Social Work Team Leader

Overview Job Title, Grade and Grade Code
Social Work Team Leader- Dublin North CityGradeCode:3902
CampaignReference Approval Code
TRDNE20221509
Applications considered Via
TuslaRecruitPortalonly
Opening date for Applications
17th September 2025
Closing Date for Applications
12noon,17th October 2025
Proposed Interview date(s)
October/November 2025. - may be subject to change based on volume of candidates and availability of Service resources.
Contact for Informal Enquiries
Dublin North- Caitriona Sheehan – Email:
Dublin North City - Joanne Kerr - Email:
Louth Meath - Deirdre Noade – Email:
Making an informal enquiry gives you the opportunity to ask questions about the campaign and job specification. This informal enquiry contact is available only for the duration of the application process.
Location of Post
The initial vacancies are based in Dublin North City, Dublin North and Louth/Meath.
The future vacancies may arise across Tusla Area/ Region of Dublin North Dublin Region.
The purpose of this campaign is to fill immediate urgent vacancies and it is expected that panel placements will cease if expressions are not received within the appropriate processes.
For Tusla Region/ Areas please look at list of Local Area Services.
Details of Service The Child and Family Agency was established on 1st January 2014 and is responsible for a range of statutory functions including provision of child protection, alternative care, specified regulatory services and a range of family support services. The Agency has commenced a major improvement programme with significant focus on Practice, Culture and Structure.
The Agency currently has responsibility for a budget of circa €1.2billion and delivers its services through over 5,500 people in 259 locations across the Country.
The Child and Family Agency has responsibility for the following range of services:
Child Protection and Welfare
Parenting, Family Support and Early Help Services
Alternative Care
Birth Information & Tracing and Adoption
Tusla Education Support Services (TESS)
Children’s Service Regulation
Counselling and Therapeutic Supports
Further information is available on our website.
Purpose of Role The purpose of the post is to manage the provision of a social work service within a multidisciplinary context and in so providing a person centred service to individuals and families in community settings.
Reporting Relationship The post holder’s professional reporting relationship for clinical governance and clinical supervision will be to the Principal Social Worker through the professional line management structure. They will also be responsible for the line management and supervision of Social Workers and Social Care staff on the team.
Duties and Responsibilities Main Duties and Responsibilities – Professional / Clinical
Beresponsibleforthemanagementoftheday-to-dayprovisionofthesocialwork service in conjunction with the Principal Social Worker.
Takedirectresponsibilityforadefinedcaseloadasrequired/directedbythePrincipal Social Worker, in particular cases that require a high level of experience andexpertise.
Manage/provideaninitialassessmentservicetorelevant/allcaregroupsandto develop referral procedures with other social work networked services.
Ensuretheimplementationofmodelsofbestpractice/evidence-basedpractice.
Ensurethedeliveryofsocialworkservicesinaccordancewithlegislation,policiesand procedures, guidelines and protocols.
Ensurethedeliveryofsocialworkservicesinanintegratedandmultidisciplinary manner with a range of statutory and voluntary groups and organisations.
Ensurethepromotionofthesocialmodelofcareandrecognitionofthesocial determinants of health and well-being.
Ensureanti-discriminatorypracticeandculturalcompetence,atindividualandservice levels.
Provideanappropriatelevelofsupervisionforstaffconsistentwithgoodpracticeand the local/ national supervision policy.
Promoteaculturethatvaluesdiversityandrespectintheworkplace.
Participate in working groups / committees / fora as requested by the Principal Social Worker.
Chair, attend and manage a range of meetings including case conferences as required.
Attendcourt,tribunalsetc.asandwhenrequired.
Seektheadviceofrelevantpersonnelwhenappropriate/asrequired.
TakedirectionfromthePrincipalSocialWorker.
Takeanactiveroleinanappropriatelevelofplannedprofessionalsupervision,in accordance with the local/ national Supervision Policy.
Keep the Principal Social Worker fully informed and up to date on all significant matters.
Management
Provideleadershipandmotivationinordertooptimiseservicedeliverybydeveloping teams and promoting change management.
Be responsible for the probationary appraisal of staff and the completion of probationary appraisal reports as required. Make appropriate recommendations regardingwhetheremployees’standardofworkduringprobationissatisfactoryand whether appointments should be confirmed.
EnsurecompliancewithandimplementHRpoliciesandproceduresandguidelines.
ManageabudgetasdefinedbythePrincipalSocialWorker,ifappropriate.
Contributetoarangeofreportsincludingannualreports,performanceindicatorsetc. as required.
Contributetothedevelopmentandimplementationofpolicy,informationsharing protocols, audit systems and referral and integrated care pathways.
Contribute to service plan process by recognising and replicating successful interventionsandbyidentifyingunmetneedsandservicerequirementsintothe future.
Ensureahighstandardofdocumentation,includingserviceuserfilesinaccordance with local guidelines and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
Ensurethemaintenanceofserviceuseranddataconfidentiality.
DeputiseforthePrincipalSocialWorkerasagreedwhenrequired.
Assist in ensuring that the social work service makes the most efficient and effective use of developments in IT.
Education&Training
The Social Worker Team Leader will: Maintain standards of practice and levels of professional knowledge by monitoring and reviewing the standards within their area of responsibility, participating in and organising continuous professional development initiatives and professional development planning.
Keepupdatedoncurrentandimpendinglegislationandtheperceivedimpacton practice.
Keepabreastofdevelopmentsinnationalpoliciesandstrategiesandinternational best practice.
Keep up to date with organisational developments within the Irish Health and Social Services.
Activelyengageinstaffdevelopmentandtrainingbymakingrecommendationswith regard to the ongoing education, mentoring, training and in-service needs of social workers.
Act as a resource by participating in and promoting the education and training of Social Work colleagues, other health professionals and service user groups including clinical audit and research.
Foster an understanding of the role and contribution of social work by providing professional consultation and education to other members of the service.
Health & Safety
Comply with and contribute to the development of policies, procedures, guidelines and safe professional practice and adhere to relevant legislation, regulations and standards.
Have a working knowledge of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards as they apply to the service for example National Standards for Child Protection and Care and comply with associated Tusla – Child and Family Agency protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role.
To support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service.
The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.
Eligibility Criteria Qualifications and/ or Experience
Applicants must by the closing date of application have the following:
Be registered in the Social Work Register maintained by the Social Work Registration Board maintained at CORU or have entitlement to be registered and be in the process of registering with the Social Work Registration Board maintained at CORU (transcripts of exam results and registration details will be required) and obtain registration prior to appointment.
And
Once CORU registration is received, maintain live annual registration on the Social Workers Register maintained by the Social Workers Registration Board at CORU.
And
Have three years relevant post qualification experience
And
Must have the requisite knowledge and ability (including a high standard of suitability, professional and managerial ability) for the proper discharge of the duties of the office.
Health
A candidate for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.
Character
Each candidate for and any person holding the office must be of good character.
Skills, competencies and/or knowledge
Tusla Leadership Competency Framework
The Tusla Leadership Competency Framework describes the behaviours that are key to Tusla colleagues being effective in the execution of their role at all levels within the Agency. The competencies and associated behavioural descriptors capture the transversal knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics that will enable colleagues, regardless of role or rank, to be effective in their work.
The Tusla Leader Framework relevant for this role is Leading Others
Please access this Leading Others link to fully familiarise yourself with the impact of this Leading Others proficiency for Tusla.
The Competency of Professional Knowledge is specifically linked to the duties, responsibilities and criteria for this role.
Other requirements of the role
The post holder will require access to appropriate transport as the post may involve travel.
Have awareness of children and young people’s participatory practice
Application Process
Campaign Specific Selection Process
Shortlisting/ Interview
The online application system has a time out facility, this is in order to protect the privacy of the user. This time out facility activates if the application has been ‘dormant’ for over 60 minutes. Any work not saved will be lost if the system times out due to lack of activity. As such please ensure to save your application as you work on it, any lost data cannot be recovered. It might be an idea for candidates to work on their applications outside of the system and copy and paste their answers into the online application forms once they are fully complete and submit then. Once your application is fully submitted you will receive a confirmation email to your profile. If you do not receive this email, your application HAS NOT been submitted and received and you should log back on to submit fully.
AI generated content must not be used in your application. Tusla reserves the right to assess if content in applications is likely created by AI in part or in whole. Use of AI may result in disqualification and exclusion from the recruitment process.
Short listing may be carried out on the basis of information supplied in your application. The criteria for short listing are based on the requirements of the post as outlined in the eligibility criteria and skills, competencies and/or knowledge section of this job specification. Therefore, it is very important that you think about your experience in light of those requirements.
Failure to include information regarding these requirements may result in you not being called forward to the next stage of the selection process.
Those successful at the shortlisting stage of this process (where applied) will be called forward to interview.
Code of Practice
The Recruitment Service Child and Family Agency will run this campaign in compliance with the Code of Practice prepared by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA). The Code of Practice sets out how the core principles of probity, merit, equity and fairness might be applied on a principle basis. The Code also specifies the responsibilities placed on candidates, facilities for feedback to applicants on matters relating to their application when requested, and outlines procedures in relation to requests for a review of the recruitment and selection process and review in relation to allegations of a breach of the Code of Practice.
Codes of practice are published by the CPSA and are available on Tusla. Tusla is an Equal Opportunities Employer.
Tusla Child and Family Agency recognises its responsibilities under the Data Protection Acts 2003-2018 and the Freedom of Information Act 2014
Tusla Child and Family Agency Transformation Programme may impact on this role and as structures change the job description and reporting relationships may be reviewed and updated.
This job description is a guide to the general range of duties assigned to the post holder. It is intended to be neither definitive nor restrictive and is subject to periodic review with the employee concerned.
Tusla values individuals’ rights and freedoms in respect of privacy and fully complies with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018.
All roles within Tusla carry responsibility towards the protection of personal and sensitive data.
Tenure
The current vacancies available are permanent/temporary and whole time/part-time. The posts are pensionable.
A panel may be created from which permanent and specified purpose vacancies of full or part time duration will be filled. The tenure of these posts will be indicated at “expression of interest” stage for each individual post.
The purpose of this campaign is to fill immediate urgent vacancies and it is expected that panel placements will cease if expressions are not received within the appropriate processes.
Appointment as an employee of the Child & Family Agency is governed by the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013 and the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004.
Remuneration
The Salary scale for the whole time equivalent of this post is:
01/03/2025: €70,277, €72,280, €74,287, €76,290, €78,294, €80,296, €81,063
LSIs (Long Service Increments) are represented by emboldened figures. 1st LSI is paid after 3 years on the max, the 2nd LSI after 3 years on LSI1, and the 3rd LSI after 3 years on the 2nd LSI (where applicable).
The appointee shall commence on the first point of the salary scale. Incremental credit may be given on appointment for certain types of relevant experience- more information available in Appendix 5.
Candidates should note that entry will be at the minimum point of the scale and will not be subject to negotiation, and the rate of remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with Government pay policy.
Different terms and conditions may apply if the appointee is a currently serving civil or public servant.
Working Week
The standard working week applying to the whole time equivalent of this post is: 35 hours.
Annual Leave
The annual leave associated with the whole time equivalent of this post is 30 days per annum.
Superannuation
This is a pensionable position with Tusla. The successful candidate will upon appointment become a member of the appropriate pension scheme. Pension scheme membership will be notified within the contract of employment.
Probation
A probation period of 39 weeks, or proportion of same for fixed term / specified purpose contracts, where applicable shall apply from the commencement of employment, during which the contract may be terminated by either party in accordance with this contract. The probationary period may be extended at the discretion of management by a further 9 weeks or proportion of same for fixed term/specified purpose contracts, where applicable. Confirmation of appointment as a permanent member of staff is subject to the successful completion of the probationary period, for permanent contracts.
Where you have already completed a probationary period with the Child and Family Agency, Health Service Executive, Local Authority, and there is no break in service, no period of probation applies.
Responsibilities under Children First National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017)
National Standards for Children and Family Services
Employees must have a working knowledge of HIQA Standards as they apply to the service and comply with Tusla protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role. All Employees must be aware of their responsibilities under Children First National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017).
Ethics in Public Office 1995 and 2001
Positions remunerated at or above the minimum point of the Grade VIII salary scale are designated positions under Section 18 of the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001. See details in the original policy statement.
Application Notes
The Recruitment Service Child and Family Agency will run this campaign in compliance with CPSA Code of Practice. Details on the Standards Commission and Data Protection are noted in the original text. This job description is subject to review and may be updated.

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