Resource Officer

• Category: Care - Children and Young People
• Contract type: Permanent
• Working hours: 36 hours per week
• Posted on: 5 January 2026
• Closing date: 25 January 2026
• Location: Victoria Gate, Chobham Road, Woking, GU21 6JD

We are committed to the development of our workforce.
This position is only available to applicants who already work for Surrey County Council. We thank you for your interest in our roles and would encourage you to review our vacancies which are open to all.

This permanent, full-time position has a starting salary of £36,873 per annum based on a 36-hour working week.

We are excited to be hiring a new Resource Officer to join our fantastic and supportive Allocations team.

The role is open to hybrid working and as a team we split our time between working from home and collaborating together in the Woking office.

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

The Allocations team focus on finding the best placements for children and young people, whether it's fostering, residential care, or supported accommodation. We handle searches across both our in-house provision and external providers.

Our team is incredibly supportive and is part of the Gateway to Resources Service within the Children's, Families and Lifelong Learning Directorate. We collaborate closely with other professionals and agencies to ensure that each child and young person is matched with a placement that will help them achieve the best outcomes.

In this role, you will manage a caseload of children and young people, actively seeking out the right placements for them. This includes both planned and emergency placements for children, young people, and care leavers. It's a really rewarding role where you can make a significant difference in their lives.

You will be part of a team that is dedicated to making a positive difference in the community, one placement at a time, by putting people first and striving for excellence in everything we do.

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours :

• Ability to negotiate appropriate levels of service provision to make sure that best value for money is secured
• Ability to develop and maintain a good working knowledge of providers
• Effective organisational and time management skills to work towards challenging deadlines
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills with the ability to build effective relationships with internal and external professionals

To apply, we request that you submit a CV and you will be asked the following 4 questions:

• Please tell us what interests you most about working in the Allocations Team and supporting placements for vulnerable children and young people?
• Please describe a situation where you had to communicate effectively and negotiate with stakeholders to achieve a positive outcome. What approach did you take, and what was the result?
• What do you understand about the challenges and priorities involved in finding suitable placements for children and young people? How would you ensure that each placement supports the best possible outcomes for them?
• Please tell us about any skills, abilities and experience you have, whether from previous roles or other contexts, that believe would help you succeed in this role?

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description and Our Life at Surrey handbook to get an insight into working at Surrey.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 25.01.2026 with interviews planned to follow.

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills, or any barriers to employment. For an informal discussion please contact Susan Hirst by e‑mail at  .

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

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