Children's Rights Officer - Children and Families Service

Posted 20th Oct, 2025
Location
Hackney
Salary/rate
£46,854 – £47,925
Working pattern
Full-time – 36 hours per week
Working arrangements
Office based
Contract type
Permanent
Closing date
9th Nov, 2025
About the role

As a Children's Rights Officer you will be a lead advocate for children and young people both in care, care experienced and subject to Child Protection Plans. You will support our contextual safeguarding team in duty work around children missing from home and care, undertake Return Home Interviews, and provide specific safety planning and input around extra familial harm and exploitation.

Proactive and committed, you will bring a comprehensive knowledge and skill-base to the challenge of advocating for the most vulnerable children and young people using your skills, empathy and understanding. You will promote children's rights throughout Hackney. Key responsibilities include:

  • Acting as lead advocate for children and young people in care and care experienced
  • Supporting children and young people subject to Child Protection Plans
  • Supporting the contextual safeguarding team in duty work around children missing from home and care
  • Undertaking Return Home Interviews
  • Providing specific safety planning and input around extra familial harm and exploitation

Dynamic, innovative, committed and passionate, you'll bring a comprehensive knowledge and skill-base in your work to the challenge of working with vulnerable children and families. Our service seeks to actively contribute to organisational learning through recognising, promoting and supporting best practice and service development where required, retaining a clear focus upon positive good outcomes for children and families across the borough.

We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CV's. To proceed with your application, you will need to create an account and submit your application online. As part of the application process, you will need to complete a number of competency based questions.

About you

We are looking for someone who is passionate and confident in promoting children's rights by building constructive relationships with senior managers and contributing to the development of policy and practice within Hackney children and families services. You will have excellent written and verbal communication skills and should be highly organised and focussed while working under pressure. The ideal candidate will:

  • Have a social work, youth work or equivalent professional qualification
  • Demonstrate evidence of continuing professional development
  • Have detailed knowledge of childcare legislation and good practice in relation to Children's Act complaints
  • Have proven ability to work in a child-centred and sensitive manner
  • Possess skills to engage children of all ages and abilities, ensuring their voice and views are highlighted and promoted
  • Have excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Be highly organised and focussed while working under pressure

An enhanced DBS check is required. As part of our journey to be Anti-Racist, at Hackney we want our workforce to represent the community we serve, that's why we encourage applications from Black and Global Majority Ethnic backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

About Hackney

Our vision is to make Hackney a place for everyone. Where all our residents, whatever their background, have a chance to lead healthy and successful lives; a place of which everyone can be proud, with excellent services and public spaces, thriving businesses, and strong communities; a place that celebrates diversity, and where everyone can feel valued, included, and involved.

It is an exciting time to be working in Hackney as we are embedding our practice model of Systemic, Trauma informed and Anti-Racist practice. We are an innovative borough where we collaborate to support change for the children and families we work for and for each other. You will change and develop while working in Hackney and we will be behind you every step of the way. So, why don't you find yourself in Hackney?

Our Offer To You

  • Retention bonus for social workers in Children in Need and Access and Assessment Services- £1500 every 6 months. 

  • Ad hoc parking permits available for social workers when required to use a vehicle for their role. 

  • We prioritise the development and growth of staff and have reviewed and updated our ASYE programme of support, to ensure a structured learning programme that understands the journey of the child and utilises protected time.

  • Celebration and appreciation opportunities including a World Social Work Week thank you event and our Coffee Connection networking events.

  • A dedicated Race Equality and Inclusion team working to embed active anti-racist practice and support staff’s anti-racism journey.

  • Monthly group supervision for collaboration and support when things feel stuck 

As well as our Council-wide benefits:

  • Generous holiday allowance – 27 days a year, rising to 32 after five years

  • Unrivalled pension scheme

  • Flexible working options

  • Family friendly policies

  • A range of discounts, including subsidised gym membership and local eating

  • Access to financial and season ticket loans

  • Health and wellbeing benefits, such as lunchtime fitness classes

  • A comprehensive training and development offer

  • We are a member of Cycle Scheme and offer free pool bikes

Email our recruitment team for more information on this role at cfs.recruitment@hackney.gov.uk