Advanced Practitioner
| Posting date: | 24 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £42,839 to £47,181 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 13 April 2026 |
| Location: | Lincoln, Lincolnshire |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 1 day per week |
| Company: | Lincolnshire County Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: |
Summary
This is what progress looks like
There's never been a more exciting time to join our adoption service: alongside making a difference to the lives of children and families in Lincolnshire, we're sharing best practice and driving innovation alongside other authorities by being a member of the Family Adoption Links regional partnership.
Our people are at the heart of this progress: that's why we make sure they have access to the best support, development, and training opportunities. Staff will also have access to regional training and attending national working groups, in addition to the excellent training on offer from Lincolnshire.
Adoption social work is challenging - we're making sure it's challenging for the right reasons.
This is what potential looks like
Lincolnshire is an Outstanding Authority; Lincolnshire County Council specialise in providing excellent adoption services and support for children and young people who have diverse needs because of their early experiences. We endeavour to create an adoption experience that is individually tailored to the needs of children in our care, enabling them to express their characters, feel safe and enrich their lives.
Are you an experienced, committed and innovative Social Worker? Do you believe that Putting Children First is the key to successful outcomes for children and families? If you can answer yes to both questions, then Lincolnshire County Council may just be the place you belong.
Children's Social Work at Lincolnshire County Council
Our Social Work teams are amongst the absolute best in the country. We have an overall Outstanding rating from Ofsted and in our recent inspection in April 2023 we maintained this judgement which we are very proud of. We are not about to let up on our progress and development though! As an organisation we are extremely proud of the work our teams undertake and this pride shines through from every member of the teams.
Our practice model is Signs of Safety and this is underpinned by a firm commitment to restorative practice, working in a way where the strengths of the family and their network are honoured and families are supported to develop their own solutions. Most importantly, we believe the voice of the child should be at the very heart of every plan.
About the Role of an Advanced Practitioner
As an Advanced Practitioner in our Children's team you will work with children and their birth families where there is a possible plan of adoption. The role includes completing child permanence reports, and taking a lead role in the family finding, matching and placement of children for adoption. Our workers support children and their birth and adoptive families through the adoption process and are responsible for the completion of life story books and later in life letters.
As well as case holding, the more complex cases, our Advanced Practitioners provide mentoring, coaching, support and practice expertise to other less experienced team members inspiring them in their social work career paths. Our Advanced Practitioners will be championing best practice and supporting the modernisation of adoption agenda including individualised staying in touch plans.
There will be opportunity to become a Practice Educator for Social Work students. If you wish to progress into a manager role, as many of our Advanced Practitioners have done, being appointed to an Advanced Practitioner post with us will absolutely provide you with the development opportunities you need to fulfil your ambition.
Closing date: 13/04/2026
Interview Dates 23/04/26 and 24/04/26.
If you would like an open and informal discussion regards this role then please contact; Juliet Collingwood via email juliet.collingwood@lincolnshire.gov.uk
PLEASE NOTE: It is imperative that your personal statement clearly states why you have applied, how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for the role as set out in the Job Description (attached on LCC jobs Site) and what you feel you can bring to this role, the team and the wider County Council.
There's never been a more exciting time to join our adoption service: alongside making a difference to the lives of children and families in Lincolnshire, we're sharing best practice and driving innovation alongside other authorities by being a member of the Family Adoption Links regional partnership.
Our people are at the heart of this progress: that's why we make sure they have access to the best support, development, and training opportunities. Staff will also have access to regional training and attending national working groups, in addition to the excellent training on offer from Lincolnshire.
Adoption social work is challenging - we're making sure it's challenging for the right reasons.
This is what potential looks like
Lincolnshire is an Outstanding Authority; Lincolnshire County Council specialise in providing excellent adoption services and support for children and young people who have diverse needs because of their early experiences. We endeavour to create an adoption experience that is individually tailored to the needs of children in our care, enabling them to express their characters, feel safe and enrich their lives.
Are you an experienced, committed and innovative Social Worker? Do you believe that Putting Children First is the key to successful outcomes for children and families? If you can answer yes to both questions, then Lincolnshire County Council may just be the place you belong.
Children's Social Work at Lincolnshire County Council
Our Social Work teams are amongst the absolute best in the country. We have an overall Outstanding rating from Ofsted and in our recent inspection in April 2023 we maintained this judgement which we are very proud of. We are not about to let up on our progress and development though! As an organisation we are extremely proud of the work our teams undertake and this pride shines through from every member of the teams.
Our practice model is Signs of Safety and this is underpinned by a firm commitment to restorative practice, working in a way where the strengths of the family and their network are honoured and families are supported to develop their own solutions. Most importantly, we believe the voice of the child should be at the very heart of every plan.
About the Role of an Advanced Practitioner
As an Advanced Practitioner in our Children's team you will work with children and their birth families where there is a possible plan of adoption. The role includes completing child permanence reports, and taking a lead role in the family finding, matching and placement of children for adoption. Our workers support children and their birth and adoptive families through the adoption process and are responsible for the completion of life story books and later in life letters.
As well as case holding, the more complex cases, our Advanced Practitioners provide mentoring, coaching, support and practice expertise to other less experienced team members inspiring them in their social work career paths. Our Advanced Practitioners will be championing best practice and supporting the modernisation of adoption agenda including individualised staying in touch plans.
There will be opportunity to become a Practice Educator for Social Work students. If you wish to progress into a manager role, as many of our Advanced Practitioners have done, being appointed to an Advanced Practitioner post with us will absolutely provide you with the development opportunities you need to fulfil your ambition.
Closing date: 13/04/2026
Interview Dates 23/04/26 and 24/04/26.
If you would like an open and informal discussion regards this role then please contact; Juliet Collingwood via email juliet.collingwood@lincolnshire.gov.uk
PLEASE NOTE: It is imperative that your personal statement clearly states why you have applied, how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for the role as set out in the Job Description (attached on LCC jobs Site) and what you feel you can bring to this role, the team and the wider County Council.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.