The posting
Work Experience Knowledge & Skills
Essential
- Relevant multi-disciplinary Social Care experience within multi-disciplinary team - relevant to needs of post
- Evidence of partnership working with other agencies including Social Care Services, Health Services, Voluntary Agencies and/or Education
- Knowledge and understanding of Social Care practice as defined by Social Work England Guidelines, appropriate legislation and issues relevant to client group.
- IT skills to enable effective input, manipulation and retrieval of data and information.
- Ability to speak fluent English as stated in Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016)
Desirable
- A variety of experiences working with relevant client group including Learning Disabilities
- Supervisory experience
- Understanding of social care resources and provision available beyond statutory agencies
- Awareness of government guidance and legislative changes across broad range of Social Service issues
Qualifications
Essential
- Possession of recognised Social Work Qualification Degree in Social Work (BA), a Masters Degree in Social Work, or equivalent.
- Registration with Social Work England
Desirable
- Previous experience of working with health professionals
Personal Attributes
Essential
- Demonstrates empathy, sensitivity, self- awareness and acceptance of others.
- Able to prioritise workload, work with competing deadlines and organise time effectively.
- Self-reliant and resilient able to respond positively to difficult situations
- Willingness to embrace organisational change
- Access to / use of a vehicle is an essential requirement
Desirable
Creative thinker
Key tasks and responsibilities:
To undertake assessments of risk and care needs in relation to service users and carers so that, within relevant legislation, appropriate action is taken, monitored and reviewed effectively.
Main Responsibilities and Duties
- Make ongoing assessments of allocated cases to reflect individual circumstances including assessment of risk, enabling independence and need to ensure that service users are protected from significant harm.
- Responsible for a caseload of varying complexity, commensurate with ability and qualifications, receiving and responding to referrals from various sources.
- Community Care, integrated care programme approach and risk assessment to work to protect the safety and protection of individuals.
- Statutory reviews and comply with appropriate legislation, policy and procedures.
- Assess client needs in consultation with them and with other professionals and agree levels of support.
- The need to engage with people refusing a service who are at risk to self or others.
- The need for sensitive negotiation when assessing service users and carers where there is conflict or lack of insight.
- Effectively manage people presenting in crisis needing a quick resolution, using relevant legislation and resources.
- Statutory responsibility for the assessment of carers (including young carers) needs and the formulation of a carers care plan.
- Prepare and present reports as necessary to facilitate proper decisions being made in respect of service users.
- Provide information, written assessments, reports and statements to support other service professionals, managers and agencies in making decisions related to care.
- Maintain client records to a high standard in accordance with relevant legislation, policy and procedures.
- Facilitate the provision of a needs-led service, working with providers within Social Services, Somerset Partnership and independent and voluntary sectors in order to meet requirements.Plan and agree service responses, resources, needs and support, developing realistic care plans to meet identified individual needs/circumstances. Negotiate the purchase of care provision where appropriate. Manage care, plan, support and review care needs in line with policy, procedures and legislation.
3. Develop, facilitate and maintain effective joint working relationships, with primary care, housing, police and any other agencies as appropriate.
- Establish appropriate professional relationships with service users, their families and other professionals to enable effective partnerships in the provision of services.
- Promote peoples equality, diversity and rights, by developing, maintaining and evaluating systems and structures in an anti-discriminatory way.
- Establish appropriate professional relationships when working with service users their families and carers.
- Contribute to multi agency team working and participate in team meetings. Act as link worker as required advising other professionals relating to specific areas of expertise.
- Enable individuals families and carers to address issues which affect their health and social wellbeing.
- Build upon existing knowledge and practice with research and training to develop individual skills and new approaches for improvement in service provision.
- I.T. systems relating to client information, complying with practice requirements. A significant amount of work is involved in the input, manipulation and retrieval of information.
- Develop ones own knowledge and practice and contribute to the development of policy and practice.
- Participate in agreed Post Qualifying training and regular professional development programmes.
Other Elements and Specialised Areas:
- Participate in office/team duty rotas, responding effectively to referrals and enquiries as required.
- Supervise the work of unqualified, vocationally qualified staff or students under the direction of the team manager.
- To act as an appropriate adult in complex cases, contributing to the evaluation of the appropriate adult scheme (under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984).
- Act as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
- As and when appropriate to develop an area of expertise and liaise with other agencies as necessary.
- Developing projects and new services to meet assessed needs of service users.
- Act as link worker with primary health care, Somerset Drugs Service, local child protection teams and other agencies as appropriate.
- To administer corporate appointeeships and consider the need to make applications to the Court of Protection for service users who lack capacity to manage their money.
- To protect the property, including animals, belonging to people who are admitted into hospital.
- Develops and sustains professional working relationships with clients, carers, colleagues and external agencies based on mutual trust, respect for individual rights and cultural needs, and the promotion of equality and diversity.
- Promotes independence and effectively disengages from relationships when appropriate.
- Co-ordinates and chairs group meetings.
Key Competencies Interpersonal Relationships:
Assessment and Service Provision:
- Makes ongoing assessments of frequently complex client needs and associated risks and demonstrates knowledge and understanding of wide range of resource options within budgetary framework/constraints.
- Negotiates and implements effective plans for support, enablement, prevention, protection and monitoring, within department/government targets.
- Offers practical suggestions and advice on long-term implications of alternative courses of action in relation to quality of service provision.
Problem Solving:
- Responds calmly to unexpected and emotive problems, seeking solutions, modifying plans and arranging the provision of additional services and/or resources where appropriate.
- Deals effectively with conflict involving others when necessary.
- Deals effectively with complex interfamilial and interagency problems and develops solutions.
Communication Skills:
- Able to communicate effectively and sensitively with people using appropriate methods of interaction and respecting confidentiality at all times.
- Produces clear, accurate and concise oral and written assessments, records and reports to facilitate decision making within social work and wider multi-disciplinary teams.
- Selects appropriate medium and format for communication internally and to meet the needs of service users.
Team Working:
- Co-operative and open with colleagues, sharing information or seeking assistance as appropriate.
- Takes responsibility for own work and demonstrates willingness to learn from others and from experience.
- Willing to assist colleagues to ensure effective service delivery within and outside the immediate team.
- Continuing Professional Development of Self and Others.
- Supports development of self and colleagues through regular reflection on effectiveness of approach and the acquisition, dissemination and application of new knowledge and skills.
- Able to offer coaching and support to students and/or unqualified staff and supervise as required.
Further Information Specific to post
Typically supervise no more than 2 people.
Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team with hospital health colleagues
No special physical effort is normally required, although there will be occasions when manual handling relating to clients and equipment will be required. Work is undertaken in a variety of environments, including hospitals, office and in client homes. It is recognised that work may involve a risk to personal health and safety from time to time.
Often work alone outside of office and other work locations, to adhere to lone working arrangements and health & safety policies.
It is an essential element of the job to build and maintain a range of close contacts and relationships with service users and other professional staff. Frequent contacts with statutory bodies, public services, and voluntary agencies as an integral part of assessments and care provision. Frequent involvement in multi-agency and joint working arrangements.
The International Federation of Social Workers defines Social Work as:
The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work.
The successful candidate has a responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of the vulnerable people they are responsible for or come into contact with.
Somerset Council is subject to Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) and therefore the ability to speak fluent English will be an essential requirement for customer-facing roles.
This job requires a criminal background check (DBS) via the disclosure procedure.
