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Social Worker

Job introduction

We are currently looking to recruit full-time Social Workers with children's and adults experience within the new whole life pathway disability service.

Do you want to be part of our innovative, whole life pathway service for disabled children and adults which has been recognised as a model of good practice?

Do you want to have a manageable caseload so that you can focus on direct work and building a relationship with children, adults and their families?

If you need further information, please contact:

Alison Mills-Clarke [email protected]

Tel 07795336266

About the role

We know that our social workers are our greatest asset and we strive to give them the time and active support they need so that they can make a real difference to children’s and adult’s lives.

Our pod model is based on providing emotional containment for social workers and, as well as not using agency social workers, we have developed a supervision model which includes weekly group supervision, 1:1 supervision, and Reflective Practice Groups for practitioners and managers at every level.

The Reflective Practice Groups have been developed with the Centre for Social Work Practice. This is an example of how we are leading in the development of innovative models of social work delivery and sharing this learning with the wider system.

We have recognised that we need to do further work to support families and communities who experience racism in the city and to support our Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff. As a council we have made a commitment to being an anti-racist organisation and we have set up an Anti-Racist Project to make sure we achieve this within social work services. We would particularly encourage applications from candidates who identify as Black, Asian or from a minority ethnic background.

Brighton & Hove has carried out an innovative restructure of its services for children and adults with learning disabilities to create a strong, sustainable and ambitious whole life pathway disability service. This new service is called the Specialist Community Disability Service.

The management of children’s and adults (integrated multi-disciplinary) disability services merged within our Families, Children and Learning Directorate with two Heads of Service, one with responsibilities for ages 0-24 and the other for 25+. The Heads of Service have responsibility for three social work assessment teams or pods whose functions are differentiated by the ages 0-13, 14-24 and 25+. The development of this new service is continuing following its launch in 2019. This new structure is providing service users with a more positive transition to adulthood.

We have an opportunity for full-time permanent Social Workers within the Specialist Community Disability Service. This role is within the 14-24 part of the service where we are seeking candidates with experience of children's or adults social work. These roles will also have an opportunity to work with those children and young people who are transitioning from children to adult services.

We are a team which provides a challenging and exciting range of social work services to children, young people and adults with disabilities. This includes the areas of duty and intake, undertaking care planning within a multi-disciplinary context through Care Act Assessment and review, appropriate application of the Mental Capacity Act and application of Deprivation of Liberty/Liberty Protection Safeguards, including application to the Court of Protection. We also work with individuals as part of the Transforming Care Agenda and the use of the Mental Health Act. We are also involved in supporting children, young people and adults with Direct Payments and Personal Budgets. The successful candidate would have to have a broad understanding of these issues and co-ordinate proportionate and timely assessments to meet identified outcomes for young people and adults with a learning disability at the first point of contact.

We welcome applications from all sections of the community but particularly encourage applicants from a BAME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, LGB, male or trans as these groups are currently under represented in our Directorate workforce.

In addition to working for an organisation that values the immense contribution social workers make and ensures effective support is always in place, we offer a package of benefits including:

• our innovative and unique Continuing Learning and Assessment Model (CLAM) which defines pathways for development and progression
• a salary within the range £35,411 to £38,296 per annum depending on level of experience
• a market supplement of 12.5% of salary for social workers in case-holding pods
• a range of family-friendly policies including flexible working
• a range of exclusive benefits and discounts from a large number of the UK’s largest retailers and service providers to help your money go further.

The successful candidate will:

• Hold a Professional Social Work Qualification and be registered as a social worker with Social Work England
• Be responsible for managing their own caseload autonomously with the support of their supervisor/manager
• Have the skills to work within an integrated multi-agency setting
• Be able to support a service undergoing exciting changes and developments
• Have good knowledge, skills and experience of statutory roles and responsibilities
• Ideally, have experience of both children and adults statutory social work or be able to demonstrate an enthusiasm to learn about the area of social work they are less familiar with
• Whilst prior experience of working with children, young people or adults with disabilities is not essential it would be an advantage
• Demonstrate a keen interest in developing their knowledge and skills in relation to disabilities

As part of your application, you will need to complete your education and work history and upload a supporting statement. Your supporting statement is the most important part of your application as it will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our guidance here (Supporting statement guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk)) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.

Additional information

Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.

Work Permits: We may be able to obtain a Work Permit for this post but this is subject to meeting the requirements of the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) Points-based Immigration System. Please see Gov.uk for more information on the Skilled Worker Visa.

Part office / part home – hybrid - We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining.

Working arrangements are subject to Government guidance at the time. Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.

For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us (brighton-hove.gov.uk)

Company information

Encouraging a diverse workforce

Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.

Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).

Please note that this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and is subject to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check.