Adult Social Work - Policy and Practice Lead

Role

Social Work Scotland is the professional body for social work managers and leaders. We are a membership organisation with over 350 individual and corporate members. We exist to promote and support the development of the social work profession, and to inform, influence and improve public policy and public services. We are excited to be recruiting for a new Adult Social Work Policy and Practice Lead. With cross-party support for the development of a National Care Service in Scotland, and the legacy of COVID-19 still unravelling, the next few years will present many opportunities to reassert the role and value of social work. For adult social care, new structures of governance, operations and scrutiny may be built; in each domain social work must articulate what it needs in order to deliver positive change for individuals and communities.

This post with Social Work Scotland will be at the centre of those national debates, helping to facilitate the engagement and leadership of our Adult Social Care Standing Committee members, Chief Social Work Officers and the Social Work Scotland Board. In partnership with colleagues in Social Work Scotland and the Scottish Government’s Office of the Chief Social Work Advisor, this post also offers a chance to join up interdependent but disconnected policy agendas, constructing a more coherent and enabling operational environment for social work as a whole.

The post will have a role in supporting national projects currently hosted by Social Work Scotland, such as implementation of Self-Directed Support.

If successful in securing the post, you will have the opportunity to build relationships with the leadership of the social work profession in Scotland, in operations, regulation, advocacy, policy making, education and academia. You’ll also build or strengthen links across the Adult Social Work and Social Care sectors, within Scotland, the UK and internationally. You will be a visible representative of the profession, and you will help Social Work Scotland’s members to realise opportunities and resolve challenges. At the core of Social Work Scotland is a commitment to assisting the profession be the best it can be for the individuals, families and communities who need social work or social care support; the Adult Social Work Policy and Practice role is central to us delivering on that commitment.

Application notes

To apply for this post, please submit a covering letter/email and a completed application form.

Your covering letter should be between 800 and 1000 words and should set out why you want the job, summarise your relevant experience, and explain how you meet the job’s ‘Person Specification’. Please state in your application form if you do want us to contact references prior to interview. Secondments welcome.

Completed application forms and covering letters should be sent to admin@socialworkscotland.org by 08:00 on Monday 21 June 2021.