About The Job
Salary: £37,336 to £44,428
Working Pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week
Contract Length: Permanent
Location: covering Western area - Bognor and Chichester *You will also need to be able to travel independently throughout the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport.
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, 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 65 years and over, with occasional contact with people under the age of 65 years where they have a diagnosis of dementia.
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 being a qualified Approved Mental Health Professional if you are not already.
Experience and Skills
Please refer to the job description for this role for key skill information.
Qualifications and/or experience:
1. Degree in relevant professional or equivalent qualification e.g. Certificate of Qualification in Social Work or Diploma in Social Work.
2. "Evidence of at least two years experience post qualification working in the UK within front line operational practice."
3. Registration with the relevant professional registration body and responsibility for maintaining registration with that body.
4. Approved Mental Health Professional (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).
5. Knowledge of theoretical social work concepts and practices, with demonstrable examples of dealing with a breadth of complex issues and situations as well as theoretical, practical and procedural knowledge of social work and working knowledge of legislation relevant to the specialist area of the post e.g. Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act.
6. Experience of effective partnership working and forming effective working relationships with individuals and colleagues, identifying issues, focusing on needs and handling conflict and disagreement. Good understanding of the necessity of working with partnership agencies including health, housing, learning, statutory, voluntary and independent sector.
7. Demonstrable 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.
8. Experience of managing levels of risk within a caseload of complex cases.
9. Valid, full driving licence - Desirable
Rewards and Benefits
For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our page.