Principal Social Worker

Our benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About the role

Are you a passionate and experienced social worker ready to take the next step into management? Wellingborough Adult Social Care Team is looking for a dynamic Principal Social Worker to help lead our vibrant and supportive team.

As the front door for Adult Social Care in Wellingborough, we’re at the heart of the community, responding to high levels of demand with a strong, collaborative duty function. Our team is made up of dedicated professionals including social workers, assessment and enablement workers, community support workers, and business support officers – all working together to make a real difference.

We champion strengths-based practice and use the 3 Conversations model to guide our work, ensuring that every interaction is meaningful and person-centred.

What will you be doing?

Managing the duty rota, screening safeguarding referrals, and supporting duty staff.

Overseeing referral allocations, prioritising risk and ensuring timely responses.

Providing frontline supervision to assessment staff, including induction, performance management, and case discussions.

Making key decisions around Care Act eligibility and support planning.

Auditing casework to maintain high standards and support continuous improvement.

About you

You’ll be a vital part of our leadership team, contributing to the wellbeing of staff and the overall performance of the service. You’ll be line managed by our experienced Team Manager and work alongside a well-established management group.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our Key Commitments

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

North Northamptonshire Council re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant in June 2024 which highlights the Council’s pledge to support the Armed Forces community. The council obtained the silver status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) and we are now currently working towards achieving Gold status.

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)