Our social worker roles

Featured roles

Social Work Trainee

Become a qualified children's social worker with us! Complete a social work degree with the council and embark on a truly rewarding career where you can make a real difference.

As a trainee, at least one day of your working week will be dedicated to study, but you will need to commit time to additional study and completing assignments. You will primarily work within a hub with other social work trainees supported by a lead practitioner who is an experienced social worker (we have four hubs based in Crook, Sherburn Hill, Chester-le-Street and Durham). You will experience a variety of work with children and families, which will gradually increase in complexity as your skills and knowledge develop.

As well as getting the right training to develop your skills, knowledge, and professional confidence, you will benefit from a permanent contract with us on successful completion.

Newly Qualified Social Worker

Are you now, or will you soon be, a Newly Qualified Social Worker (NQSW) looking for the right place to start your social work career in Children's Services? 

Completing your Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) within our Social Work Academy will ensure that you get the right support to develop your skills, knowledge and professional confidence further, and will give you a strong base for your career. 

As a NQSW completing your ASYE with us, you will have a permanent contract and be based in a social work team, where you will have the opportunity to undertake meaningful social work with the support of your Team Manager, Social Work Consultant, Enhanced Practitioner and team members. You will have a dedicated Practice Lead who will support you throughout your ASYE, providing regular reflective supervision, peer support from other NQSW's and meaningful development opportunities, you will have opportunities to network with other NQSWs and ongoing support to produce your portfolio in line with the requirements of Skills for Care. Your Practice Lead will work alongside your Team Manager and Enhanced Practitioner to ensure that your caseload is protected, and that you have protected time for development and learning.

A £2,000 lump sum welcome payment is paid to NQSWs joining our teams. 

Social Worker (Families First)

This is a rewarding and varied role working with children and families in need of help and protection. Using our signs of safety practice model in a strengths-based, relational, trauma aware way, you till work alongside families to build safety plans and networks with the child's voice at the centre of all that you do. You will work within child in need, section 47, child protection, some private law and public law supporting children to remain within their families safely and to thrive. This role is all about relationships, communication, engagement and helping families manage risk. No two days are the same in Families First!

A £2,500 lump sum recruitment and retention allowance (reviewed annually) is paid to social workers post-ASYE in Families First Teams.

Social Worker (Pre-birth)

As a passionate and nurturing pre-birth social worker, you will provide intensive support to parents to help them achieve sustainable change to safely care for their child from birth. Where this is not in the child's best interest, you will work to find a permanent home for the child as early as possible. You will also ensure the completion of comprehensive and high-quality assessments.

The team work closely with Future Hope who intensively support mums to heal and rebuild who have had children removed from their care.

Recruiting now

Explore our current vacancies on the North East Jobs site.

Social Worker Aimee Transcript (PDF, 131 KB)