Senior Social Worker – Falkland Islands

Polaris Children’s Services – British Forces Social Work Service (BFSWS)
Senior Social Worker – Falkland Islands (BFSWS)
Salary: Up to £44,021.12 per annum
Specific Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Contract: Full Time, Fixed-Term Contract until 1 July 2029
Location: Falkland Islands
Reporting to: Head of Service / Team Manager (UK-based)

Benefits – Living and Working in the Falkland Islands

• Full-time fixed-term position for the duration of the contract
• Furnished accommodation and relocation costs provided
• Vehicle provided for work use
• Annual leave starting at 30 days, rising to 35 days with length of service, plus bank holidays
• Contributory pension scheme
• Medical and dental
• Education for primary-aged children only
• Exchange/Discount voucher scheme
• Manageable caseload
• Opportunity to actively contribute to and develop social work practice and policies & procedures
• Monthly supervision and regular management oversight of cases
• Career progression available with support from your line manager

About Us

Polaris Children’s Services is part of the Polaris Community of companies and delivers statutory and non-statutory social care services in the UK and to military communities overseas.

British Forces Social Work Service (BFSWS) delivers statutory and non-statutory services in line with UK social work practice across Europe, Kenya, Canada, Belize, the USA, Saudi Arabia, British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI), Gibraltar, Singapore and the British Indian Ocean Territories (BIOT). Personnel eligible for these services come from the whole force, including military personnel, civil servants, contractors and families.

BFSAI includes the Falkland Islands, Ascension Islands, the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia.

The number of entitled or eligible personnel is in the region of 2,000.

While all services are under the management of Polaris Children’s Services, we are proud to have developed our own BFSWS brand, with specific identities for each community of military social work service.

We have a new opportunity within the Polaris Children’s Services British Forces Social Work team in the Falkland Islands for a Senior Social Worker to join our team.

Responsibilities

• Practise in line with the Social Work England Professional Standards
• Demonstrate expert and effective practice in complex situations, assessing and managing higher levels of risk while balancing support and control
• Liaise with a wide range of professionals, including MOD personnel and partner agencies based in the South Atlantic Islands, including the Falkland Islands Government (FIG)
• Provide consultation and short-term work to adults in relation to crisis intervention, including adults struggling to manage issues such as isolation, mental health and alcohol-related issues
• Manage complex caseloads involving Child Protection (support to FIG), Child in Need and Early Help, and offer expert opinion and consultation within the organisation and to others
• Deliver a duty service at initial contact with the service, including consultation, the provision of advice & guidance and signposting
• Attend Child in Need / Core Group meetings arranged by host nation authorities and, on occasion, coordinate BFSWS Child in Need meetings
• Provide expert assessment and planning reports to child protection conferences and adult safeguarding meetings
• Attend and be a member of the Children’s Safeguarding Board (FIG), Adult Safeguarding Board (FIG), Children and Adults Safeguarding Board (BFSAI) and School Governors Committee
• Attend and be a member of various other in-service committees
• Provide welfare support and visits to mountain sites and Ascension Island
• Provide subject matter expert advice to the MOD chain of command on a range of issues
• Provide out-of-hours support to the command
• Deliver safeguarding at all required levels to the command and stakeholders
• Promote and deliver our new parenting group offer to the community using the ‘Togetherness’ programme

Requirements

• Hold a professional social work qualification, such as BA (Hons), DipSW, CQSW or CSS, and be registered with Social Work England or an equivalent body
• Have at least three years’ social work experience
• Experience of complex children and family assessments and case management
• Experience of risk assessment and safety planning
• Experience of direct work with children, young people or adults at risk
• Experience of assessments involving adults at risk and adult mental health
• Experience of delivering safeguarding training and general presentations
• Have successfully completed a post-qualifying award in social work
• Good computer literacy skills
• Experience of producing reports to a high standard
• A comprehensive working knowledge of relevant legislation and child/adult safeguarding procedures
• Be willing and able to work flexibly and travel within the Falkland Islands and wider South Atlantic Islands, which may include some weekend and evening working
• Hold a full driving licence and be able to drive a manual vehicle

Polaris Children’s Services is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk. We expect all staff to share this commitment.

The successful candidate will be required to complete an enhanced DBS check and, if recruited from outside the UK, a local police check. The cost of these checks will be met by Polaris Children’s Services.

Polaris Children’s Services is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates.