Lead Social Worker
Lead Social Worker
Location: Thanet/Canterbury/Ashford
Status: Permanent
Salary: £46,541 - £48,868 (DOE)
Closing date: 17/08/2026
Interview date: 14/09/2026
The Role
The main purpose of the Lead Social Worker role is to ensure the delivery of high quality palliative care social work services across the organisation through effective leadership, including operational responsibility for safeguarding across clinical services.
The role will provide strong professional role modelling and leadership across all areas of hospice services, with both strategic and operational influence, will be central to the design and delivery of services and contribute to the continuous improvement of evidence-based practice in relation to holistic psychosocial care and support for hospice patients and families, and operational safeguarding across clinical services.
The role has the potential for hybrid working, however the post holder is required to travel across all organisational sites in order to be able to effectively undertake the role.
About us
As an award-winning employer, Pilgrims provides end-of-life care services to patients and their families across east Kent.
Our commitment is to provide open, compassionate care and expertise for patients and their families – both in the community and in-patient units.
Our Vision
“Of a community where people with a life limiting illness and their family and friends are supported and empowered to live well in mind and body until the very last moment of their life”.
We recognise that our workforce is integral to the delivery of our Vision and our charitable aims. Pilgrims Hospices continues to create a highly skilled, motivated, engaged and healthy workforce by providing an environment where staff and volunteers feel highly motivated to perform their roles to a consistently high standard, and actively role model our charitable behaviours and values.
To achieve our Vision, we have a shared set of values and behaviours that enable us to be the people and the charity that patients and their loved ones need us to be. They form
, which guides us in our daily working and decision making:our CODECompassionate We treat everyone with compassion and care
Open We communicate openly, honestly and effectively
Dynamic We are dynamic, improving and developing our service
Empowered We empower people to achieve their outcomes
Other benefits
As an Employer of Choice, our commitment to supporting our employees and volunteers is a key priority.
Our Health and Wellbeing Strategy is an important step in ensuring the sustainability of our workforce, and clearly outlines our strategic intentions to improve employee capability, resilience, and engagement, to adapt to and embrace change as the health sector continues to develop.
Our hospices offer:
- Modern, friendly and highly professional working environments
- Opportunities for professional development through a range of extensive learning
- Alignment with NHS pay rates and continuity in membership of the NHS pension scheme
- A sense of achievement in supporting a worthwhile cause
- A sense of wellbeing
- A good work-life balance
- Locations across well-populated areas of east Kent – all providing very good road and rail links
- NHS and financial discounts i.e. Blue Light Card
- Cycle to Work Schemes
- Free hospice parking
We invest in our employees, which is one of the key things that makes us an award-winning employer of choice.