Our Values

It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Coventry City Council. As a prospective employee, it is important that everyone who works for us is committed to our One Coventry values and shares our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation. 

Our Values are:

About the team we are recruiting to

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

In Coventry, we are working hard to build something special. Children and families are at the heart of everything we do, and we believe they deserve the best help to achieve their best outcomes.  Children’s Services provides a wide range of statutory and non-statutory duties, from Early Help and Child Protection, through to children who are looked after. 

The service reflects and responds to the changing needs of children and their families.  It works to enable a reflective and flexible approach, with a strong Early Help offer and a real focus on Relationship Based Practice and Signs of Safety, which focuses on intervention and keeping families together.

Coventry Children’s Services values a working culture that is relational and restorative in nature. The launch of the Coventry Family Valued Programme in April 2021 enables us to re-think practice in the best interests of children.

Practice is centred around

• A Child Friendly City
• Family Led Decision Making
• The Coventry Way

Coventry City Council Children’s Services will provide you with an environment where social work can flourish, with high support, high challenge and manageable caseloads. 

What is the job role?

We are currently recruiting a Principal Social Worker on a fixed term 12 month temporary contract to join our Senior Leadership Team in Children's Services (CSLT) to deliver the best outcomes for children. As a ‘GOOD’ authority rated by Ofsted , this is an exciting time to join Children’s Services and be part of the journey that has ‘children and young people at the heart of everything we do’

As the successful Principal Social Worker you will provide leadership and professional support to social workers and be responsible for the development of social work practice and practice systems, promoting best practice which positively responds and supports practitioners and the Council to meet the needs of children, young people and their families in the city. Part of this role is to lead on the programme work of the West Midlands Social Work Teaching Partnership

You will lead and support the delivery of developing a sufficient and sustainable workforce, the service recognises that creating the right conditions for good practice to succeed and supporting Children’s Services colleagues to be the best has a positive impact for children. The wellbeing of staff has never been more critical, staff are supported with a wellbeing offer to help them to achieve a work life balance.

You will receive, co-ordinate and represent the views and experiences of Social Workers to the Director of Children’s Services, and elected members in order to positively influence strategic and organisational decision taking and to ensure that there is a good understanding of how management and policy decisions impact on social care practice.

You will also promote, support and champion best, new and innovative social work  practice across the city within the Council and partner organisations, including further development of our award winning Social Work Academy, The Coventry Way practice approach, and Coventry Family Valued.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for an inspirational and innovative leader with significant knowledge and expertise in the practice and delivery of social work for children across a range of settings.

You will have detailed knowledge of current legislation, national standards and best practice affecting children's services, knowledge of national strategies, policies and frameworks for the provision of children's services and detailed knowledge of qualification and professional accreditation arrangements for social work learning and career pathways.

You will have highly developed interpersonal skills with the ability to establish relationships with all stakeholders, including children, young people and parents/carers as well as with professional colleagues, senior managers, elected members and partner agencies and have the ability to articulate a credible vision for social work in Coventry
and to engage others to commit to the vision.

You will have sound understanding of learning theory and practice, significant experience of delivering change in the context of service modernisation redesign and improvement along with significant experience in frontline social work including experience of working at a senior level within at least one of the professional disciplines represented.

As a Council we recognise that our workforce is not representative of the communities that we serve, particularly at senior leadership level; therefore we welcome applications from candidates who are from minority-ethnic backgrounds, have a disability or who identify as being from the LGBTQ+ community.

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

Interview date(s): 20 October 2023 

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 4800 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies

Coventry City Council