Go back Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Social Care Specialist
The closing date is 03 July 2025
1 x Fixed Term contract/secondment opportunity for up to 12 months
Internal applicants who wish to be considered for a secondment opportunity should discuss with their line manager the suitability of a possible secondment.
Following an internal secondment opportunity, we are seeking a qualified social worker registered with SWE to join the GHC social care service.
Acting as a social care specialist, you will be overseeing the GHC social care offer to the West locality, primarily covering services based in Gloucester and the Forest of Dean. You will be offering supervision, guidance and support to social workers and the wider GHC MH teams in the West locality as well as promoting and developing relationships with Adult Social Care locality teams and ICB colleagues.
An understanding of the ongoing priorities within Adult Social Care and the Community Mental Health Transformation programme as well as an awareness of local services is required.
You will take part in the ongoing recruitment, retention and development of the Mental Health social care workforce which will include working with SW apprenticeships, undergraduate and Masters students and the ASYE programme.
The postholder will be a visible leader, confident in identifying areas for development and opportunities, and an ability to manage change. Willingness, enthusiasm and an ability to self reflect is an essential.
Main duties of the job
The role requires fulltime hours and can be based at either Pullman Place or Invista. We can offer a supportive and fun team to work in with plenty of opportunities for personal and professional development.
To ensure Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Trust mental health community care services run smoothly, contributing to the management of resource and funding issues.
To provide a high level of expertise in the field of mental health social work.
To provide consultation, direct professional supervision and practice guidance to qualified social workers, managers and other practitioners delivering work in the field of Social Care, The Care Act, Mental Capacity Act, Mental Health Act and Equality and Human Rights.
To assist with the development of voluntary and community services locally.
All this to take place within a designated geographical locality area, but offering cover beyond that boundary and service unit,in the context of a professionally integrated service.
Working as an Approved Mental Health Professional under a specific local authority contract agreement if qualified
About us
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.
Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:
* 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
* 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
* 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.
This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.
Job responsibilities
Clinical
To participate in Approved Mental Health Professional community rota if qualified
To support Social Workers with complex work and enable application of Care Act 2014, Mental capacity Act 2005, Mental Health Act 1983/2007 and Human rights legislation.
Professional
To provide professional supervision on a planned basis and contribute to the appraisal of Social Workers located in teams and bases distributed throughout the designated area as agreed with the Social Worker and his / her team Manager.
To act as a point of local expertise, liaison and resource knowledge, providing advice to professionals of all grades within GHC NHS FT and beyond.
Working alongside Team Managers, actively participating in the recruitment and selection of Social Workers and other staff undertaking social care.
To work with the Head of Profession for Social Care, Social Care Specialists, Reassessment Lead and Training Dept to identify training needs, proposals in response to those needs and plans for delivery and participation in training. This will include maintaining an overview of Social Work student placements and ASYE for NQSW.
To provide all Trust based staff with the opportunity to develop good practice in assessment and resourcing social care needs.
To maintain own skills knowledge, values and appropriate qualification (ie Social Work England registration and CPD) through regular supervision, literature reviews, peer consultation and identified training opportunities.
Leadership / Management
To facilitate the panel process, funding decisions and provide support to the Peer Group. The Peer Group will enable case discussions and provide an opportunity to share good practice and learning across the Social Care workforce.
To link with the GCC Quality Team and support with provider issues relating to Mental Health provision, PIP ( Provider Improvement Plans) and provider meetings.
To advise and assist the Community Service Manager, Head of Profession for Social Care and Team Managers to address issues arising from Social Work and Social Care practice. This will include work on prioritising post qualification ASYE for NQSW.
To contribute to the development of Social Care services in appropriate planning, monitoring and reviewing groups.
To deliver Social Care induction to all professional groups but particularly to Social Workers.
To link directly with Adult Social Care Commissioning/ Mental Health Commissioning and provide a joint approach to the delivery of services.
To work collaboratively with the Head of Profession for Social Care and the other Social Care Specialists, taking a lead as appropriate to formulate and update guidance and procedures for Health and Social Care staff on key areas of the Care Act, funding of Social Care for users and carers.
To oversee the successful input of statutory work, to facilitate the availability and use of appropriate IT systems by administrative and Social work staff thereby ensuring accurate and timely data entry of Care Act assessments, support plans, services and risk indicators.
To ensure Social Care obligations are met by making sure that Trust Social Workers within the designated area are appropriately registered ( Social Work England) and have relevant development opportunities.
To undertake other duties appropriate to the post as requested by senior managers.
Please contact Amy Alexander for more information or an informal conversation
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Professional Social Work Qualification (e.g. Dip. S.W., C.Q.S.W.)
* Care Management Trained
* Social Work England registered
* Management Qualification
* Currently authorised AMHP
Experience
* Providing Social Care Supervision
* Line Management of Social Workers
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
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