Job Description & Person Specification Social Worker Working Age Mental Health Service Join us – make a difference in our communities Working for us at West Sussex County Council is all about making a positive difference to the people of West Sussex. The WAMHS team has a vacancy for a full time qualified Social Worker. This is an exciting and unique opportunity to work within the WAMHS team co-ordinating all aspects of Health and Social Care needs for users with severe and enduring mental health challenges. We’re embracing a strengths-based approach and working within a community- led support model that builds on the assets and strengths of both people and their local communities. Together, we’ll focus on prevention, enablement, reablement and safety, to promote wellbeing and independence. We’ll ensure that residents, families, and communities have the right support in place, and at the right time. We provide a working environment that values professional supervision and offers the right balance between challenge and support. This provides our workforce with what they need to deliver the best possible outcomes for our residents. We work to ensure that innovation and evidence-based practice underpins what we do and that we maintain an environment within which our social workers can develop and progress in their careers. If you have the talent and ambition to achieve the best for the people we serve, then we will support you to progress and develop throughout your social work career. If this sounds like an interesting opportunity for you, why not join us and let’s make a difference to our communities together About the job 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 (for example peri-natal, early intervention, transitions and homelessness), 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 18-65, with occasional contact with young people in transition, who are under 18. 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 be able to provide informal supervision for unregistered social care practitioners, including mentoring and coaching of students and apprentices. 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, highly complex social work cases and leading on safeguarding enquiries. You will remain up-to-date and compliant with all relevant legislation and adhere to organisational procedures, policies, and codes of conduct as well as Social Work England professional standards in order to uphold a high-quality, seamless service. You will be expected to work within organisational, policy and legislative requirements. There will be some requirement for you to work flexibly in order to support customers, carers and families, sometimes out of normal working hours. You’ll 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. What you’ll need to succeed You will be passionate about delivering high quality social work services and will have experience of, or an interest in, working with people with a wide range of mental illness. You’ll be able to demonstrate a desire to support people to improve their lives, by ensuring that they have opportunities to manage their mental health and engage with community activities. To be qualified for this role, you will possess the ability to influence in a multi- disciplinary setting and communicate clearly and effectively to explain complicated information to a wide range of people, negotiate and persuade others to adopt a particular course of action that they may not otherwise wish to take. You will demonstrate a good theoretical, practical, and procedural knowledge of social work concepts, and evidence of dealing with complex issues and cases. You will have a good understanding of the necessity of working with partnership agencies including health, housing, education, and statutory, voluntary and independent agencies. You will undertake continued professional development and maintain records of your training in line with Social Work England requirements. Job details Grade: Grade 10 Directorate Group: Adults Services Location: Various locations around the county • DBS check is a requirement of this post Required experience and skills (These will be used as the shortlisting criteria) Key Skills: 1. Experience of working proactively as a member of the team to make an accurate strengths-based assessment of needs and negotiate and implement effective plans and outcomes (in line with relevant legislation), working in partnership with carers, colleagues and a variety of external agencies to meet people’s outcomes. 2. Experience of applying a risk enablement approach and using evidence-based practice. 3. Experience of analysis and interpretation of people related information and data to prioritise needs and formulate plans for intervention and service provision. 4. Experience of contributing to or undertaking safeguarding enquiries. 5. Ability to provide informal supervision and develop the capabilities of less experienced social care practitioners, and to mentor and coach students and apprentices. 6. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to interact effectively with a range of stakeholders to provide clear advice and guidance and interventions. 7. Ability to recognise the limits of own accountability and responsibility, know when to seek appropriate support, advice and supervision, and to prioritise and organise work and meet agreed performance expectations. 8. Sound and accurate IT skills to ensure effective record keeping, compliant with data protection and respecting confidentiality. Qualifications and/or experience: • Degree in Social Work or a recognised equivalent Social Work qualification e.g., Diploma in Social Work. • Registered with Social Work England • Approved Mental Health Practitioner (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). • Experience of undertaking assessments and social work intervention planning, implementation and review by means of creative and pragmatic solutions. • Experience of working in partnership with those who access the service and maintaining a focus on the needs and strengths of the people, and the outcomes they want to achieve, whilst handling conflict and disagreement • Experience of managing risk within a risk enablement approach • Good, up-to-date working knowledge of relevant legislation e.g. Care Act (2014), Mental Capacity Act (2005) etc. • Valid, full driving licence. Desirable Key responsibilities Undertake strengths-based assessments/reviews and utilise Social Work skills in complex situations to provide forward thinking strategies and solutions that consider a variety of possible strength-based solutions, balancing risks, resources, and desired outcomes. Carry out risk assessments and undertake assessments under the relevant legislation. Ensure adults and children are safeguarded by identifying and escalating concerns where required, including carrying out adult safeguarding enquiries, ensuring that the values and principles of ‘making safeguarding personal’ are applied. Use professional knowledge to negotiate with and on behalf of people who access the service and with a wide range of providers and professionals. Evaluate and monitor progress against planned interventions, responding appropriately to changes in circumstances or where solution is not delivering the required results. Act as a professional representative for the service by working with a focus on delivering outcomes to those people who access the service, acting with integrity, professionalism, and respect on behalf of the organisation, ensuring at all times that the needs and voice of person is paramount. Deliver a service and operate in accordance with the Social Work England Professional Standards and remain responsible for maintaining appropriate registration with Social Work England. Provide informal supervision to less experienced social care practitioners, including mentoring and coaching of students and apprentices. Ensure effective implementation of policies and procedures in line with statutory responsibilities. Record all interventions in line with policy and best practice recording principles for all work undertaken and produce case reports and correspondence for a variety of audiences including meetings, conferences, court and other agencies. Be responsible for the care, accuracy, confidentiality, security and maintenance of all people’s records and related manual and / or computerised information, including highly sensitive and confidential data. Prepare for, attend, contribute and participate fully in supervision and development planning. Ensure the best use of resources, particularly when commissioning care and support. Be creative in identifying a wide range of solutions in the community to support people and their carers or families. Analyse and interpret complex information including research, to prepare reports, evaluate data and a range of written material. Be responsible for small expenditures from an agreed budget when appropriate e.g. making necessary purchases in relation to situations arising with people who access the service. Expectation to work towards and undertake training in one or more specialist post-qualifying awards (e.g., Practice Educator, Approved Mental Health Professional or Best Interest Assessor) as part of continuous professional development. Requirement for AMHP qualified practitioners to contribute to AMHP service delivery. Remain up to date with all relevant legislation, policies and procedures and codes of conduct, through engaging with training and development, including maintaining continuing professional development (CPD). Promote equality, diversity and inclusion, respecting peoples, carers and colleagues. Challenge oppressive practice and behaviour. Our Values You will lead, promote and demonstrate the values of our organisation. • Trust and Support • Listen and Act Upon • Customer Centred • Honest and Realistic • Genuinely Valued You will lead, promote and demonstrate the cultural ambition of our organisation: “We have an inclusive and supportive culture, work in partnership and reward individual and team contribution” JD Code: N284 Date: April 2023 Payrate : £35. We are bound by the MoC, which means pay rates are capped. Whist we are able to pay up to £38, this rate is for those deemed to be at a qualified Social Worker with at least 2 years experience Please ensure your candidates are aware that the pay rate they request may not be the rate they are offered; managers are assessing skills and competency at interview. If the candidate is being offered less than requested, we will make the reasoning clear whilst providing feedback. We can offer £35 ph plus £150 pw expenses if the candidate lives outside West Sussex ( This will need to be confirmed if submitting at this rate ) Working arrangements - Full time, 3 days/week in office - hybrid Location - Bridge House, 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 (for example peri-natal, early intervention, transitions and homelessness), ensuring that key developments are communicated to colleagues and that business change is successfully implemented. Required experience and skills (These will be used as the shortlisting criteria) 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. 2. Solution focussed with the ability to analyse a range of complex situations and provide forward thinking strategies and solutions that consider a variety of possible solutions and balance risks/resources and desired outcomes. 3. Ability to undertake direct work with those who access or need the service in order to support individuals. Ability to work in partnership with carers, colleagues and a variety of external agencies in order to deliver the most effective service. 4. 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. Ability to be proactive in having up-to-date knowledge and understanding of changes in legislation, white papers, current research and best practice developments. 5. Highly developed communication skills in order 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 that they may not otherwise wish to take. 6. Ability to recognise the limits of own accountability and responsibility, and to seek appropriate support, advice and supervision. Qualifications and/or experience: Degree in relevant professional or equivalent qualification e.g. Certificate of Qualification in Social Work or Diploma in Social Work. Completion of relevant post qualifying training. Registration with the relevant professional registration body and responsibility for maintaining registration with that body. Approved Mental Health Practitioner (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). Practice Teacher’s Award - Desirable Full, valid driving licence. Experience of working with service users with severe and enduring mental health problems in the community. Advanced theoretical, practical and procedural knowledge of social work. Knowledge of current social work research, legislation, white papers and developments in best practice. Good, up-to-date working knowledge of legislation relevant to the specialist area of the post e.g. Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act. Job Description & Person Specification Advanced knowledge of risk management within Mental Health. Breadth of understanding of the therapeutic interventions that can be used and an excellent understanding of the partnership agencies including health, housing, learning, statutory, voluntary and independent sector. Demonstrable experience of dealing with a wide breadth of issues and complex situations and using highly developed analytical skills to provide solution focussed and resource efficient options. Evidence of good assessment skills, including the ability to ensure regular reviews and risk management with a variety of individuals, carers or families. Evidence of effectively prioritising work and meeting deadlines. Experience of effective partnership working with those who access or need the service and maintaining a focus on the needs of the individual whilst handling conflict and disagreement. Experience of forming effective working relationships within a multi-agency/ multidisciplinary setting. Evidence of working with those who access or need the service to identify issues and identify specific action by means of creative and pragmatic solutions. Experience of managing levels of risk within a caseload of complex safeguarding cases. Experience of effectively coaching and supervising others, acting as a practice role model and promoting exemplary practice. Sound and accurate IT knowledge. We will pay £35 per hour LTD plus £150 expenses per week, or £38 per hour LTD. The person will need experience in working with people with mental health issues. The person will be required to travel around the southern area of the county doing visits, please do not submit anyone that cannot travel.