Are you passionate about making a difference to children and young people's lives?

Can you champion Children's and Families voices through care planning?

Be the difference, make a change

If you share our vision of ensuring the children of North East Lincolnshire grow up happy and healthy, safe in their homes and communities with people who love them, join our team today.

What will your day look like?

We are seeking an Independent Reviewing Officer who is a registered qualified and experienced Social Worker.

You will undertake child in care reviews and monitor the progress of children’s plans, to ensure the best outcomes and permanency for children. Within this you will engage with children to ensure that their voice is promoted to contribute to their plans along with their family.  

The role includes a quality assurance function where you will monitor through audit and case tracking the progression of children’s plans to support our corporate parenting responsibilities.

 As part of our team, you will be supported with compassionate, relational practice to help you thrive in your Independent Reviewing Officer role. 

Who are we looking for?

We are seeking a registered, qualified, Social Worker with a passion for improving outcomes for children in care. You must truly believe in decision making with children's voices at the forefront. The role will require chairing reviews so you must be confident and organised. Relationship building and collaboration are also key to deliver the best outcomes for our children and families.

Why join us? 

• Real progression opportunities within social work practice – North East Lincolnshire Council operate through grades for Independent Reviewing Officers
• Regular individual and reflective case supervision
• A relational approach in all aspects of practice
• Accessible and proactive management that creates the conditions for social workers to flourish and make a real difference to people’s lives
• A workplace culture that supports flexible working and the opportunity to work from home as well as a highly supportive team and working environment

For more information, please refer to the role profile or email:

• Wendy Fegan, Service Manager, Independent Reviewing Service
• wendy.fegan@nelincs.gov.uk

Closing date – 5th Jan 2026

Interviews will be held  W/C 12th Jan 2026
 

At North East Lincolnshire Council,

we know that together, we can be stronger.

We love AI and think it plays a great role in the world of work. However, for your application, we want to hear from YOU! As such, we will be testing applications to determine the use of AI, and applications that have heavily utilised the function will be scrutinised for suitability. 

We reserve the right to close our adverts early if we have received a significant volume of suitable applications. 

In order to fully comply with Safer Recruitment guidelines, if you are successful with your application, you must meet the below criteria and be able to provide:

• At least one reference must be from your current or most recent employment, placement or work experience (if you are an agency worker at NELC, please provide your agency as a reference)
• You must provide a professional/company email address (we cannot accept personal email addresses)
• References must cover the last 3 years, any reasons for gaps should be detailed in your enhanced reference form. Your references will only be requested if you are offered and have accepted a position

Please note: This role requires a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at a level appropriate to the post. It is a contractual and essential requirement that the successful candidate is registered with the DBS Update Service. You have 30 calendar days from the "date of issue" printed on your standard or enhanced DBS certificate to register for the DBS Update Service using the certificate number.

As part of your RewardNEL package, not only will you enjoy a competitive salary, up to 40 days leave entitlement* (including bank holidays) and enrolment into a local government pension, you will also have access to our exclusive RewardNEL platform.

This includes a variety of salary sacrifice schemes including Cycle2Work, Holiday Extra and Tusker (Car Lease), discounts at local coffee shops and bars, direct access to our inhouse wellbeing support, discounted car parking as well as instant access to new savings at major retailers, entertainment and hotels.

NELC staff can also benefit from flexible working and excellent training and development opportunities and a Fostering friendly scheme.

*Leave subject to length of service 

Do you need support?

If you need any help applying for this position, please contact Wendy Trask on 07702 338542 (text or call). Wendy can support with digital access as well as offering advice and guidance about completing the different sections of the application form. 

Your earnings go further in North East Lincolnshire, house prices are four times less than in London. Learn more about what our place has to offer at  Life in North East Lincolnshire | NELC (nelincs.gov.uk)  #FindYourSpace 

 Get to know us better

Check out our Council Plan and read about all of the exciting new developments we have in the pipeline.

We regularly review data to ensure our recruitment processes are fair, transparent and promote equal opportunities for all. We also have an in-house Equalities Champions Group that works to promote and embed inclusivity in the workplace, helping us identify areas where we can take positive action, and make the organisation a safe space for colleagues to feel connected.