Border Force – Illegal Migration Intake Unit – Social Worker

Salary: From £41,600 plus annualised shift allowance (AHW) currently averaging 18%, which would equate to £7,488 based on salary minimum. This allowance is paid in addition to the monthly salary to compensate for out of office hours working and flexibility and is reviewed periodically.
Contract Type: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, shift working

Border Force is hiring two Social Workers to join the team in Dover. These roles sit within the Illegal Migration Intake Unit. As a Social Worker, you’ll focus on safeguarding and protecting unaccompanied migrant children detected either near the port, in the surrounding area in Kent, or via small boat arrivals, ensuring they are processed and placed into appropriate care as quickly as possible.
Please note that this role is only open to individuals who are already qualified social workers.

About the role
Ensuring the welfare of people who have arrived in the UK is at the heart of what we do, and in this role, you’ll provide critical safeguarding expertise and support for migrant children who are vulnerable, scared and in need of safeguarding protection. Based in Dover, you’ll work with Kent Social Services, Home Office Immigration Officers and other government agencies to determine the right package of support and care for young people who have arrived in the UK. It’s an important role, which requires compassion and professional expertise with the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on many lives.

The Illegal Migration Intake Unit operate a shift working pattern, where AHW is paid in accordance with the operational needs of the business. We are a 365-day operation and utilise a range of shifts including earlies, lates, weekend and public holiday working. Shift lengths can vary and be up to 12 hours. This allowance is paid in addition to the monthly salary to compensate for out of office hours working and flexibility.

Key responsibilities
• Conducting ‘Merton’ compliant age assessments of young people to determine the best and most appropriate care and support.
• Producing legally robust and accurate reports that can withstand legal challenges and provide evidence in court.
• Maintaining and applying up-to-date knowledge of research findings, legislation, case law, statutory guidance, and policy developments relevant for UK age assessment.
• Providing training, guidance and advice to Immigration Officers and building operational capability across the team, driving up expertise and quality in the age assessment field.
• Decision-making on the legitimacy of relationships between children and unrelated adults with safeguarding at the forefront.
• Undertaking administration duties including writing reports and responding to requests for information from local authorities and Home Office teams.

What you’ll need
• Be a qualified and registered Social Worker with Social Work England, or the equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• A successful track record, with extensive post-qualification experience in a local authority setting, including experience of working in children’s services.
• 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.
• Capable of maintaining up-to-date knowledge of research findings, legislation, statutory guidance, policy developments and case law relevant to age assessments and child safeguarding practice.
• Strong planning and organisational skills, including proven ability to work independently and balance competing demands.
• A full UK manual or automatic driving licence.
• Experience of conducting Merton compliant age assessments.
• Experience of managing interviews and working with an interpreter.

Successful candidates will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Benefits
We offer a range of benefits including:
• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.9%.

How to apply
We recommend you read the full job description on the Civil Service Jobs website before you apply. It will help you to understand what we require from candidates and to know what the recruitment process looks like. Applications close at 11:55pm on Thursday 12th September.