About the Role
The successful candidate will from part of the Senior Practitioner in our Mental Health Social Care Team. We have a close knit management structure of Team Manager, Deputy Team Manager, and senior practitioners. The Senior Practitioners take the lead in specific areas of work, such as the team's duty management, and in management and supervision of specific complex cases, Court of Protection Work, and Safeguarding.
You will be a qualified social worker and experienced at senior level. If not currently AMHP qualified, you will be willing and suitable to train as an AMHP in due course, as part of your career progression pathway.
You will provide case management of complex cases under the Care Act 2014, and safeguarding, including taking cases to the Court of Protection.
You will provide supervision of social workers, and practice education/ASYE supervision as needed in the team.
If you are a qualified AMHP you will undertake Mental Health Act assessments as part of the monthly duty AMHP rota, and act as a resource of knowledge and advice about the MHA to non-AMHP members of the team and the organisation and its partners.
Our Ideal Candidate
The successful candidate must have excellent knowledge of the Care Act 2014, as well as the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and other relevant legislation, and experience of applying this legislation.
As a qualified AMHP they will have detailed knowledge of the Mental Health Act. They will be able to manage the team's duty function on days where they are rota'd as duty manager according to the team's rota. Ideally, they will have experience of supervising colleagues, and giving direction in complex cases.
Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills, including report writing skills. Good IT skills will be an advantage.
Knowledge and experience of mental health, autism, and drug and alcohol problems in a statutory setting are essential.
Recent experience of working in a similar role in a local authority, and recent or current warranting as an AMHP would be desirable.
About Us
The Mental Health Social Care Team (MHSCT) forms part of Adult Social Care within the Royal Borough of Kingston (RBK). We are one of the two specialist teams within Adult Social Care. Our main functions are under the Care Act 2014, the Mental Health Act and the Mental Capacity Act.
We work with adults whose primary need is their mental health. Our other areas of responsibility include working with people with autism, and those with drug/alcohol issues under the Care Act, and Safeguarding. We also have responsibility for young people transitioning into adulthood and thereby transitioning from children to adult services. Many of these have autism.
We work closely with our colleagues in the NHS mental health teams, and on mental health wards, as well as partners in primary care as well as a wide range of partnership organisation across the community.
The team is a large and enthusiastic group of professionals dealing with a diverse and fascinating portfolio of responsibilities. Interest in the work and enthusiasm are among the qualities we would value in the successful applicant.
The team incorporates the Royal Borough's AMHP service, with 3 full time designated AMHPs. Senior practitioner/AMHPs, who also carry a caseload, undertake a set number of days on AMHP duty on the monthly rota. The team is currently situated on the site of Tolworth Hospital. Post covid we are operating a hybrid working model composed of working from home, and working in the office.
We are a large, friendly and supportive team, including a manager and a deputy manager, and ably supported by business support colleagues.
Our Offer To You
As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.
In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. We operate hybrid working, a flexible working model which allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week. It enables staff to achieve a work life balance whilst still meeting the needs of the organisation.
Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:
Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
Flexible and agile working arrangements
Comprehensive learning and development programme
Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
Interest free season ticket loans
Local Government Pension Scheme
Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
Zip car scheme
Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
Subsidised gym membership
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident .