Location: Cumbria House, Carlisle or West Cumbria House, Workington Salary: £42,839- £44,075 per annum Hours: 37 hours per week Contract: Temporary for 12 Months

 

About this opportunityCumberland Council is seeking a Level 3 Social Worker to join our dedicated Kinship Team. In this role, you’ll work closely with children, families, and carers to assess complex needs, build strong relationships, and develop tailored support plans that prioritise stability and positive outcomes for children in kinship care.

We’re looking for a qualified social worker (Social Work Degree/CQSW/CSS/DipSW) registered with Social Work England, with at least three years of post-qualification experience in children’s services. You’ll bring a deep understanding of permanence planning, trauma-informed practice, and multi-agency collaboration. In return, you’ll join a supportive and forward-thinking team that values professional development, flexible working, and a shared commitment to improving lives across Cumbria.

This role is available on a fixed-term basis.

 

Cumberland Council is proud to hold an Ofsted rating of 'Good’ for our Children’s Services, demonstrating our dedication and strong commitment to providing high-quality services for children and families. Ofsted recognised that staff unanimously report a ‘real buzz about working in Cumberland’ and that they feel ‘energised, valued and listened to’, observing that ‘leaders have established a strong Cumberland identity that staff can be proud of’.

 

Who we’re looking forWe’re looking for individuals who embody our organisation's core values: ambitious, collaborative, compassionate, empowering, and innovative. We believe in the power of these values to drive positive change, deliver excellent public services and shape a better future for our communities.

 

We’re also about potential over perfection and we can help you grow in the role and thrive in your career.

 

Be sure to take a look at the post specification (below) for the essential criteria for this role.

 

Contact

For more information about the role or to arrange an informal chat prior to your application, please contact Rebecca Leighton by email at Rebecca.Leighton@cumbria.gov.uk

 

DBS ChecksThis role requires a DBS check. The level of check for this role is - Enhanced DBS Check with a Children’s Barred List check.

Please note this role involves working in regulated activity with Children. It is an offence for people who are barred from working in regulated activity to apply for roles that require them to work unsupervised with Children. Guaranteed InterviewsWe offer a guaranteed interview to the following applicants as long as your application can demonstrate you meet the essential criteria for the role.

• Those who consider themselves disabled as defined by the Equality Act 2010
• Those in care or who have left care and are aged 24 and under
• Armed forces veterans whose last long term substantive employer was the armed forces

If you meet one or more of the criteria above, and wish to be considered for this scheme, select 'yes' to the appropriate question during your application. Find out more.

 

Diversity, Inclusion & AdjustmentsWe’re dedicated to enhancing the diversity of our workforce and we encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds. That’s why we’re a proud Disability Confident Employer and also an Age Friendly Employer – to provide opportunities for everyone to thrive.

 

If you need any reasonable adjustments to participate in the recruitment process, please let either the hiring manager or our Resourcing Team know by emailing Resourcing@Cumberland.gov.uk. While adjustments aren’t always guaranteed, we’ll always listen and we’ll try our best to accommodate your needs.

 

Application and Interview information

Closing date: 10th August 2025

Interview date:TBC

 

Please note this role may close early subject to demand. If you’re interested in applying, you should apply well before the advised closing date. We cannot accept applications once the role has closed.

 

Please read the supporting information:

Post Specification

Please also refer to our Careers site to find out more:

• Our Staff Benefits
• Candidate Support
• About Cumberland Council

Location: Cumbria house, Carlisle Salary: £38,220 - £39,152 per annum Hours: 37 hours per week. Contract: Permanent

 

About this opportunity

 

This post sits within the council’s corporate Performance and Insight service providing a central business intelligence function and a source of central expertise in relation to data analysis and insight generation, performance management, data management and governance. The team work collaboratively across the council as well as with external partners to unlock meaningful insight that will have a positive impact on residents' lives through better informed decision-making at all levels of the organisation (operational and strategic) and the wider Cumberland public services system.

 

Working as part of a new and innovative Performance and Insight team and liaising closely with colleagues across the council, you will help provide performance and business intelligence support for strategic planning, service delivery and statutory data requirements.

 

Your work will involve supporting the provision of high-quality data and business intelligence analysis, improving data quality, completing statutory returns and providing expert knowledge and guidance on these aspects of performance management, providing support for inspection regimes, such as Ofsted and CQC, and supporting all tiers of management and commissioners to improve services across the council.

 

This role is available on a permanent full-time basis.

 

Who we’re looking for

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual, ideally educated to degree level (or equivalent experience), with a keen interest in supporting services to use data as evidence for decision-making who is able to work under pressure and who is able to demonstrate the ability to decipher, interpret and apply national guidance on statutory performance returns to ensure returns are accurate, auditable and meet required timescales.

Experienced in working with large and complex datasets and presenting analysis using a variety of IT packages, you will have excellent IT skills and proven ability to learn new packages as well as knowledge of relevant specialist software – in particular a sound working knowledge of Power BI (and/or other similar visualisation packages). Experience of case management systems such as System C (Liquid Logic) would be an advantage.

 

To apply for this post, you must:

• Be able to demonstrate the ability to decipher, interpret and apply national guidance on statutory performance returns to ensure returns are accurate, auditable and meet required timescales.
• Be educated to degree (or equivalent) level in a relevant OR equivalent level of relevant experience. A degree with strong a maths, business or data/ICT element is desirable.
• Have excellent IT skills (including in Microsoft packages) as well as good literacy and numeracy skills and demonstrable effective problem-solving skills.
• Have some experience of managing and analysing data from database to dashboard.
• Be able to produce charts tables, maps, dashboards and employ statistical/analytical techniques including extracting data from systems and understanding database relationships.
• Have experience of presenting data and information using a variety of IT packages and knowledge of specialist software that underpins the team's work areas such as Power BI and/or other similar visualisation packages.
• Show attention to detail for the accuracy of information and show evidence of attention to detail in working methods.
• Possess good presentation, written and verbal communication skills, good interpersonal skills and good organisational skills with the ability to work as part of a team as well as on your own initiative (including working from home)

We’re also looking for individuals who embody our organisation's core values:

 

ambitious, collaborative, compassionate, empowering, and innovative.

 

We believe in the power of these values to drive positive change, deliver excellent public services and shape a better future for our communities.

 

We’re also about potential over perfection and we can help you grow in the role and thrive in your career.

 

Be sure to take a look at the post specification (below) for the essential criteria for this role.

 

Contact

 

For more information about the role or to arrange an informal chat prior to your application, please contact Anthony Connor, Senior Manager, Performance and Insight by email at anthony.connor@cumberland.gov.uk

Guaranteed Interviews

We offer a guaranteed interview to the following applicants as long as your application can demonstrate you meet the essential criteria for the role.

• Those who consider themselves disabled as defined by the Equality Act 2010
• Those in care or who have left care and are aged 24 and under
• Armed forces veterans whose last long term substantive employer was the armed forces

If you meet one or more of the criteria above, and wish to be considered for this scheme, select 'yes' to the appropriate question during your application. Find out more.

 

Diversity, Inclusion & AdjustmentsWe’re dedicated to enhancing the diversity of our workforce and we encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds. That’s why we’re a proud Disability Confident Employer and also an Age Friendly Employer – to provide opportunities for everyone to thrive.

 

If you need any reasonable adjustments to participate in the recruitment process, please let either the hiring manager or our Resourcing Team know by emailing Resourcing@Cumberland.gov.uk. While adjustments aren’t always guaranteed, we’ll always listen, and we’ll try our best to accommodate your needs.

 

Easily apply by submitting your CV and answering a few short questions.

Application and Interview information

 

• Closing date: 30th September 2025
• Interview date: tbc

 

Please note this role may close early subject to demand. If you’re interested in applying, you should apply well before the advised closing date. We cannot accept applications once the role has closed.

 

Please read the supporting information:

 

• Post Specification

Please also refer to our Careers site to find out more:

• Our Staff Benefits
• Candidate Support
• About Cumberland Council