IRO / Conference Chair – Local Authority
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
IRO / Conference Chair – Local Authority – Up to £36/hr
We are currently recruiting experienced IROs and Conference Chairs for upcoming local authority requirements across Essex.
This is a specialist role focused on ensuring high standards of care planning and safeguarding for children and young people.
Key Responsibilities:
- Chair looked-after children (LAC) reviews and child protection conferences
- Ensure care plans are appropriate, effective, and timely
- Provide independent oversight and challenge where necessary
- Monitor local authority performance and statutory compliance
- Work closely with multi-agency professionals
Requirements:
- Social Work England registration
- Significant experience within children’s services
- Previous IRO or Conference Chair experience preferred
- Strong knowledge of safeguarding and statutory frameworks
What we offer:
- Up to £36 per hour (Umbrella)
- Long-term contract opportunities
- Fast-track onboarding
- Priority access to roles via established council supply route
Register now to be first considered when roles go live.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Place your Social Work England registration number prominently in your personal profile, as the advert lists this as a non-negotiable requirement.
📊 Quantify your IRO or Conference Chair experience: e.g. 'Chaired 120+ LAC reviews and 40 child protection conferences annually across a caseload of 80 children'.
🎯 Explicitly reference your knowledge of statutory frameworks (e.g. Children Act 1989, Working Together 2023) in your CV skills section, as the advert highlights statutory compliance as a core responsibility.
🌐 Highlight any Essex or East of England local authority experience, as the roles are specifically for Essex councils and familiarity with local supply routes is an advantage.
🤝 Demonstrate your multi-agency collaboration experience by naming specific partner agencies (e.g. CAFCASS, NHS, Police, schools) you have worked alongside in conferences or reviews.
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Chaired 110 LAC reviews and 38 child protection conferences annually across a caseload of 78 looked-after children, ensuring 97% of care plans were completed within statutory timescales.
- •Identified systemic delays in placement stability reviews across a children's services team, escalating findings to the Service Manager and contributing to a 22% improvement in compliance rates within 6 months.
- •Provided independent oversight and challenge across multi-agency conferences involving CAFCASS, NHS CAMHS, and Essex Police, resulting in revised care plans for 14 children assessed as at heightened risk.
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Dear Hiring Manager,
Comfort Circle Care Recruitment's IRO and Conference Chair vacancies across Essex align precisely with my current practice focus. With active Social Work England registration and substantial experience chairing looked-after children reviews and child protection conferences, I am well placed to deliver the independent oversight and statutory compliance monitoring these local authority contracts require.
My background in children's services includes managing a caseload of over 75 looked-after children, chairing approximately 100 LAC reviews and 35 child protection conferences per year, and providing robust independent challenge where care plans required strengthening. I have worked closely with multi-agency partners including CAFCASS, NHS professionals, and schools to ensure plans are appropriate, effective, and delivered within statutory timescales.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How do you ensure a care plan is both appropriate and compliant with statutory timescales under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010?
- ›What steps do you take when you identify that a local authority is failing to meet its statutory duties in relation to a looked-after child?
- ›How do you apply the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 guidance when chairing a child protection conference?
- ›Describe your approach to independent oversight and challenge when professionals in a review disagree about a child's care plan.
- ›How do you monitor and record local authority performance data to identify systemic compliance issues across a caseload?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you challenged a local authority decision that you believed was not in a child's best interests. What was the outcome?
- ›Describe a situation where a multi-agency conference became contentious. How did you manage the dynamics and reach a resolution?
- ›Give an example of when you identified a pattern of poor practice within a children's services team. What action did you take?
- ›Tell me about a complex LAC review involving a child with multiple vulnerabilities. How did you ensure the care plan addressed all their needs?
- ›Describe a time when you had to make a difficult independent judgement under time pressure. How did you reach your decision?
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you challenged a local authority decision that you believed was not in a child's best interests. What was the outcome?
Describe a situation where a multi-agency conference became contentious. How did you manage the dynamics and reach a resolution?