Join us
We're recruiting now to a range of positions in our Adult teams across Cumbria for professionally qualified and registered Social Workers and Occupational Therapists.
The roles
We have the following Social Worker and Occupational Therapist posts available:
Social work roles
- Adult Social Worker - Long Term Intervention Team x2 - Carlisle
- Adult Social Workers - Long Term Intervention Team West Cumbria
Occupational Therapist roles
Local Government Reorganisation
From 1 April 2023 local government in Cumbria will change as we move towards Local Government reorganisation. The current six district councils and Cumbria County Council will be replaced by two new unitary authorities - Westmorland and Furness Council and Cumberland Council.
If you're employed by Cumbria County Council before 1 April 2023, you will be transferred to one of the two new councils unless you're on a temporary contract which expires before 31 March 2023. If this is the case, please speak to the hiring manager for more information.
You can find out more about LGR on our new website or watch our short 'What does LGR mean for me video.
Talk to us
If you want to know more, you can contact us for an informal discussion:
For Social Work roles:
Becky Squires
Principal Social Worker for Adults
becky.squires@cumbria.gov.uk
07393 003724
For Occupational Therapy roles:
Doreen Singleton
Principal Occupational Therapist
doreen.singleton@cumbria.gov.uk
07811 179642
Emma Robinson
Team Manager
emma.robinson@cumbria.gov.uk
07825 340363
Video: Arianna, Social Worker - working for Cumbria County Council:
We know happy employees are effective employees. That's why our Adult Social Workers and Occupational Therapists feel supported and confident to work alongside adults and their families.
Cumbria is more than a place to work. It's a place to live, relax, raise a family, and experience the best of both city-living and some of the world's most beautiful countryside.
We want everyone we work with to feel listened to and empowered, and for their support to reflect their hopes and what really matters to them.
Join us, and we'll support you in every way we can to do what you do best - change lives.
Videos showing how some of our colleagues feel about working in Cumbria:
If you have recently qualified, you will be supported throughout your first year in employment with us to undertake our Assessed and Supported first Year in Employment (ASYE) programme, alongside our experienced Advanced Practice Leads and colleagues in Learning and Development.
If you have already completed an ASYE programme and have some experience, you may wish to consider either a Social Worker post or one of our Senior Social Worker posts, where alongside direct work with people, you will have opportunity to develop your skills in Practice Education, mentoring Social Work apprentices or undertaking the Practice Assessor role for newly qualified Social Workers on our ASYE programme.
If you are a Newly Qualified Social Worker the route for you is through our Social Work Academy - register your interest and be notified of future opportunities first, please sign up for email alerts.
Overseas applicants
Applicants are advised that we are unable to sponsor immigration visas and therefore candidates must have the right to work in the UK prior to applying for positions.
Our offer to you
If you are considering moving to Cumbria, we understand relocating can be challenging and we offer a comprehensive package of support and benefits to help you settle in.
We offer competitive salaries across all our experienced social worker roles in Cumbria, offering adult social workers a starting salary of £30,507 (rising to £31,371). Senior Social Workers will earn £34,788, rising to £35,934.
For experienced social workers, our offer includes a relocation package of up to £8,000.
There's a lot going on in Cumbria and more than you might think. We are home to England's largest National Park which is now a World Heritage Site, home to Scafell Pike - its highest mountain, Wastwater - its deepest lake and thriving communities across the county. We even have amazing beaches, look up Walney Island, St. Bees, Allonby or Silloth to name a few.
Join us in Cumbria and in addition to a fantastic career, you can enjoy a high quality of life, a perfect place to raise a family and pursue a wide variety of passions in some of the most stunning surroundings in the world.
We're recruiting across Cumbria in locations like Workington, Whitehaven, Kendal, Carlisle and Barrow and home working is also an option.
West Cumbria House, Workington
Cumbria House, Carlisle
Craven House, Barrow
You will have access to a range of tools and ongoing support and coaching to develop your practice.
Our Aspiring Programmes will help you climb the ladder and we'll invest in you with additional opportunities, including:
- Coaching programmes
- Masters apprenticeships
- Specific social work CPD
- Teaching partnership with Lancaster University on research topics and facilitated learning hubs
- Dedicated practice education lead
- A core CPD offer supported by our Principal Social Workers and Organisational Development team
All of our practitioners are given mobile phones and laptops to allow them the opportunity to work flexibly and remotely. Our flexi-time scheme encourages a greater work life balance, helping employees to achieve and maintain an effective balance between work and home life so you are free to pursue your interests and personal commitments.
- Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution
- Supportive working environment
- Maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave
- Sickness pay
- Cycle Scheme
The Teams
The Adult Social Care Short Term Interventions Service is for people aged 18+. A primary role of this team is to work across the system to prevent or, delay admission into formal support services.
The service works collaboratively with a range of stakeholders from across the health and social care system, third sector and voluntary groups in Cumbria to ensure short term interventions (including assessment) are undertaken to ensure people are safe and supported using a strengths based approach.
The team will support the admission avoidance and the discharge of people from acute and community hospitals in a safe and timely way reducing the risk of delayed transfers of care.
The service plays a key role influencing and shaping Discharge to Assess/Home first models in Cumbria, and ensuring that in all instances people are treated with dignity and respect and are central to discharge planning with a focus on achieving their most independent outcome.
The Adult Social Care Long Term Service is for people, aged 18+ who are living in the community and have been identified as having long term care and support needs. The service works collaboratively with a range of stakeholders from across the health and social care system, third sector and voluntary groups in Cumbria in ways that recognise strengths, promotes independence and prevents, reduces or delays the need for formal long term care and support provision.
Assessments and reviews are undertaken in a strengths-based way that maximises the use of social capital and community based assets.
The service will work across health, social care and third sector organisations with a primary focus upon ensuring that all support plans:
- include robust contingency plans that promote personal resilience to manage temporary changes in need/circumstance.
- demonstrate how people will meet their needs from a range of sources, including friends, family, third sector, the community, equipment or assistive technology. Personal budgets will only be allocated for the provision of formal support for identified unmet needs.
The Adult Social Care Safeguarding Service role is to empower and protect individual's aged 18+ to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect.
This service is responsible for the operational response to all safeguarding concerns and enquiries and will:
- Provide a face to face safeguarding enquiries service to members of the public who by reason of their care and support needs are unable to protect themselves from neglect or abuse.
- Assess the immediate risk of safeguarding concern/s and implement and develop protection plans to mitigate against such risks.
- Complete statutory safeguarding/non-statutory enquiries and reach a conclusion when neglect, harm or abuse has occurred and make recommendation of future actions.
- Work within the making safeguarding personal agenda.
- Work with key partners to enable them to complete internal enquiries where appropriate and audit the findings and actions taken as a safeguarding concern.
- Lead on large scale enquiries where provider failure has safeguarding concerns identified.
About Cumbria County Council
Cumbria is a large county with a real variety of urban and rural communities in which to live and work - including the Lake District National Park, the West Coast, Kendal, Barrow-in Furness, Penrith and Carlisle.
All our services share the same basic principle. We strive to make a positive difference to the people and communities we serve. We are passionate about the people we serve and the people who work with us are at the heart of what we do.
Cumbria County Council employs over 6,000 people. As an employer, we focus on equality, value diversity and ensure engagement, communication, and people-friendly policies. We appreciate, reward and value your contribution and we're looking for people who share our sense of pride.
We are proud to be a modern and flexible employer. We focus on improving working environments and practices to ensure high quality service delivery and value for money. This gives our employees increasing work opportunities and flexibility, from home working to travelling around an area, or working with partners in other locations.
If you are considering moving to Cumbria, we understand that relocating can be stressful and we offer a comprehensive package of support and benefits to help you settle in.
If you share our values and would like to make a difference to the people of Cumbria, then this is the place for you.