Social Work England – Non-Executive Director (x2)

Social Work England is the specialist regulator of all social workers in England. Established by the Children and Social Work Act 2017, its key purpose is to protect the public and to raise standards across the social work profession, so that people receive the best possible support whenever they might need it in life.

We are seeking to appoint two Non-Executive Directors who will play a vital role in ensuring the quality of social work and social work standards. They will make a strong contribution to delivery of government key reforms for social work as set out in Stable Homes Built on Love, and Next steps to put People at the Heart of Care.

As a Non-Executive Board member, your abilities will be essential to the successful operation of Social Work England. Your contributions of strategic and constructive challenge and ideas, fiduciary oversight, and your support of decision making will be vital in this role.

Non-executive directors provide an input to a range of organisational and operational issues and oversee the delivery of Social Work England’s functions and objectives as a specialist regulator. Equally important to contributing Board meetings, they provide input to a variety of different Social Work England groups, meetings, and stakeholder events.

Thank you for your interest in joining the Board of Social Work England, the specialist regulator for all social workers and for social work education.

As interim Chair and a Board member for the last five years, my vision is that Social Work England will be at the forefront of developing social work practice that puts the protection, health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable individuals and families in our society first. To do that Social Work England must set the highest professional standards and deliver its core regulatory functions effectively and efficiently.

Our aim is for excellent social work practice and social work education to be the norm across all sectors, all ages and communities and all institutions and agencies. As someone who has worked in health and social care for 45 years, I know how important it is for those who receive services, for their families and loved ones, and for communities and wider society. Social workers can and do help to transform lives for the better, and a skilled, committed, and confident workforce requires a strong and effective regulator. Social work is important, and so the effective regulation of social work is important too.

Social Work England has a strong, cohesive Board, but as some non-executive Directors come to the end of their terms, we are seeking new, high-quality members to join us and support our strategy and further development, and to assure Government and the public that public protection and the efficient use of public resources is at the heart of our governance.

As a non-executive Board member, your abilities will be essential to our success. Strategic and constructive challenge and ideas, fiduciary oversight, and your contribution to decision making are vital in this role, alongside the ability to relate positively to Social Work England’s diverse stakeholders.

These are challenging but ultimately rewarding roles. The successful candidates will make a genuine contribution to raising standards in social work, protecting vulnerable people, and supporting the implementation of key government reform in both children’s and adult social care. If you believe you have the values, skills, experience, and commitment to undertake this role I look forward to hearing from you.

We are looking to appoint two non-executive directors through this recruitment process.

There is a degree of flexibility around start dates, but we expect both successful candidates to take up their positions in January 2024.

Non-executive directors support Social Work England to be an effective regulator. This includes providing input to organisational and operational issues of Social Work England including processes, strategies, and policies. Non-executive directors consider how to engage and listen to the voice of service users and ensure this is taken into account within decision making processes.

Non-executive directors provide strategic direction and challenge to the Chair, CEO and wider leadership within the organisation. They ensure robust financial management and governance is in place to deliver improvements and efficiencies across the organisation and oversee the delivery of Social Work England’s functions and objectives as a specialist regulator of the social work profession.

Dr Andrew McCulloch is the interim Chair of Social Work England. Andrew’s vision for Social Work England places the regulator at the forefront of developing social work practise that puts the protection, health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable individuals and families in our society first.

The Board consists of:

• the Chair, Andrew McCulloch (interim)

• Chief Executive Officer, Colum Conway

• six non-executive directors

Each member of the Board brings a distinct set of skills and expertise. Social Work England’s Board is responsible for overseeing the full range of the organisation’s regulatory responsibilities. The Board holds the Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Leadership Team to account and provides the overall strategic steer for the organisation. In addition, the Board oversees performance, the use of resources and ensures a sound system of internal control and risk management. Its responsibilities include:

• establishing and taking forward the organisation’s strategic aims and objectives

• ensuring compliance with any statutory or administrative requirements for the use of public funds

• demonstrating high standards of corporate governance at all times.

Non-executive directors provide an input to a range of organisational and operational issues and oversee the delivery of Social Work England’s functions and objectives as a specialist regulator. Equally important to contributing Board meetings, they provide input to a variety of different Social Work England groups, meetings, and stakeholder events.

This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the Commissioner’s website