We’re looking for experienced qualified Social Workers to deliver robust age assessments and support local authorities in improving practice nationwide.
We have 4 Social Worker vacancies and are inviting candidates to apply to join our Visas, Passports, Citizenship & Resettlement Services and Asylum Group. This is for the grade of Senior Executive Officer (SEO), and the closing date for applications is 22 January 2025.
You’ll receive a salary of £46,062 plus a broad range of employee benefits.
To apply you must be qualified and registered with Social Work England or the equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A check will be made to verify your eligibility.
The Visas, Passports, Citizenship & Resettlement and Asylum Group is an important operational arm of the Home Office, responsible for delivering a wide range of public services that support the UK’s economy and cultural life. Our work spans across the administration of passports, citizenship, civil registration, and visas, as well as managing asylum applications, support and accommodation, along with resettlement and returns.
About the role
The National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) was established in March 2023 as part of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Social Workers undertake Merton-compliant age assessments on age disputed asylum seekers.
This role offers the opportunity for qualified and experienced social workers to join a national team conducting age assessments on behalf of local authorities across the UK, and to become an expert in the field of age assessment, developing strong working relationships with a variety of stakeholders and partners.
You will work in pairs to conduct age assessments, ensuring young people remain at the heart of the process. Assessments must be robust, legally defensible, and completed within agreed timescales. You will also support local authorities in improving age assessment practices and raising standards.
Working Arrangements
This role involves frequent national travel, typically once or twice a week with occasional overnight stays. All travel and related expenses are covered by the Home Office. When not conducting assessments, you will have the opportunity to work from home or at your nearest Home Office work location.
Training
You will receive comprehensive training, including Age Assessment and Level 2 Personal Safety, delivered online and on the job with ongoing support from managers and colleagues. Once you have completed the training, you’ll work as part of a team where you’ll receive advice and guidance throughout your career.
Benefits
- Civil Service Pension with employer contribution rates of 28.97%
- In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements
- Full training, along with access to development opportunities to help you grow in your career
- 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days
- Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day
- An environment with flexible working options and a culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
Find out more about some of the other benefits we offer.
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- Bristol
- Cardiff
- Glasgow
- Leeds
- Liverpool
- Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
- Peterborough
- Poole
- Salford
- Sheffield
- Solihull
- Swindon
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- Develop an excellent working knowledge and understanding of the Merton age assessment process
- Represent the Home Office in local authority settings across the UK to deliver a high-quality service through the completion of robust but fair age assessments. This could include engagement with local authority social workers, teachers, foster carers and other professionals involved in the young person’s care.
- Support the Home Office response to legal challenges, where they arise, including preparing court statements and giving evidence in court.
- Use working knowledge of legislation and case law relevant to age assessment in all parts of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, where applicable). Develop and contribute to activity as part of the NAAB’s quality assurance framework.
- Adopt a child centred and trauma informed approach to working with young people and undertaking assessments. Provide the appropriate statutory response to any child protection or safeguarding concerns that come to light during the age assessment process.
- Adapt personal practice in response to feedback given through the quality assurance process.
- Contribute to the delivery of the NAAB’s engagement strategy. Drive up expertise and quality in the age assessment field, by contributing to and delivering high quality training to local authorities.
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- Qualified and registered social worker with Social Work England, or the equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- A successful track record with post-qualification experience in a local authority and extensive experience of work with children in both statutory and non-statutory settings.
- Culturally sensitive with experience of working with service users from diverse backgrounds.
- Proven ability to conduct complex social worker assessments and complete high quality written assessment reports, robust enough to withstand legal challenge, within agreed timescales.
- To maintain up-to-date knowledge of research findings, legislation, statutory guidance, policy developments and case law relevant to age assessments and child safeguarding practice.
- Have significant experience of writing complex court reports and assessments.
Please note: A check will be made to verify you are a social worker, registered with Social Work England, or the equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Your application will be not progressed until this verification has been completed successfully.
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This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.
Application and sift
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:
- Personal Statement (maximum 1000 words)
The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.
For guidance on how to construct your application (CV, Personal Statement and Behaviours), visit the Civil Service Careers website.
The sift will be held on the Personal Statement.
Written test
If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to undertake a 45- minute written test, evaluating the Communicating and Influencing behaviour. This will be via a live MS Teams meeting.
Interview
If you are successful at sift and completion of the written test, you will be invited to an interview that will cover the 4 Behaviours (as listed below) and Strength based questions.
- Managing a Quality Service
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
- Delivering at Pace
The interview will take place via Microsoft Teams. Please ensure you have access to a working laptop with a webcam (work or personal) and good internet connection.
For guidance and information on what to expect and how to prepare for an interview, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application; however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
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