Advanced Practitioner - Shepton Mallet (Mendip)

Salary: The salary range for this role is £43,149 to £47,6365 per annum

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 37 hours per week

Closing Date: 10/11/2026

About the Role

How You'll Make a Difference

Your day-to-day work will involve working within the Family Safeguarding Team in Shepton Mallet working alongside dedicated and child focused social workers and Family Safeguarding adult workers who specialise in supporting parents and carers who have experienced domestic abuse, mental health support needs and substance misuse issues. The foundations of all of our work is relationship-based and strengths-based practice and we pride ourselves on doing this well.

As a Senior Social Worker/Advanced Practitioner in the team, you will hold a caseload of complex work, but also support the team in other ways, including practice educating students, co-working, and mentoring less experienced colleagues, and chairing planning meetings and Strategy Discussions.

You will work closely with the Team Manager and the other AP's in the team to manage the balance of the different parts of the role flexibly, so that it suits you, your colleagues, and the families you support. We will encourage you to develop practice specialisms and link with colleagues countywide and partner agencies, to build your expertise so you can share it with the team.

• Case holding complex Child in Need, Child Protection and pre-proceedings/court work
• Positive and supportive multi-agency working to ensure plans meet identified needs and are implemented at the right level for the family
• Attendance at Advance Practitioner meetings and contributing ideas to build strong social worker knowledge and skills.
• QA of care planning in the area teams

What You'll Bring

You will:

• Have significant post Social Work qualification experience in Safeguarding
• Be able to develop and grow strong and supportive working relationships with children and young people, parents and carers and professional agencies
• Have strong problem solving skills and are able to manage unexpected situations in a calm way
• Be able to manage and prioritise your workload and any competing demands.
• Be registered with Social Work England.

Why Join Us?

At Somerset Council, we're a progressive organisation committed to improving lives and shaping better services for our communities. Based in one of England's most beautiful counties, it's a great place to build your career and enjoy an excellent quality of life.

• 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase additional leave.
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), one of the UK's most enhanced and secure pension schemes.
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements to support work-life balance, where service needs allow.
• Health and wellbeing support, including access to confidential employee assistance services.
• Paid volunteering opportunities, helping you make a difference both inside and outside of work.

Find out more about working at Somerset Council:
https://www.somerset.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/working-at-somerset-council/

Further Information

• A commitment to your CPD through a bespoke learning and development programme
• Great opportunities for career progression in Somerset
• Permanent 37 per week, finishing at 4:30 pm on Fridays.

• This post requires a criminal background check via the Disclosure procedure.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. We are only able to proceed with candidates who already have the right to work in the UK without the need for VISA sponsorship.

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Hannah Dyke, Strategic Manager - via email: hannah.dyke@somerset.gov.uk

We believe diversity makes us stronger and are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences, whose unique perspectives help us better serve the people of Somerset.

If you currently work for Somerset Council, please apply via the internal SuccessFactors careers page.

You can find a copy of the job description here: AG0612 Advanced Practitioner

Job Number: 1567/SR (please quote in all correspondence)