Social Worker Practitioner – Fostering

Location: Preston, Lancashire

Permanent | 37.5 hours per week

£35,908 – £40,494 Pro Rata

Hybrid and flexible working arrangements

Make a real difference to children and families as a Supervising Social Worker. Join Caritas Care’s experienced and passionate Fostering Team, supporting foster families across Lancashire and the wider North West. You’ll manage a small caseload, recruit and assess prospective foster carers, and provide ongoing supervision and support to help children and young people achieve the best possible outcomes. Join a well-established charity with over 25 years’ experience in fostering and a supportive, collaborative team.

Closing date for applications:       Friday 28th August 2026

Provisional interview date:          Friday 4th September 2026

We’re hiring! Could you help someone like Matthew thrive?

Meet Matthew, who attends our FX Day Service in Preston.

For Matthew, having the right support means being able to build confidence, learn new skills, enjoy activities he loves and make meaningful connections with others.

Our team plays a vital role in helping people like Matthew live life to the fullest, supporting them to have choice, independence and opportunities every day.

Are you looking for a rewarding role where you can make a real difference? We’re looking for passionate, caring people to join our Learning Disability Day Service team. Do you want to:

• Support people to achieve their goals
• Be part of a friendly and dedicated team
• Make every day meaningful

Could you be the person who helps someone like Matthew have their best day?

Find out more about our current vacancies and apply today: https://www.caritascare.org.uk/support-workers-daytime…/

Closing date for applications:       Monday 24th August 2026

Provisional Interview Date:          W/c Monday 31st August 2026

Admin Support (Temporary until end of October 2026)
Job Title: Administrator – Temporary
Starting Salary:
Minimum Wage currently £12.71 per hour (aged 21 and over).
Increase to Real Living Wage (£13.45) if contract extended.
Start Date: As soon as possible, End Date: 29th October 2026.
Hours: 18 hours per week: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9:50am to 4.10pm (which includes a 20 minute unpaid break each day)
Hours and contract length may vary depending on service demands.
Location: Disability Equality (nw) Ltd, 23 Sedgwick Street, Preston, PR1 1TP.
Reporting to: The Chief Executive
The Chief Executive and the Board of Trustees
The post-holder will have responsibility for following administrative processes and policies to ensure we maintain continuity of service delivery, our reputation and ensure our clients get the best customer service and experience possible.

You will need to have skills and experience of working in a busy, complex admin setting and ideally have some knowledge of financial admin – including experience of GDPR and Fraud Awareness, excellent hands on working knowledge of IT systems (Word, Excel and Cloud based storage, Online case management systems and diaries) and of working in a busy environment where speed and accuracy is of paramount importance.
The successful applicant will have some understanding of Adult’s and Children’s Social Care – in this role you will be making a real difference to the users of the service and you would be working with a team who work hard to make the lives of thousands of disabled people better every year.
• Lived experience of the day-to-day issues disabled people face and an understanding of the Social Model of Disability would be highly advantageous
• The successful applicant will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS disclosure and provide two satisfactory employment references
Main Duties and Responsibilities of Post
• Verifying financial data and maintaining accurate records.
• Paper to digital administrative processes such as form filling, copying, scanning and digital filing.
• To answer client and stakeholder queries via telephone, email, and text in a prompt and timely manner.
• Ensure individual employer responsibilities are fulfilled (e.g. Employers’ Liability Insurance).
• Develop and maintain electronic processes for the service to ensure efficient delivery of the service for both clients and staff.
• Independently handle calls and queries.
• In conjunction with other staff, ensure that all service documents, on behalf of clients are completed, scanned and filed correctly and in a timely manner.
• Scanning and electronic filing of timesheets, expense forms, bank statements and any other client paperwork where needed.
• To contribute towards the development of a culture which is customer focused and to providing a Gold standard service.
Generic Responsibilities:
To maintain strict confidentiality about staff, accounts and the organisation as a whole in line with our GDPR guidance and policies.
To ensure a safe, professional office working environment at all times.

To adopt a co-ordinated and pro-active approach working making best use of personal and company time and resources.
Support staff to ensure all service activities are fully accessible, making reasonable adjustments where needed.
Comply with individual responsibilities in relation to health and safety in the workplace in accordance with DE(nw)’s Health & Safety Policies & Procedures. To share responsibility for Centre security (including opening/closing of Centre) with other paid staff.
To be a pro-active member of the Supported Banking Service Team by assisting in the continual improvement of the service and support colleagues from other internal departments.
Regularly review and contribute to updates of the service operational handbook.
To act in accordance with strict financial and health and safety policies and supporting procedures and to comply with all other statutory regulations and other legal requirements.
With other staff you will be responsible for ensuring service paperwork and client documents are accessible, meet financial and governance regulations, are sent/received in a timely manner, kept safe and confidential, uploaded and saved correctly and any actions acted on in a timely manner.
To attend mandatory training when required and manage personal resources and own professional development.
To work in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 and Policies of Disability Equality (nw) Ltd.
To attend regular staff meetings and 121 meetings with line manager.
To undertake any other reasonable duties which may be requested, from time to time, by the Chief Executive, commensurate with the position.
For more information and how to apply please contact Melanie Close melanie@disability-equality.org.uk or tel 01772 558863
This job description serves to illustrate the type and scope of the duties currently required for the above post and to provide an indication of the required level of responsibility. It is not a comprehensive or exclusive list and duties may be varied from time to time, they will not however change the general character of the job or the level of responsibility entailed.