Senior Social Worker

This role has a starting salary of £46,399 per annum, based on working 36-hours per week.

We are excited to be hiring a new Senior Social Worker to join our fantastic Hospital Discharge team based in Woking. This is a Fixed Term/Secondment opportunity until 31/3/2025.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Structured mentoring and support from experienced colleagues
• Clear professional leadership, training and great opportunities to develop your career
• Work/life balance: flexible working is supported where possible, including working from home or hot desking at several County Council sites
• Relocation assistance of up to £8,000, subject to meeting eligibility criteria

About the Team
The Hospital Discharge team services to all Surrey residents who meet social care criteria in line with the Care Act. We are leading the way in implementing new ways of working in personalisation and a recovery-focused strength-based approach. Our goal is for our service-users to be able to make informed choices about the services they use, be more in control of their care, and to be active citizens within their community.

About the Role
This is an excellent opportunity for a Social Worker looking to develop their experience in a busy specialist service. We are looking for a Social Worker who is keen to work in a proactive, dynamic, friendly adult social care countywide team that undertakes adult social care assessments and carers assessments, s.42 safeguarding enquiries and Mental Capacity Assessments. We work collaboratively with our local Mental Health Trust and other stakeholders to facilitate safe and timely discharge from hospital for our residents.

We are committed to creating opportunities for service users to develop interpersonal and social skills through engagement in community activities. We work in a preventive capacity to reduce social isolation and seek to promote opportunities to enable re-integration and the development of independent living skills. We are developing expertise in MCA within the area of Substance Misuse and are supportive of Social Work staff developing their careers as BIAs, AMHPs or Practice Educators.

Ongoing training and supervision will be provided as per the needs of the service and Surrey County Council policies, including the application of the Care Act and MCA within the substance misuse arena. We are co-located and work closely with our health partners, and you must be able to demonstrate ability to form effective relationships with partners, stakeholders, service users and their families'.

Shortlisting Criteria
To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:

• Professional qualification in Social Work and current registration with Social Work England
• Completion of 5 years of relevant practice or 3 years with an adjunct qualification i.e. BIA/AMHP/Practice Educator
• An extensive knowledge of Care Act and MCA legislation including experience in preparation of support plans, carrying out Care Act and MCA assessments, monitoring and reviewing outcomes
• Commitment to your own professional development, including maintaining up-to-date knowledge of mental health issues

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and locality based social care workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK and access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.

Contact us
Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferrable skills or any barriers to employment.

For an informal discussion please contact Ekpen Akenzua by telephone on 07968 833192.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 08/12/2024 with interviews to follow.

Our Commitment
Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.