Local Authority Designated Officer

Are you an experienced Social Work Manager looking for a new challenge? We have exciting opportunities for you to make a real difference in the lives of children and young people in Enfield. We are currently recruiting for a full time Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
Why Join Us?
As a LADO, you will manage allegations against staff and volunteers working with children, provide advice and guidance, and liaise with the Police and other agencies.
What We Offer:

- A Supportive Team Culture: Be part of an established, talented, and highly supportive service passionate about ensuring children receive the best care and support possible.
- Professional Growth: We embrace learning and continuous improvement to enhance our knowledge, practice, and outcomes for families.
- Impactful Work: You will have a pivotal role in quality assurance and the opportunity to make a significant difference in improving outcomes for children.
- Flexible Working: Plan and work from home outside of office-based meetings, conferences, and seeing children in placements.

What We Are Looking For:
We seek highly skilled, forward-thinking professionals who are motivated and committed to promoting high standards of care and support for children in care and those subject to child protection plans.

Post-qualifying experience in children and family social work, including child protection and planning for looked-after children.
- Substantial management experience in statutory social work with children and families.
- Experience in chairing complex meetings and a good working knowledge of childcare legislation.
- Excellent communication and leadership skills.
- Relevant social work qualification and registration with SW England.

Our Approach:
We use the Signs of Safety tool and Motivational Interviewing techniques to inform our interventions and care planning with children and their families. Child protection conferences and reviews of children looked after now exclusively in person. We are passionate about face-to-face interactions with children, parents, and carers., Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

Enfield's Social Care Centre of Excellence confirms our commitment to creating and maintaining an environment for new and existing staff to be the best and deliver high quality social work to our most vulnerable children and young people. It brings our recruitment, professional development and support into the one portal for social care staff to see what we have to offer and how we are supporting them to continue to learn and develop on a professional basis. For more information please visit https://new.enfield.gov.uk/centreofexcellence/about-us/
"This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment".
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications have been received. Therefore, we advise that you complete fully and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
We do not see your name or title when shortlisting your application. This is one of many initiatives to build a more talented and diverse workforce. However, if you put your name on your CV or Statement it will be visible to us. For this reason, we ask that you do not include your name on these documents. Please note it is your responses to the Essential/Desirable criteria, as detailed in the Job Description and Person Specification which is available on the job advert, that will determine if you are shortlisted for an interview, therefore we encourage you to always address the essential and desirable criteria in your application/CV.
Why it's great to work for Enfield Council

An excellent pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
- Up to 32 days annual leave depending on grade and length of service. You will also get eight public holidays per year and an extra day off at Christmas.
- A blend of remote and office based working for most roles.
- Interest free season ticket loan repayable over three or ten months.
- Career development and learning experiences from a range of training courses and learning methods.
- Employee Assistance Programme to provide advice and counselling services. This is a free and confidential service available to staff and members of their family.
- Health and leisure discounts and tax-free bikes for work.
- 1 month paid sabbatical for Children's Social Workers