Become a social worker

Waltham Forest is on an exciting journey to excellence - make it the destination of choice for your social work career.

We have a wide range of roles available right now.

We want to hear from family-focused, committed and innovative social workers.  Use our online form to ask one of our managers about social work in Waltham Forest.

Why join us at Waltham Forest?

• 9 out of 10 staff in our social care teams enjoy our strong learning culture, which focuses on new and emerging trends
• We invest in your development to help you find your niche, specialising in areas underpinned by a clear strengths-based approach
• Inspiring leadership and ambition rated Outstanding 
• Diverse and inclusive teams who improve lives and make a real difference – a safe and inclusive environment, with active employee-led networks and initiatives
• A brand-new Town Hall HQ at Fellowship Square, with innovative and flexible workspace

Show us your WORTH!

Are you a family-focused, committed and innovative social worker?

Waltham Forest provides a great environment for qualified social workers to develop and flourish.

We have a strong and stable team of social work managers looking for ambitious practitioners to join our journey to excellence.

Join our journey

See what exciting social work roles are available in Waltham Forest.

As a borough which celebrates diversity and inclusivity, we believe that it is important for you to hear from a cross-section of staff working within Waltham Forest.

We are at the forefront of national practice and pride ourselves on being a first class learning organisation.

This has enabled us to build and expand upon our recent successes to not only continue existing programmes but embrace a range of innovative fast-track programmes, participate in national pilots and form new collaborative partnerships. These include: 

• A Phase 2 pilot site for the National Assessment & Accreditation System (NAAS)
• Apprenticeships
• Step Up to Social Work
• Think Ahead Programme
• Collaboration with Frontline
• North East London social work Teaching Partnership (NELPT)

Staff Benefits

Social Worker: Safeguarding and Corporate Parenting who case hold children’s cases:
An annual Retention bonus of £3,000 will be made to those Social Workers working within these specialisms once they have completed their probationary period with the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

All other qualified Social Workers:
An annual Retention bonus of £2,000 will be made for these employees, once they have completed their probationary period with the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

Newly qualified Social Worker (ASYE: Assessed and Supported Year in Employment):
Newly qualified Social Workers joining the Council will receive £1,000 upon joining the Council and will then receive £1,000 upon completion of the initial period of 12 months. Thereafter, an annual Retention bonus of £2,000.

Continuous professional development:
We recognise the importance of learning and development and the Continued Professional Development of our staff to enable them to meet the varying needs of our residents and those in need of care and support.  In addition to our core Learning & Development offer, our career progression framework recognises that staff may not always follow a linear trajectory so where possible; our framework accounts for staff who may want to move horizontally within the organisation to expand their repertoire of knowledge, skills, and experience.