Advanced Practitioner

Wiltshire Council; England; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 49,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional council in England seeks an experienced Advanced Practitioner in Social Work. This role involves leading complex cases, supervising staff, and ensuring high-quality care for adults in need. The ideal candidate will have a Social Work degree, registration with Social Work England, and a strong understanding of safeguarding and social care legislation. This position offers a competitive salary and an opportunity to make a significant impact in the community.

Qualifications

• Registered with Social Work England as a Social Worker.
• Experience in adult social care or hospital discharge.
• Ability to supervise Social Workers and Practitioners.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex cases and risk assessments.
• Provide guidance and supervision to social care staff.
• Develop and model high-quality social work practice.

Skills

Leadership skills

Understanding of safeguarding legislation

Ability to manage complex cases

Effective communication

Education

BA or BSc in Social Work or equivalent

Registered with Social Work England

Completion of post qualifying award (ASYE or PQ)

Job description

** WE ARECURRENTLY UNABLE TO ACCEPT APPLICATIONS VIA NHS JOBS. TO CONTINUE WITH YOURAPPLICATION, PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING LINK TO OUR CAREERS SITE **

Are you an experienced Social Worker looking for a leadership role where you can make a realdifference?

If youre a Social Work England-registered practitioner with experience in adult social care, hospital discharge and staff supervision, this is a great opportunity to take the next step in your career.

Our team in the Discharge service are looking for an Advanced Practitioner to support and guide social care stafftoensurehigh-quality, person-centredcare for adults with support needs.

As an Advanced Practitioner, youwillleadon complex casesandrisk assessmentswhilesupervisingSocial Workers and Social Care Practitioners.Youll also collaborate closely with hospitals, health teams and voluntary organisationswiththeaim of facilitatingsafe andtimely discharges.

Yourextensiveknowledgeofsafeguarding, mental capacityand social care legislation will be key in upholding best practices and improving outcomes for individuals and their families.

Apply now to join a service that really makes a difference!

Main duties of the job

The Advanced Practitioner provides professional and practice leadership within the Discharge Service, supporting highquality social work across the Hospital Team. They proactively participate in the leadership team, helping plan and chair meetings and representing the service in multidisciplinary discharge forums and Best Interest decisionmaking. The role includes deputising for the Team Manager when required and taking a lead in promoting safeguarding in line with local policies.

They manage a small caseload of highly complex cases, completing assessments, support plans and reviews using personcentred practice and comprehensive risk assessment, ensuring compliance with the Care Act, Mental Capacity Act and Mental Health Act. They provide expert guidance to staff on defensible decisionmaking, oversee allocation and prioritisation of work, and respond to urgent or highrisk situations.

A key responsibility is to develop and model highquality social work practice, supervising Social Workers and Social Care Practitioners, supporting their professional development, and ensuring adherence to Social Work England standards. The post holder also drives effective partnership working with acute, community and locality health services to support safe and timely hospital discharges, escalating barriers when needed, and contributes to performance monitoring through accurate data recording.

About us

Wiltshire Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Wiltshire, England, established in 2009 to provide both county-level and district-level services. The council's vision is to foster strong communities where residents can achieve their potential through empowerment and inclusion. The council focuses on long-term challenges, community engagement, and delivering services that support independent living, reduce inequalities, and promote overall well-being.

Key Responsibilities and Services

• Community Services:

The council provides a range of essential services to residents, including waste management, public planning, and support for vulnerable populations, such as older adults and people with disabilities.

• Governance:

The council consists of elected councillors who form a cabinet to set the council's direction and priorities. A system of overview and scrutiny ensures accountability for the cabinet's decisions.

• Strategic Planning:

The council engages in long-term planning, such as its household waste management strategy, focusing on new approaches and opportunities to manage waste over the next decade and beyond.

• Infrastructure:

The council uses Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds to support local infrastructure projects, including roads, schools, and recreational facilities, to manage the impact of development.

Job responsibilities

Care job family overview:

Support and assist the well-being of individuals and groups to assure their protection, security anddevelopment.

Safeguarding, protection and care.

Community, residential, day or field settings.

Ongoing risk/needs assessment of and advice for individuals/groups.

Specification of any non-council provision.

Individual or small group emphasis.

Likely to involve immediate response to client.

Service and Function Context

The overall responsibilities of the service/function are:

To provide statutory support in the acute hospitals, community hospitals and intermediate care toadults with care and support needs and their carers/families, which includes information andadvice, assessment, support planning and safeguarding.

Comply with legal framework for social care in line with personalisation principles.

Operate within defined budgets for social care.

Work in partnership and liaison with partners including primary, secondary and tertiary health careand with voluntary sector organisations.

Job Purpose

To provide practice and professional leadership, support and supervision for Social Workers andsocial care staff in adult care teams.

To uphold standards of practice for Social Workers as registered with Social Work England, andin accordance with Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Practitioners working in line with the advanced level of the Professional Capabilities Framework(PCF) are expected to provide practice and professional leadership through the development ofevidence- informed practice, quality assurance, staff development, knowledge development andmanagement, and will also help to influence and contribute to strategic development in theorganisation. Advanced Practitioner Social Workers make a difference by working both directlywith people in highly complex situations, and by supporting staff to provide better outcomes forpeople who use services, families, carers andcommunities.

Specific duties and responsibilities include:

Pro-actively participate in the leadership team, including planning and chairing team meetings.

Participate in meetings of internal/external partners and other agencies, particularly in the role ofBest Interest decision maker, or facilitation of this, including Multi-Disciplinary Dischargemeetings, and Care Transfer Hub calls if required.

Deputise for the Team Manager as required.

Take a lead role in promoting safeguarding within teams in line with Wiltshire and Swindon policyand procedures for safeguarding adults. or Investigating Officer role as required.

Manage a small caseload of complex work, using person centred practice principles to assess,support plan and review with the aim of promoting well-being of individual customers. Undertakecomprehensive risk assessments. Ensure that your own practice is in line with current legislation,including The Care Act (2014), The Mental Capacity Act (2005) and The Mental Health Act (1983)and local policies and procedures, as relevant to the role.

Ability to manage and resolve complex situations using negotiations and diplomacy, involvingcustomers, their families, or staff groups.

Provide clarity to colleagues on defensible decision making.

Take responsibility for your own continuing professional development.

Plan, prioritise and allocate work within the team the post holder covers, in conjunction with theteam manager. Deal with urgent and high risk situations whilst dealing with interruptions anddeadlines and reprioritizing workloads effectively to meet changing demands from the service.

Promote, develop and model high quality social work practice. Ensure workers are working withinstatutory responsibilities and promote evidence based practice. Ensure Social Workers complywith professional standards required by Social Work England. Provide professional support toSocial Workers, Social Care Practitioners, Students and other team members, includingdevelopment of skills, knowledge and experience and addressing performance issues.

Supervise and appraise Social Workers and Social Care Practitioners. Ensure that the practiceof staff you supervise is in line with the current legal framework, including The Care Act (2014),The Mental Capacity Act (2005) and The Mental Health Act (1983) and related local policies andprocedures, as relevant to their role. Ensure that they keep themselves appraised of changes anddevelopments in legislation, policy and practice.

Work in collaborative partnerships with colleagues from the council, health and other stakeholderswithin the voluntary and community sector which promote well-being, social inclusion and resilientcommunities to influence and improve service delivery.

Identify, plan, implement and evaluate person centred approaches to meeting customers'outcomes which promote and improve their well-being.

Good understanding of Continuing Health Care guidance.

Facilitate effective data recording to support monitoring and analysis of teamperformance.

Drive close, effective partnership working with acute, community and locality health services tofacilitate safe and timely discharges from hospital, escalating identified barriers to dischargewhere necessary.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• BA or BSc SW/ MA or MSc SW/ Dip SW/CQSW/CSS or equivalent (as agreed by Social Work England).
• Registered with Social Work England as a Social Worker.
• Completion of post qualifying award (ASYE or PQ).
• Evidence of further professional development including practice education.
• Expert knowledge of social care legislation and policy as it relates to Social Workers and the wider social care team, including mental capacity and safeguarding adults.
• Evidence of professional development since qualification, at least 2 years with adult / hospital.
• Knowledge of NHS and social care legislation and Key Performance Indicators.
• Experience of working in partnership with other agencies.
• Experience in training and development of staff including supervision.
• Able to demonstrate independent critical judgement.
• Ability to problem solve in complex and unpredictable situations.
• Able to write clear, complex and accurate reports.
• Able to communicate effectively with people at all levels with positive and person- centred approach.
• Able to plan and prioritise workloads.
• Able to plan, and contribute to meetings.
• Literate, numerate and good computer skills.
• Ability to use and understand electronic social care records and performance reports.
• Fully fluent in English.
• Experience of effectively managing conflict.
• Ability to work in partnership with service users, other professionals and agencies. Commitment to anti-discriminatory and oppressive practice.
• Able to contribute effectively to the development of a team.
• Proven skills in safe practice techniques and ability to work to risk assessments.
• Experience of delivering training.

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.

£46,052 to £48,473 a yearInclusive of 7.5% market supplement