Fife Council
Senior Practitioner
Get notified of more jobs like this · No spam, ever
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Proposed Interview Date: Week Commencing 21 September 2026
Closing Date: Tuesday 15 September 2026
Contract Type: Permanent
Salary: FC9 £47, 604.34 - £57, 196.54
Working Pattern: 36 Hours per week
Location: Based in Kirkcaldy, working throughout Fife
Supporting Statement
As part of your application, you must provide us with a Supporting Statement which outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy. For more information, check out the How to Apply [https://www.fife.gov.uk/jobs/how-to-apply] section of our Career Site. Without a Supporting Statement, your application will not be progressed. Please upload your Supporting Statement at the section marked ‘upload resumé’. Your Supporting Statement must not be a CV. More information is available on our Career site at www.fife.gov.uk/jobs/supportingstatement [http://www.fife.gov.uk/jobs/supportingstatement].
Job Details
This exciting opportunity is to work as the Permanence Senior within the Enhanced Children and Families Team which has a Lead for children’s planning for children and young people subject to a Compulsory Supervision Order at home, foster care, kinship care, residential care, including secure placements. This role varies with focus on parenting capacity assessments to support care planning, permanence planning as well as reviewing plans which may lead to the potential reunification of families.
The senior roles take on a lead of Child Protection & Permanence and will be responsible, in conjunction with the Team Manager to support the team to deliver a quality service to the children and families we work with. This role is for the Permanence Senior where you will carry a complex but smaller caseload whereby you will undertake assessments in order to provide logical and coherently evidenced recommendations to enable children to be with their families wherever possible, or review plans to which may lead to the potential reunification of families. You will also undertake initial assessments, develop Child’s Plans which are co-produced with families as part of a relational approach, you will identify, assess and manage risk as well as Safety Plan for our children and young people at risk of significant harm.
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.
As part of your specialised role within the team, you will be required to have an up-to-date understanding of permanence within the team; this includes permanence at home, in kinship care, foster care and adoptions. You will strive to make sure plans are progressed in a timely manner and support staff in the team to deliver on The Promise and be able to support the Team Manager in this endeavour.
You will be skilled in providing written reports for Child Protection Case Conferences, LAC Reviews and reports to SCRA with informed recommendations concerning care/action/safety plans and identifying any further actions. You would then utilise this skill to develop and support social workers in the team to increase their confidence in their written skills, analysis and assessments. You will have an ability to chair LAC Core Group Meetings and CP Core Group Meetings to ensure there is a clear plan in place, to include the voice of the child, views of the family in a multi-agency forum. You will require to quality ensure practice within the team and provide appropriate feedback.
You will be required to undertake professional supervision of Social Workers and Social Work Assistants supporting their professional development and ensuring Council policy and procedures are followed; we want to create a team of autonomous, compassionate workers with a clear vision of keeping children at the centre.
You will be required to work within service processes and procedures to assess and undertake appropriate and relevant planning for children to ensure positive outcomes are completed within timescales. We want to be firmly embedded within The Promise where all our children and young people grow up healthy, safe and loved.
You should have experience in being able to successfully negotiate and liaise with partner agencies to plan interventions and supports for children and their families.
The Person
A Diploma in Social Work is essential, as is registration with the Scottish Social Services Council.
You will have one of the following:
An accredited post-qualifying award (e.g. Certificate in Child Protection Studies, Mental Health Officer Accreditation, Practice Teacher Award, etc.) or a commitment to work towards achieving this within 2 years of appointment.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
You should have considerable experience in a relevant setting.
You must have the ability to travel throughout Fife.
You will have knowledge and understanding of Child and Adult Protection guidelines and information sharing protocols and experience of joint working to achieve common goals.
Before confirming to your appointment, you will be required to obtain PVG scheme membership through Disclosure Scotland.
Further Information
- Role Profile - When preparing your supporting statement, review the role profile and think about how you meet the essential criteria Role Profile [https://www.fife.gov.uk/__data/assets/file/0022/40936/Senior-Practitioner-Community-Social-Work-A4999.pdf]
- How We Work Matters - Our employees are expected to display and promote certain behaviours in the workplace. See our How We Work Matters [https://www.fife.gov.uk/__data/assets/file/0014/40127/OD12-How-We-Work-Matters-Framework-2.pdf] behaviour framework for more information.
- Employee Benefits - Employees have access to a benefits package that offers discounts on a wide range of products and services
- Directorate Information - Council Department information [https://www.fife.gov.uk/kb/docs/articles/council-and-democracy/council-departments#xd_co_f=MzBlNmFkMDAtYzRiZi00OTgyLWI3MjUtM2MxZWU1OWIwODQx~]
- Social media - Search for more 'Fife Council Jobs' on Facebook or follow us on X @FCJobsOfficial.
- Alternative Formats - Job information can be made available in alternative formats, to make a request please email: transactions.recruitment@fife.gov.uk [transactions.recruitment@fife.gov.uk]
- AI - We recognise that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used by many people when they are applying for jobs and preparing for interview. Candidate guidance on the use of AI in the recruitment process is available here [https://www.fife.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/94771/AI-and-Recruitment-Candidate-Guidance.pdf]
For Further Information Please Contact: euan.kelso@fife.gov.uk [euan.kelso@fife.gov.uk]
“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