Our team of over 60 people consists of social workers, FTP and Committee officers, data and IT specialists, registration advisors, marketing communication experts, business support officers, workforce development advisors and learning and development specialists. Our values underpin our culture and set a foundation for how we work together both inside and outside the organisation. We are driven by our purpose and making a positive difference in everything we do.
Our Senior Leadership Team
Declan McAllister took up post as Interim Chief Executive in October 2024. Declan is supported by Marian O’Rourke, Director of Regulation and Standards.
As Interim Chief Executive he is committed to the mission, vision and values of the Social Care Council and a dedication to support, protect, and empower both the public and the social work and social care practitioners alike. He has the responsibility to uphold high standards or practice and provide guidance crucial not only to the public’s trust but for social workers and social care workers.
As a Collective Leadership disciple, he is constantly working to support colleagues and promote the organisations values in everything that he does.
A Psychology graduate from Queen’s University Belfast, he spent his early career developing his people skills in advertising and marketing before returning to Queens to complete a Master’s Degree in Information Management. He cut his teeth in the private care sector up to 1996 before taking up the position of Corporate Services Manager with the Northern Ireland Guardian ad Litem Agency (NIGALA) where he spent 21 years helping shape the statutory service for the representation of children and young people in family law and adoption proceedings.
Having joined the organisation in July 2017 Declan works collaboratively with all staff and stakeholders to continue to strengthen the levels of public confidence in the social work and social care professions.
Helen McVicker is the interim Co-Director of Regulation and Standards, with her previous role being Head of Fitness to Practise.
Helen is a social worker by profession with 35 years post-qualifying experience. She has worked as a social work practitioner and manager primarily within older people’s services and in social work education and training, both at qualifying and post-qualifying levels.
She has held a lectureship in social work at the Ulster University and has also worked as a Professional Adviser with the Northern Ireland Post Qualifying Education and Training Partnership.
Helen has been with the Social Care Council for the past 15 years, initially as a Professional Adviser within the Workforce Development Team and for the past eight. years, as Head of Fitness to Practise.
Catherine Maguire took up her post of Co-Director of Regulation and Standards, alongside Helen, from her previous role of Head of Workforce Development.
Catherine is a registered social worker, having worked in the justice sector and in education and training as a practice teacher and lecturer in social work.
She joined the Social Care Council as a Professional Adviser with lead responsibility for the regulation of undergraduate social work education in 2017, and has been Head of Workforce Development since 2019.
Together Helen and Catherine lead the Directorate of Regulation and Standards which includes:
- The Fitness to Practise process for investigating social workers and social care workers when concerns have been raised, alongside the wider social work and social care research and evidence agenda to explore gaps in evidence and support the identification of strategic research and evidence priorities.
- The Social Care Council’s work in setting standards of conduct and practice for the social work and social care workforces and standards for social work education and training at both qualifying and post qualifying levels, as well as supporting the research agenda for social work and social care.
- Workforce development which supports registrants to meet their standards and maintain their registration through on-going learning and development. The directorate is responsible for Professional in Practice, the CPD framework for social workers in Northern Ireland, the Social Work Leadership Framework, and the Care in Practice Framework to support social care practitioners.