About The Job
Salary: NJC grade 9-11, £35,235-£45,718 depending on experience
Working Pattern: Part time (29.6 hours per week across 4 days)
Contract Length: Permanent
Location: Worthing
In this challenging, but rewarding role, you will be required to act as allocated social worker responsible for delivering a statutory social work service to those people who access or need specialist mental health services, to include assessment, planning, implementing and review. This includes being responsible for leading on specialist areas of service delivery, ensuring that key developments are communicated to colleagues and that business change is successfully implemented.
You will work as part of a geographically based specialist mental health social work team, providing a service to people who are aged 65 years and over, with occasional contact with people under the age of 65 years where they have a diagnosis of dementia.
You will manage a caseload, collaborating with people and family or friend carers, undertake strengths-based assessments and reviews, identifying eligible needs and personalised outcomes. You will be working within a supportive environment to apply your social work skills to develop and implement support plans aimed at improving wellbeing and delivering outcomes, including utilising community assets, and ensuring that eligible needs are met.
You will be working within a managed and supportive context, applying learning to further develop capability and professional confidence. You will be supported with professional supervision and assessment and a workload that is appropriate to your level of professional development. You will be required to evidence sound knowledge through your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and readiness to work towards a specialist post-qualifying award (e.g. Practice Educator, Approved Mental Health Professional or Best Interest Assessor).
You will work effectively in partnership with other staff, teams and agencies, both internal to the Council and external, including Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. You will act as a professional representative for the service by working with a focus on ensuring the safe and effective delivery of services to people who have complex mental disorder, acting with integrity, professionalism, and respect on behalf of the organisation, ensuring at all times that the needs of individuals and the business are paramount.
An excellent understanding of all the relevant health, voluntary and private sector services in the area is essential. The role will involve regular exposure to people who access the service and / or subject matter which may place significant emotional demands on you, for example dealing with unpredictable risk, complex social work cases and leading on safeguarding enquiries.
You will also need to be able to travel independently throughout the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport. There is a regular and intrinsic requirement to communicate in English with members of the public.
Experience and Skills
Please refer to the job description relevant to your level of experience for key skill and qualifications and / or experience information.
Key Skills:
1. Ability to analyse and interpret complex people-related information and data in order to prioritise needs and formulate plans for intervention and service provision. Ability to work proactively as a member of the team to make an accurate assessment of needs and negotiate and implement effective plans and outcomes.
2. Ability to undertake direct work with those who access or need the service in order to support individuals.
3. Ability to remain up to date with key legislation and apply legislative requirements within social work practice. Ability to recognise the limits of own accountability and responsibility, and to seek appropriate support, advice and supervision.
4. Ability to work in partnership with carers, colleagues and a variety of external agencies in order to deliver the most effective service.
5. Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in both written and oral format including the ability to explain complicated information to a wide range of people and negotiate and persuade others to adopt a particular course of action.
6. Sound and accurate IT and keyboard skills.
Qualifications and/or experience include:
• Degree in relevant professional or equivalent qualification e.g. Certificate of Qualification in Social Work or Diploma in Social Work.
• Registration with the relevant professional registration body and responsibility for maintaining registration with that body.
• Approved Mental Health Professional (it is a requirement to have AMHP qualification or to be working towards the qualification to be complete within 2 years of appointment and to maintain level of knowledge).
• Knowledge of theoretical social work concepts and practices, with demonstrable examples of dealing with a breadth of complex issues and situations as well as theoretical, practical and procedural knowledge of social work and working knowledge of legislation relevant to the specialist area of the post e.g. Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act.
• Valid, full driving licence - Desirable
Rewards and Benefits
For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our page.