Practice Development Lead

Job description

The Vacancy

At North Lincolnshire Council, we believe in putting people first. We are passionately committed to supporting people to remain independent and live the life they choose. This commitment has recently been recognised with North Lincolnshire Council named Local Authority of the Year at the 2026 MJ awards. Our Adult Social Care services are high performing and nationally recognised and we are continuing to grow and develop our workforce to achieve the best possible outcomes for local people.

We are seeking an experienced, enthusiastic and innovative qualified social worker to join our Principal Social Work Team as a Practice Development Lead. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in championing excellent social work practice across Adults and Health.

Working closely with the Principal Social Worker you will oversee practice learning arrangements, develop learning opportunities, support quality assurance activity and use practice intelligence to identify and implement practice development priorities.

You will bring significant experience of adult social work practice, practice education and workforce development. You will have an in-depth understanding of adult social care legislation, Social Work England standards, professional frameworks and quality assurance processes, alongside a passion for developing others and promoting strengths-based, person-centred practice.

You will be a confident communicator with excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiation skills, able to provide professional challenge, support staff with complex practice issues and work effectively with colleagues, partners and Higher Education Institutions.

Join us and help shape the future of social work practice, learning and development across North Lincolnshire Adults and Health.

Why join North Lincolnshire Council?

We offer a supportive working environment alongside a great range of benefits including:
• Competitive Salary
• Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions
• Minimum 30 days annual leave, plus bank holidays with the option to purchase additional annual leave via pre-tax and NI salary sacrifice
• Pluxee Staff Discount Scheme, offering savings on shopping, travel and more
• BHSF Health Cash Plan to support your health and wellbeing
• Cycle Benefit Scheme and Tusker Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Free Staff Parking Permits
• Access to on-site facilities, including free tea and coffee
• Career Development Opportunities and continuous professional development
• Flexible and Agile working
• A comprehensive induction and high standard of professional supervision
• North Lincolnshire offers a high quality of life with a lower cost of living, which makes it an affordable accessible place to live and work

North Lincolnshire is a rural county with picturesque villages and within easy reach of the Northeast and the East Midlands. The motorway network enables easy access to major cities. Comprehensive information regarding what North Lincolnshire has to offer is available at North Lincolnshire Council website.

If you are interested in this role or would like further information, please contact Becky Jackson (Principal Social Worker), [email protected]

Please see attached job description and employee specification which you should refer to when completing your application to demonstrate you meet the essential criteria for the role.

Closing date: 20 September 2026

Interview date: 8 October 2026

Candidates must be able to evidence their right to work in the UK. Please note the council does not hold a sponsor licence to sponsor people to work in the UK.

As an employer, we promote and safeguard the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expect the same commitment from existing and prospective employees or volunteers. Recruitment to this post will follow our safer recruitment procedure which includes us requesting references prior to interview and a DBS check.

The Council

We are collectively organised around the people and place of North Lincolnshire. Together we ensure that our communities are safe, well, prosperous and connected. We are ambitious for North Lincolnshire, we want our area to be the #BestPlace for our residents by being the #BestCouncil we can be. We achieve this through living our values - equality of opportunity, excellence, integrity and self-responsibility - in all that we do.

The Benefits

Staff discounts

Annual leave

Access to pensions

Salary sacrifice
schemes

Free car parking

Eye test and glasses reimbursements