Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Specialist Social Worker
The closing date is 05 August 2025
To function as an independent senior member of the MDT, leading on the identification of social care requirements, safeguarding needs of children and young people, and safeguarding processes within the service, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, and ensuring staff follow correct policy and procedure.
To contribute towards the management and development of the Service.
To provide social care risk assessments appropriate to the child/young person's and parent/carer's needs and contribute to care planning within a multidisciplinary team.
To work with and develop effective relationships with voluntary and statutory social care services.
To ensure parents and carers' needs are identified and assessed.
To develop the role of social work within the service and ensure active engagement with national inpatient CAMH services.
Main duties of the job
Safeguarding
To collaborate with Trust safeguarding nurses and named doctor for safeguarding.
To promote safeguarding best practice, working in partnership with the MDT and Safeguarding Team.
To ensure safeguarding referrals are made to the local authority and lead on disclosure work in collaboration with the MDT and Safeguarding Team.
Support families/carers in developing practical parenting strategies to enhance positive parent/carer-child relations.
Assess the needs of children and young people who may require Local Authority Children's Social Care intervention and make appropriate referrals.
Create and maintain effective relationships with children, young people, their parents, families, and carers to ensure diverse needs are identified, met, and reviewed.
To liaise with local authorities under Section 85 of the Children Act where children have been, or are expected to be, inpatient for three months or more.
To further enhance safeguarding training and supervision for service staff in accordance with Trust and Divisional policies.
To provide information, advice, and signposting to resources on safeguarding children/young people and be accessible to all staff to support their practice.
Please see JD & PS for further information.
About us
MFT is one of the largest NHS Trusts in England with a turnover of over £3bn. We are creating an integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services annually.
Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 30,000 workforce to pursue ambitious goals.
We have a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness, and drive research and innovation through Hive, our Electronic Patient Record system launched in September 2022.
We are a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, supporting high-quality research programs. We are also committed to sustainability through our Green Plan.
At MFT, we foster a culture of inclusion, provide equal opportunities for career development, and prioritize health and wellbeing.
Job responsibilities
For detailed responsibilities and required skills, please review the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under Supporting Documents. We recommend reading the Candidate Essentials Guide for information about the Trust, benefits, and application process.
Diversity Matters
MFT is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion. We encourage applications from all backgrounds and are happy to support applicants with special requirements via resourcing@mft.nhs.uk.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Degree / Diploma in Social Work
* Specialist knowledge in child and adolescent mental health or equivalent to Masters level
* Professional registration maintained and commitment to ongoing professional development
* Qualification in safeguarding supervision
* Accredited training qualification
Knowledge/Experience
* Knowledge of safeguarding policies, legislation, and guidelines
* Experience with children and families with complex mental health issues
* Leadership and supervision experience
* Experience delivering training and policy development
* Understanding of issues affecting ethnic minority and socially excluded groups
* Experience of multi-agency child protection work
* Knowledge of relevant legislation (Children Act, Children and Families Act, etc.)
* Experience working within CAMH settings and conducting assessments
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to DBS checks as per the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975.
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
£47,810 to £54,710 per annum (pro-rata)
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