Tusla – Child and Family Agency is recruiting Professionally Qualified Social Workers for a rolling 2026 campaign across the West and North East region, with vacancies in Mayo, Donegal, Sligo/Leitrim/Roscommon, Cavan/Monaghan, and Louth. This is an exceptional opportunity for registered social workers to advance their careers within Ireland’s dedicated child and family services agency.
About Tusla
Established on 1 January 2014, Tusla – the Child and Family Agency – is Ireland’s dedicated agency for child protection and welfare. With a budget of approximately €1.2 billion and a workforce of over 5,500 staff operating across 259 locations nationwide, Tusla delivers critical services including child protection and welfare, family support, alternative care, birth information and tracing, adoption, counselling, and education support.
Role Overview
The Professionally Qualified Social Worker will provide direct social work services to children, youth, families, and groups within the assigned locality. Working as part of multidisciplinary teams, post-holders will carry a managed caseload, conduct assessments, deliver interventions, and collaborate with other agencies to safeguard and support service users. The role requires strong professional judgement, a commitment to evidence-based practice, and the capacity to work within a busy statutory environment.
Key Responsibilities
Professional / Clinical
- Provide holistic social assessment and intervention to children, youth, families, and groups as a direct point of community access.
- Manage and prioritise a caseload appropriate to the post, ensuring service user needs are identified and addressed in partnership.
- Deliver supportive counselling, emotional support, and practical information to service users and their families.
- Plan and deliver systemic interventions with children, youth, families, groups, organisations, and communities.
- Monitor and evaluate outcomes of person-centred care plans for individual service users.
- Attend case conferences, court hearings, tribunals, and other relevant fora as required.
- Promote independence, self-determination, and empowerment among service users.
- Work within current legislation, national policies, and Tusla procedures, incorporating social work values and ethical principles throughout.
- Deputise for the Social Work Team Leader as agreed and appropriate.
Education & Training
- Maintain standards of practice through continuous professional development and attendance at relevant courses.
- Keep abreast of developments in national policy, international best practice, and organisational developments within the Irish health service.
- Participate in the practice education of student social workers and support the induction and training of colleagues.
Administrative
- Maintain high-quality documentation and service user files in accordance with local guidelines and the Freedom of Information Act.
- Submit accurate activity data and produce clear, concise, and purposeful reports.
- Contribute to policy development, audit systems, performance monitoring, and quality improvement initiatives.
Requirements
Candidates must, by the closing date of application:
- Be registered in the Social Work Register maintained by the Social Workers Registration Board at CORU, or have entitlement to be registered and obtain registration prior to appointment.
- Maintain live annual registration on the Social Workers Register at CORU.
- Possess the requisite knowledge and ability, including a high standard of suitability and professional ability, for the proper discharge of the duties of the role.
- Be fully competent, capable of undertaking the duties attached to the post, and in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of regular and efficient service.
- Be of good character.
Salary
€51,127 – €72,407 per annum (HSE Social Worker scale, Grade 3017, 10-point scale, plus Long Service Increment of €73,811 where applicable), based on the HSE Consolidated Salary Scales effective 1 June 2026. Placement on the scale is in accordance with Tusla/HSE pay policy.
Location
Vacancies exist across the West and North East region, covering Mayo, Donegal, Sligo/Leitrim/Roscommon, Cavan/Monaghan, and Louth. Tusla services are delivered in community settings, family resource centres, residential facilities, and office bases throughout these counties, allowing social workers to build meaningful connections within local communities while contributing to a national safeguarding infrastructure.
Contract Type
Permanent.
Application Details
Applications must be submitted through the Tusla recruitment portal. Please refer to the Candidate Information Pack (PQSW Rolling 2026 West North East) for full campaign details, eligibility requirements, and guidance on completing your application
Candidate Information Pack : Download
