Westmorland and Furness Council
Practice Improvement Lead- Childrens Social Work Academy
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Location: Barrow, Kendal or Penrith (with a regular presence required in Barrow)
Contract Type: Fixed term for 24 months
About the Role
Westmorland and Furness Council is committed to developing a skilled, confident and sustainable social work workforce. As part of our continued investment in the Social Work Academy, we are seeking a Practice Improvement Lead to provide dedicated support to Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) through their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment and social work students, with a particular focus on strengthening our workforce in Barrow.
This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in the recruitment, development and retention of our future social workers.
About You
We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic social work professional who is passionate about workforce development and supporting others to succeed.
You will:
- Be a qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England.
- Have substantial post-qualifying experience within children's social care.
- Demonstrate a strong understanding of social work practice, professional standards and workforce development.
- Have experience of supporting, coaching, mentoring or supervising social workers and/or students.
- Be able to build effective working relationships across teams and services.
- Be committed to developing the next generation of social workers.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Location Requirements
While this is a countywide role within the Children’s Social Work Academy, a significant part of the post will focus on supporting practitioners based in Barrow.
The successful candidate will therefore be required to spend a proportion of their working week physically based within the Barrow office, providing accessible face-to-face support, coaching, learning opportunities and professional guidance to NQSWs and social work students. Some travel across Westmorland and Furness may also be required.
Why Join Us?
This is a unique opportunity to shape the future social work workforce within Westmorland and Furness. You will play a vital role in helping newly qualified social workers and students develop the confidence, skills and resilience needed to provide high-quality support to children and families.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
If you are passionate about practice excellence, learning and development, and want to make a lasting impact on the future of social work, we would love to hear from you.
What can we offer you!
Working at Westmorland and Furness Council you will receive a variety of benefits, including a competitive pension scheme, enhanced annual leave allowance and other various perks and discounts schemes. For more information about life at Westmorland and Furness Council and what we can offer you, please visit our Careers site. Our benefits | Careers (westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk)
Would you like to find out more?
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Katie Allison, Service Improvement Lead- Katie.Allison@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
Application and Interview information
Closing date: 14/08/2026
Interview date: 27/08/2026
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location