Care and Support Broker (Bognor)

West Sussex County Council; Bognor Regis; On-site; GBP 31,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

West Sussex County Council is seeking a Care and Support Broker to join the CPST Direct Payments team. The role focuses on planning and sourcing timely care for people discharged from hospital and those with social care needs.

You will work across health and social care, coordinating services and negotiating with providers. The role is office-based in Bognor, 37 hours per week, 9am-5pm, with occasional travel.

Qualifications

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills are essential.
• Ability to negotiate and influence stakeholders to source timely care.
• Excellent organisation and ability to manage multiple caseloads under pressure.
• Proficient IT and keyboard skills, including Excel for data handling.

Responsibilities

• Plan and source customer-focused care and support services.
• Relay information clearly to service providers and colleagues.
• Organise, prioritise and manage workload independently with tight deadlines.
• Negotiate with providers to ensure best value for money.
• Work across health and social care to support hospital discharge planning.

Skills

Strong communication skills

Negotiation and influencing

Organisation and time management

Work under pressure

IT and keyboard skills

Education

NVQ level 3 or equivalent qualification/experience

GCSE English and Maths

Knowledge of Care Act 2014 and related guidance

Experience with data monitoring and IT systems

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

About Us

West Sussex County Council is a diverse organisation that provides services to more than 850,000 residents every day. As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

To find out more visit our Combined Placement and Sourcing Teams career's pages: Careers in Adults' Services Combined Placement and Sourcing Team - West Sussex County Council

About The Job

Salary: £30,515 to £33,119 per annum
Working Pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: Bognor

We have an exciting opportunity for someone to join our Combined Placing and Sourcing Team (CPST), as a dedicated Care and Support Broker in the CPST Direct Payments team, helping customers access the right care and support services at the right time.

We are looking for someone with strong communication skills who can work effectively with a range of services, teams, and customers. You will play a key role in navigating changing demands and ensuring the best support is provided.

As part of CPST, you will work across both health and social care. You will be responsible for planning and sourcing support for people being discharged from hospital, as well as for those with assessed social care needs.

This is an office-based role, with occasional travel, and standard working hours between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. You may come from a health or social care background, or you may bring transferable skills such as negotiation and coordination experience from other sectors. Strong administrative skills-particularly the confident use of Microsoft Excel-are essential.

To be successful in this role, you will need to:

• Communicate effectively with a wide range of people.
• Work in partnership with services and organisations across the health and social care system.
• Have a passion for helping people and delivering high quality support.
• Be well organised and able to manage multiple caseloads under pressure.
• Influence and negotiate with key stakeholders to source timely, cost effective support services.
• Understand the duties and requirements of health and social care services and apply these in line with CPST operating procedures.
• Demonstrate strong administrative and IT skills, with regular use of Excel.
• Negotiate competitive rates with providers to ensure best value for money.

If you are committed to making a difference and enjoy working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, we would love to hear from you.

Experience and Skills

Key Skills (please cover within your application with examples as these are the short listing criteria):

• 1. Able to support the planning and arranging of customer focused and strengths-based services for people with care and support needs
• 2. Able to accurately relay information to service providers and health and social care colleagues to enable appropriate services to be sourced quickly
• 3. Able to organise / prioritise work, work independently, and work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• 4. Able to interpret intelligence received to determine risks and communicate safeguarding and service quality issues through the relevant channels
• 5. Excellent written, verbal, influencing and negotiation skills
• 6. Sound and accurate IT and keyboard skills

Qualifications and/or experience (please cover within your application with examples as these are the short listing criteria):

• * NVQ level 3 in a relevant subject, or equivalent qualification or experience
• * GCSE English and Maths, or equivalent qualification or experience operating at this level of literacy and numeracy
• * Good up-to-date working knowledge of legislations and organisational policies relevant to the specialist area of the post e.g. Care Act (2014), Hospital Discharge Guidance 2020, Mental Health Act (1983) etc
• * Experience of monitoring data and information including financial material and using a range of IT and data systems
• * Good understanding of office systems and practices related to carrying out a health or social care role
• * Experience of influencing and negotiating with individuals, stakeholders and service providers- 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 Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.

Equity, inclusion, accessibility and diversity is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all cultures, ethnicities, identities, backgrounds and lived experiences, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability or Veteran's Guaranteed Interview Scheme (if you meet the essential criteria), this can be found on our application help page.