Join us at Dorset Council

We're delighted that you're interested in coming to with with us in our Children's Team

We are here to support your next step.

Join us at Dorset Council Children's Services

We have a diverse range of job roles in Childrens Services; you can support colleagues who work with Dorset children or support Dorset children directly.

Supporting your development is a top priority. We have created both a Social Care Academy and a Manager's Toolkit to drive excellence by ensuring you have resources at your fingertips.

You may be thinking about regulated professional roles such as:

• social worker
• youth worker
• family worker
• residential care worker

Or perhaps your strengths are in leadership and management. We have support roles that do not have direct contact with children but are vital to the running of our organisation. These include:

• commissioning
• business roles
• administration roles
• education support services

Induction into Children's Services

Induction is an important process for all staff within Children's Services. The purpose of induction is to make your transition into your new role as smooth as possible, giving you information about us, how you and your team fit into the structure and what you will need to carry out your role.

We will give you a bespoke induction programme on day one. We'll also send you invitations to attend both a Welcome to Dorset Workshop and a Welcome to Children's Services event. These will both give you the opportunity to:

• meet other new colleagues and senior leaders
• to find out how the council works as a whole
• understand how our values and behaviours shape what we do
• understand how we work to improve the outcomes for children and young people in Dorset

Our learning and development offer

We believe that everyone in Dorset Children's Services should have the opportunity to develop and progress at whatever stage of their career they are.

Our learning and development programme offers a comprehensive range of training opportunities and professional development. This is through:

• access to research
• face to face learning
• e-learning
• coaching
• group reflective sessions

We draw on the expertise of colleagues within the organisation, as well as commissioning learning from experts in the field.

As Dorset Council we also currently subscribe to CCInform and Research in Practice to enable all practitioners to access practice guidance and up-to-date research when they need it.

The Academy

We created Dorset's Social Care Academy in 2020; a collaboration between Adults' and Children's Social Services. The aim of The Academy is to support the professional development of our social care team and create a centre of excellence for social work in Dorset.

On The Academy site you'll find a range of resources and tools to support you in your role within social care here at Dorset Council.

Manager's Portal

Whether you're new to management or you've been a manager for a long time our Manager's Portal can provide you with quick and easy access to the most fundamental (and most useful) information and relevant training to help you manage your team and service efficiently.

Dorset Care Leavers

If you're a Dorset Care Leaver, and you meet the essential criteria for the job, we will guarantee you an interview.

Let us know if you're a Dorset Care Leaver in your application form.

Apprenticeships 

We’re committed to considering apprentice opportunities for all new recruits.  Apprenticeships will be at the forefront of our workforce strategy, and embedded as part of our learning culture.  

Appropriate opportunities for apprenticeships will be highlighted in our vacancies.

Find out more about Working for Dorset Council and our Rewards and Benefits.

What to expect when you come to work with us

We’re committed to providing you with a competitive range of benefits, including:

• flexible working
• part-time and job share opportunities
• pay rises based on competency increments
• learning, career development and progression and opportunities

• protected CPD time and resources for social workers to enable you to keep a personal portfolio including personal access to Community Care inform

• paid annual leave from 5 to 6.3 paid working weeks off per year and eight paid bank holidays
• additional leave and other leave entitlements including:
  • unpaid parental leave
  • paid compassionate leave
  • paid time off for some medical appointments
  • a paid volunteering day per year

We also offer:

• a relocation scheme (if eligible)
• family friendly policies including; enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity pay (above statutory provisions)
• employee benefits scheme including access to the ‘Wider Wallet’ benefits portal with a range of discounts including; insurance, holidays and day to day purchases
• salary sacrifice schemes including Child Care Vouchers, Cars and Bike to Work
• membership to the Local Government Pension Scheme (which is a career average scheme)
• health and well-being support with a dedicated Employee Well-being Team

• a range of core and social work specific support, including My eCoach and our dedicated Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) programme for newly qualified social workers