Quality Assurance Reviewing Officer

About the role

These roles are an opportunity to make a positive difference to the lives of our Dorset children in care. You will be joining a stable, supportive and inclusive team who are passionate about improving the experience of our children. There are plenty of opportunities for professional development.

You will be fulfilling the role of the Independent Reviewing Officer as set out in the IRO handbook. As such you will be part of a team responsible for reviewing the quality of practice for Dorset's children in care. You will be driving improvement via reviews, recommendations, recognising good practice and providing robust challenge where support and plans for children needs to improve.

You will have a caseload of children with whom you will build a relationship, and hold regular child‑centred reviews for them. You will build good working relationships with the adults around those children to ensure that their voices are heard, they are well cared for and their plans are progressed in good time. You will ensure that children can participate in decisions about their care.

A key part of this role will be writing professional reports (review minutes) to children using "language that cares". You will also be contributing to wider quality assurance work and partnership work to improve Dorset's service for children in care, and the wider system.

You will be taking part in our partnership with the Youth Voice children in care network co‑producing improvements that better meet the needs of our children.

There is a significant travel element to this role and you will need to work flexibly. Visits and meetings after school, and out of the area, will result in late finishes.

The right person for our team will be unwaveringly child focused, collaborative, strengths based, and assertive. You will be a registered Social Worker with significant and varied post‑qualifying experience, ideally including experience with children in care. You will know the role as set out in the IRO handbook and all related legislation for safeguarding children and children in care.

You will have a thorough understanding of related policies and law, including family law and care proceedings. Previous management and leadership experience will be a benefit but not essential. You will need to be organised and self‑motivated. You will also have excellent communication skills that allow you to listen carefully, communicate clear expectations and also challenge effectively whilst maintaining and expressing respect and compassion.

In this role you will work with a diverse range of young people with different identities, and we welcome applications from people who reflect that diversity, for example (but not only) sexual orientation, gender, disabilities, care‑experience, ethnicity and religion or belief.

If you are interested in one of these roles (2 positions available) please feel free to contact Toni Colledge, Quality Assurance Service Manager, for an informal discussion via email at toni.c. These posts require significant travel. You must have a vehicle (or transport we deem suitable) available for use as needed.

These posts will start 1st July 2026.

These posts involve working with children and/or vulnerable adults and/or having access to significant information about them. It will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. See our policy on the employment of ex‑offenders.

See our policy on safeguarding children and young people.

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At Dorset Council, we are working together to create a fairer, more prosperous, and more sustainable Dorset for everyone, now and in the future.

We:

• provide essential services that support over 300,000 residents
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You will:

• be part of a team that works together for a better Dorset
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