Policy & Service Improvement Officer - Children's Services - Service Development & Review Team - EAL10538

Vacancy Information

Hourly rate of pay: £23.40 - £26.13

Temporary until 31st March 2026
Days and Hours of Work:
Monday - Friday, 09:00-17:00
Flexi time is applicable, and starting and finishing times are flexible.
To start asap.

East Lothian children’s services have an exciting opportunity for a policy & service improvement officer. This is a unique role within the service development and review team. The candidate will have a varied remit within a team that delivers on policy and planning, quality assurance, business planning and service improvement activity. The post is temporary and fixed until 31^st March 2026. Secondments will be considered.

Candidates should have a sound working knowledge of GIRFEC, UNCRC, Corporate Parenting and The Promise and be able to apply strategic thinking to practice development and delivery. The candidate should also have experience of applying quality assurance and improvement methodology to practice.

The role of policy & service improvement officer will involve partnership working with social work teams, council departments and multi-agency partners including the third sector. Candidates should be skilled in working in partnership to lead and deliver on varied project activities to a high standard within agreed timescales.

Candidates should have a sound value base, excellent communication and report writing skills and a comprehensive knowledge about children and families social work legislation, role and responsibilities.

Candidates should work well under pressure and be able to manage competing demands from Scottish Government requests, children's services partners and the children’s services management team.

East Lothian Children’s Services are absolutely committed to keeping the Promise and ensuring the voice of children, and their families’ remain at the heart of everything we do. East Lothian children’s services are keen to recruit employees who are passionate children's rights and achieving the best possible outcomes for children, young people and their families.

We are committed to promoting an open and trusting culture at all levels of the organisation and prioritise continuous professional development and learning. Our staff are our greatest asset and we strive to be supportive, inclusive and trauma informed in everything that we do.

Our vision is to support children and young people to live with their families when it is safe to do so. We have redesigned our services to ensure that the right support is offered at the right time and our staff are involved in developing services and implementing improvement activity around this goal.

We have an accessible senior management team who are committed to recruiting the best people to compliment the wide range of knowledge and experience that exists throughout the service.

Children’s Services is located within John Muir House, Haddington with onsite parking and we promote an open, trusting and communicative culture at all levels of the organisation.

If you wish to discuss this job vacancy or working for East Lothian Council, please feel free to contact the recruitment manager on the details below:

Lisa Shine -

Home Working Consideration
Applications for homeworking or hybrid working will be considered for this post, subject to a trial period and in accordance with East Lothian Council’s Home Working and Worksmart Policies which can be found here. Home or Hybrid working options can be discussed with candidates invited for interview. All applicants must live in the UK and will be expected to attend Council offices from time to time as required.

Job Details

The Jobholder will review, update, and develop children’s services policies to ensure high quality service provision and to manage and minimise risk to service users, carers, and the Council. The Jobholder will ensure that there is a structured and coordinated approach to internal and external scrutiny, continuous improvement and liaise with thecare inspectorate to support and coordinate any inspections the service is subject to.

Please download the Job Outline/Person Specification (available under 'Job Attachments') for the full range of tasks and duties associated with this job. You will need to refer to these in order to complete the application form. You must ensure you meet every 'essential' criteria stated on the Person Specification to be considered for interview.

The ‘East Lothian Way’– values and behaviours we expect our employees to demonstrate in their everyday work. Should you be invited to interview, you may be asked questions based on these behaviours. Please refer to the document via the link to familiarise yourself with them.

Job Requirements

Relevant Qualifications
Degree in Social Work (or other recognised Social Work Qualification, i.e. CQSW, Dip SW, CCETSW).

Post qualifying award in Child Protection and Welfare or Practice Teaching or Securing Children’s Futures: Good Practice in Performance Planning and Family Placement or a commitment to achieve the Post qualifying award within two years of appointment (supported by children’s services).

SSSC registration - Social Worker: is an essential requirement of this role. If you are appointed and are not already a member of the relevant section of the SSSC Register and you are starting your first position in Scotland, you will be required to apply for registration as soon as possible and this must be achieved within three months of your start date.
If you have previously registered as a Social Worker with the SSSC then you must re register before commencing employment.

Driving Licence
A full current driving licence is desirable for this post.

PVG Membership
This post is considered as Regulated Work with vulnerable children and/or protected adults, as specified in the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007.

All preferred candidates for posts carrying out regulated work with these groups will be required to become a PVG Scheme member, or undergo a PVG Scheme update if they are already a member, prior to any formal offer of employment being made by East Lothian Council.

Please note: PVG member’s records are constantly updated with any new vetting information that arises. Any information that is disclosed on a PVG membership or update check, if relevant to the post being applied for, will be discussed with the applicant and investigated prior to any formal offer being made.

Please note:
If you have spent more than 3 months working or living outwith the UK in the last 5 years then you will be required to present a copy of an overseas criminal record check. Details of how to apply and contact details can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Additional Information

For additional East Lothian Council employment information please click on the following link:
www.eastlothian.gov.uk/nonteachinginfo

If you have any difficulties creating an account on MyJobScotland or applying for this post please contact the MyJobScotland support team via this link https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/contact-us.

If you require further information about this vacancy, please call , or email us on recruitment@eastlothian.gov.uk

Please note: We do not accept CV's (either electronically or by mail). All our vacancies must be applied for by fully completing the on-line application form. Although there is an ‘import data from my CV’ function on MyJobScotland, this only imports very limited data and should not be relied upon to complete the application form.