practice. The role will also involve providing advice and support in various domestic abuse forums, and supporting the development of Compass, our Domestic Abuse Safeguarding and Intervention Hub.

You will have extensive experience as a qualified social worker in Children's Social Care and will be registered with Social Work England.

You will have experience of chairing complex meetings and be a strong communicator.

You will have excellent risk assessment skills and will be able to formulate appropriate plans based on that assessment.

You will be able to work in a restorative and collaborative manner and will be committed to applying these in practice.

You will have excellent time management skills, be able to manage your own workload ensuring that timescales are met.

You will have a comprehensive understanding of domestic abuse, the different forms that this can take and the key risks and protective factors/ safety planning requirements for children and families. This will include knowledge of So-called honour-based abuse, forced marriage, and FGM.

The Safeguarding and Learning Service is based at Grand Central which is part of the Stockport Civic Centre complex.

We are a well-established team of experienced IROs who will support any new colleague who joins us. You will have ample opportunities for learning and development and will be offered shadowing opportunities within the team.

We offer a hybrid way of working with some home working and flexible working hours.

At Stockport Council we are one ambitious team on a mission to create opportunities for everyone who lives, works and spends time in the borough. Working at Stockport Council means contributing to one of the most thriving towns in the North. We're keen to recruit people with the right values and behaviours that can help us ensure our workplace values are at the heart of everything we do.

We are proud to be recognised under the Good Employment Charter as an organisation committed to the wellbeing of our colleagues. As members of the charter, we have been recognised as a great place to work for all colleagues and pledge to pay the real living wage, engage staff in key decisions and endorse fair and flexible working conditions., Stockport Council is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce culture - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and communities to join our workforce.

We want our employees to have a good work life balance and in many job roles we can offer a range of flexible/hybrid working arrangements. We also have inclusive employment policies and staff engagement forums to support our diverse workforce. We will listen to, learn from, and develop our workforce.