Main area Learning disability and autism, specialist community services Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent: The service is based in Eccles Manchester. There is a requirement for the candidate to travel across the localities within Greater Manchester Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (The service operates Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am until 5pm.) Job ref 350-SC7769496
Employer Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site 2 City Approach, Floor 7 Town Eccles Salary £38,682 - £46,580 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 01/03/2026 23:59
Senior Social Worker
Band 6
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Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.
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Job overview
The Greater Manchester Specialist Support Team works with autistic individuals and those with a learning disability who are at imminent risk of admission to hospital due to significant risk to self or others and individuals who may be at risk of placement breakdown or contact with the criminal justice system.
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Social Worker within the Greater Manchester Specialist Support Team. We are looking to recruit a dynamic and skilled Social Worker into a band 6 Senior Social work post, based in Eccles Manchester. We are keen to consider applicants from different practice areas of social work with transferable skills and will support professional development in practice.
Main duties of the job
The Specialist Support Team provides a service to patients, their families and carers working in a collaborative approach. The post holder will provide consultancy on issues relating to the social care needs of patients, some of whom have forensic risk profiles, providing skilled advice and guidance to staffboth for the Specialist Support Team and in the wider social care community within the requirements of legislation.
This role seeks to contribute towards the following service aims:
* Provide increased treatment options in the community.
* Contribute towards a reduction in behaviour leading to contact with the criminal justice system.
* Contribute towards reduced numbers of autistic people and those with a learning disability admitted to hospital settings.
* Contribute towards an increase in capacity to provide effective support for autistic people and those with Learning Disabilities who offend or display challenging behaviour in community settings through the delivery of training, collaborative case management, shared risk management and Crisis Intervention.
* Contribute towards a reduction in the number of safety incidents reported.
* Improve peoples experience of co-ordinated discharge planning.
* Reduced length of stay when autistic people and those with learning disabilities are admitted to hospital or secure services.
Working for our organisation
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You will be an active member of a multi-disciplinary team and will bring the social care perspective to service planning meetings and individualised care planning. You will provide a professional social work service to patients, their families and carers and routinely liaise with external stakeholders and members of the multi-disciplinary team.
The successful candidate will have the ability to deliver an efficient and high quality social care service, have well developed assessment and analytical skills alongside effective interpersonal, communication and organisational skills.
You must have good knowledge of the key relevant Health & Social Care and Criminal Justice legislation as well as a good knowledge around safeguarding frameworks. You should have well developed report writing skills as routinely you will be required to complete reports and assessments within this role.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Degree in Social Work or DipSW or CQSW.
* Current Social Work England registration.
* Post-qualifying training (formally or work based) in relevant areas of social work and/or mental health, learning disability or forensics.
* Evidence of significant continuing professional and personal development.
* Approved Mental Health Professional Qualification
* Qualifications relating to the Mental Capacity Act, e.g., Best Interest Assessor
* Masters Degree (MSW) or Postgraduate (PGDipSW)
Knowledge / Experience
* Suitable post qualifying experience as a Social Worker
* Good working knowledge of legislative guidance and policy e.g., Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Care Act, Human Rights Act and criminal justice frameworks e.g., MAPPA, Victim Liaison, MARAC and Carers’ Rights.
* Knowledge and application of professional standards, codes of conduct and Social Work England standards of proficiency and Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF).
* Good working understanding of Information Governance, Data Protection and confidentiality.
* Ability to assess and manage complex cases in a multidisciplinary team setting.
* Skilled at assessing and implementing risk management frameworks
* Skilled at assessing and promoting the involvement of people in developing their own care/ support plans using a strengths and asset-based approach.
* Experience of working with service users with mental disorders and/or learning disabilities.
* Experience of multidisciplinary team working and promoting social work/social care.
* Experience of presenting reports in formal setting, e.g., Courts, Mental Health Tribunals, Safeguarding Strategy.
* Experience in working with families, Experience of child and adult safeguarding
* Knowledge and experience of Models of risk assessment and risk factors and management, Financing of community care
* Knowledge and application of Housing and welfare provision, roles, responsibilities of other agencies, Learning from enquiries’ reports, Role of Mental Health Review Tribunals, Victims
* Experience of working with forensic service users.
* Experience of supervising others.
Values
* Accountability
* Support
* High professional standards
* Responsive to service users
* Engaging leadership style
* Transparency and honesty
* Change oriented
Skills
* To be able to practice safely and effectively within scope of practice.
* To be able to practice within the legal and ethical boundaries of Social Work profession.
* Understand the key concepts of the knowledge base relevant to Social Work profession
* Be able to draw on appropriate knowledge and skills to inform practice.
* An ability to manage time, prioritise work and meet deadlines.
* To be able to practice as an autonomous professional and part of a multidisciplinary team.
* Ability to apply social work practice in the framework of a non medical model.
* To be able to build compassionate and effective relationships
* Skilled in Complex Risk Assessment & Complex Risk Management skills
* Recording and preparing assessment and Mental Health Review Tribunal reports
* A demonstrated understanding of Equality and Human Rights
* Ability to travel nationally at short notice to complete assessments and visit families.
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As a Disability Confident Employer, we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants who consider themselves to be disabled who meet the minimum (essential) criteria for the role in the person specification. If you would like your application to be considered under the Trust’s guaranteed interview scheme you can indicate this in the personal information section of your online application form.
Should you require a reasonable adjustment to our recruitment process please email recruitment@merseycare.nhs.uk to ensure that measures can be put in place to support you.
We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.
The Trust expects all post holders who require an enhanced DBS for their role and work in Children’s & Young People services to subscribe to the DBS Update Service. You will be required to enrol for this service for a fee of £16 per year and maintain registration. Trans applicants who require a DBS check and do not want to reveal details of their previous identity can contact the DBS Sensitive Applications Team (01516761452 or emailsensitive@dbs.gsi.gov.uk ) with their application number once they have completed their DBS application form. The team can prevent any previous identity showing on the DBS Certificate, unless the applicant has a conviction under their previous details in which case this will need to be disclosed.
Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Name Sammy Porter, Operational Team Manager, Email: sammy.porter@merseycare.nhs.uk, Telephone: 0161 383 4463. For an informal discussion about the role or to arrange an informal visit please contact Sammy Porter on 0161 383 4463.
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