Newly Qualified Childrens Social Worker UK Sponsirship Available

Job Description

Children’s Social Worker – Join Our Team at Manchester City Council

• Salary: Grade 6 – £36,363 per annum
• Hours: 35 hours per week
• Contract: Permanent, full-time
• Location: Various locations across Manchester (North, Central, South localities, plus Cared For Children and Fostering teams)
• Closing date: 31 March 2026 at 11:59 pm

We warmly welcome applications from both experienced qualified social workers and those who are newly qualified (including ASYE candidates). If you’re passionate about making a real difference for children and families, Manchester could be the perfect place to build your career.

Why Choose Manchester City Council?

At Manchester City Council, we’re proud to serve one of the UK’s most dynamic and diverse cities. Working here isn’t just about a job—it’s about helping shape a fairer, greener, and healthier future through our Our Manchester vision. This guides how we work, with core behaviours that include:

• Taking time to truly listen and understand others
• Collaborating with trust and teamwork
• Valuing differences and treating everyone fairly
• Taking ownership and embracing new ideas
• Showing pride and passion for our city

We are rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted and steadily progressing toward ‘Outstanding’. Hear directly from our social work team about our refreshed practice framework and what makes Manchester special: Our Manchester – Our Values (explore the strategy and behaviours that drive our work).

We offer positions city-wide, giving you flexibility in where you make your impact.

What We Provide to Support You

We prioritise your wellbeing and professional growth with:

• Manageable caseloads (city-wide average: around 13 for ASYE and 15 for experienced social workers)
• A strong salary package, plus retention incentives
• Consistent, high-quality reflective supervision from a stable leadership team
• Genuine commitment to diversity, including mentoring to help you reach your goals
• Thank You Fridays’ – extra time off to recognise your dedication
• Comprehensive wellbeing support
• Robust induction and development programmes (excellent support in your first year, continuing into year two and beyond)
• Dedicated Social Work Consultants in every team
• Free on-site car parking
• Flexible working options
• Generous holiday entitlement: up to 31 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), increasing with service
• Sponsorship available for eligible candidates

Our setup includes multi-agency teams for child protection work, co-location with Early Help and Police partners, plus specialist support services like Edge of Care, Family Group Conference coordinators, Lifelong Links, Complex Safeguarding Hub, and Missing from Home services.

If you’d like more details, a recruitment pack with interview tips, or just a friendly chat, contact Kimberley Panton at 0161 219 2471 or email kimberley.panton@manchester.gov.uk. We’re happy to discuss the role further.

What We’re Looking For

• A qualified and registered Social Worker (Social Work England)
• Full UK driving licence
• Availability for an in-person interview

This role requires a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. If you’ve lived or worked overseas for 3+ months in the last 5 years (or 12+ months total in the last 10 years while aged 18+), you’ll need to provide a Certificate of Good Character/police certificate from those countries. For guidance on how to obtain these: Criminal records checks for overseas applicants – GOV.UK.

Successful candidates must also provide evidence of their right to work in the UK before starting (in line with Home Office rules). More details here: Right to work checks: an employer’s guide – GOV.UK.

Our Commitment to Inclusion

We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, especially those from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities, Disabled individuals, and young people. As a Disability Confident Employer, we offer workplace adjustments, staff networks (including for Disabled, Neurodiverse, and Mental Health), and a supportive environment.

We guarantee an assessment/interview for candidates meeting shortlisting criteria who are Armed Forces veterans, care leavers, or have a disability/long-term condition.

If you need interview adjustments or accessible formats, let us know—our careers site features ReciteMe tools for text-to-speech, translation, and more.

Next Steps and Benefits Overview

On joining, expect a thorough onboarding, ongoing learning (workshops, apprenticeships, qualifications), and perks like enhanced parental/carer leave, pension with life cover, discounts via MCR+, cycle-to-work scheme, flu jabs, eye tests, and up to 3 days paid volunteering leave.

We review pay annually, recognise trade unions, and uphold the Good Employment Charter for fair, flexible work.

Use our take-home pay calculator to estimate your net salary after tax and NI.

Note on Applications: Feel free to use AI tools for support, but all content must reflect your genuine experiences—any plagiarism or misrepresentation may lead to withdrawal.

We can’t wait to hear from you and welcome you to the team! Read the full role profile when applying for complete details.