The social workers you need are not reading your advert.
We headhunt the experienced social workers and managers who never see it, and stay with the hire from first call to first week in post. 600+ permanent placements for local authorities, providers and charities across England.
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Your permanent posts are not hard to fill. They are leaking.
We advertise and the CVs are not right. We interview the one good candidate and the decision takes three weeks. We offer and they pull out before the start date. If you lead a service, at least one of those will sound familiar.
We do not think the market is empty. After eight years and more than 600 permanent placements we see the same five leaks in almost every service, and Pro Social Partners was built to close them. We headhunt rather than advertise, we call every candidate within a day, we hold the process to a timeline, we stay in contact through the whole notice period and we tell you why anyone declines.
Send us the role
Title, team, grade and what has made it hard to fill.
An honest answer in a day
Whether we can fill it and how long it will take. If we cannot, we say so.
Headhunt and shortlist
Settled candidates who never saw your advert, managed to your timeline.
Offer to first week
A named person in contact every fortnight so the counter offer is not the only voice.
What the people who hire through us say
"I worked with Conor over several years when I was a head of service trying to find more permanent social workers. He always operated with integrity and a commitment to finding the right candidate for my service, not just simply a person to fill the chair. He sent over good quality candidates and was always quick to respond which resulted in a high rate of filling both social work and management posts in our Local Authority. I'd strongly recommend Conor to any Local Authority looking for support in finding more permanent staff."
Becky HaaschFormer Children's Director"We have consistently had a positive experience working with your team. Communication is clear, timely and responsive. The candidates you put forward are well matched to the brief, with a good understanding of the role requirements and service context."
Tendai MuroweAssistant Director, Front Door Services"Conor responded with sharp market insight and swift, effective delivery. He's helped Oxfordshire County Council secure top tier permanent talent across multiple roles, quickly fulfilling all requirements without compromising on quality. His proactive approach and consistency have made a real difference."
Ian DuxburyPrincipal Permanent Partner, Oxford County Council (Hays)"Since Conor has founded Pro Social Partners, I have noticed a significant increase in CV submissions and scheduled interviews in our Children's Social Care service. He is dedicated to reducing the agency and locum spend in Local Authority Social Care services, which is a huge help to us and the service as a whole."
Ellie GoodwinRecruitment Lead, Medway Council"Big thank you to Conor Clarke who recently helped me find a new position. After hearing I needed to move on, he quickly set me up with several interviews, with minimum fuss and I am now in my new happy place. The whole process was seamless and efficient. If you are a social worker seeking new opportunities, I highly recommend reaching out to Pro Social Partners."
Maxine YoungQualified Social Worker, placed at Bracknell Forest(grey background, black top)
Conor Clarke
FounderConor has spent over eight years recruiting permanent social workers and managers for local authorities and providers across England, first at Sanctuary Personnel, then building and leading the permanent desk at Social Personnel, and since 2024 as the founder of Pro Social Partners. He set the business up around one idea: the best social workers are rarely on job boards and the gap between offer and start date is where most permanent hires are lost, so somebody has to stay in the room.
More than 600 permanent placements later, most of his work now comes from councils handing him roles before they go to advert. He writes The Permanent Hire every Tuesday, a newsletter for directors, heads of service and team managers, and spends most of his week on the phone to social workers who are settled, quietly open to the right move and would never have seen the advert.
He is based in Ipswich, follows Ipswich Town home and away, and will tell you honestly within a day whether he can fill your role.
The right permanent move, not any permanent move
Most of the people we place were not looking when we first spoke. We will tell you honestly what a team is like before you go near an interview, including where a council is with Family Help and what the caseload really looks like.
Permanent
Hire
Have a post that keeps stalling?
Send it over. We reply within one working day and tell you honestly whether we can fill it and how long it will take. No pitch, no deck, just an answer.
