CSW- Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO-London Pledge)

Who You Are

We are seeking a confident, credible, and child-focused professional with a strong background in safeguarding and quality assurance. You should be experienced in working autonomously, have a relational and trauma-informed approach, and possess well-developed skills in risk management and working with children and families. Ideally, you will have LADO experience and a commitment to promoting positive relationships while providing necessary challenges to social work teams and key partners.

What the job involves

As an Independent Reviewing Officer, you will:

• Chair statutory Child Looked After Reviews and Child Protection Conferences.
• Monitor and quality assure care planning, permanency planning, pathway planning, and child protection plans.
• Ensure children's voices, wishes, and feelings are central to decision-making.
• Provide independent scrutiny and challenge substandard practices.
• Track individual cases to prevent drift and delay in achieving positive outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with social workers, managers, partner agencies, and senior leaders.
• Undertake quality assurance audits and contribute to service improvement initiatives.
• Support policy development, training delivery, and practice development across Children's Services.
• Act as Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and coordinate investigations as required.
• Deputise for the Head of Safeguarding & Quality Assurance when needed.

Skills

• Qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England
• Minimum five years post-qualifying experience
• Experience with Children Looked After, Child Protection, and Care Planning
• Strong knowledge of relevant legislation and procedures
• Excellent analytical, report-writing, and decision-making skills
• Ability to influence and challenge practitioners and senior managers
• Commitment to anti-discriminatory practice and diversity
• Outstanding communication and relationship-building skills
• Ability to manage competing priorities
• Experience in service improvement and quality assurance