Senior Practitioner

South Gloucestershire Council; Thornbury; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

Wellbeing support

Staff discounts

Job summary

South Gloucestershire Council is seeking a Senior Practitioner to join an integrated Mental Health Team. You will support adults in the community, supervise staff, and work across housing, health, courts and police to achieve positive outcomes.

The role involves managing risk, safeguarding, and ensuring Care Act and Mental Capacity Act compliance, with occasional home-working as part of a hybrid arrangement. Interviews likely in mid-November.

Qualifications

• Hold a relevant professional qualification in social work and be registered with Social Work England (SWE).
• Post qualifying experience in a social care setting with experience of dealing with complex cases.
• Evidence of ongoing continuing professional development and knowledge of current legislation and practice in social care.
• Detailed understanding of Mental Capacity Act and Care Act; knowledge/experience of Mental Health Act is beneficial but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Supervise social workers and support newly qualified social workers and students.
• Provide advice and support to staff and members of the public.
• Collaborate with housing, health, courts, police and other agencies on multi‑agency policies and procedures.
• Manage risk, safeguarding and mental capacity issues; potentially hold a caseload.
• Assist with Care Act assessments and social circumstances reports for tribunals.
• Prioritise and allocate work, manage waiting lists and support service running.

Skills

Staff supervision

Risk assessment

Multi-agency collaboration

CPD evidence

Legal frameworks

Education

Social work qualification

SWE registration

Job description

How you'll make a difference

As a Senior Practitioner in an integrated Mental Health Team, you will improve the quality of services provided to adults in our community. You will play a pivotal role in ensuring performance and quality standards are met across the Recovery Team, supporting vulnerable people to achieve positive outcomes.

What you will be doing

• Reporting to the Team Manager within Avon and Wiltshire Partnership (AWP) Trust, you will take a proactive role in the day-to-day management of the team, including providing advice and support to staff and members of the public.
• A key part of your role will be supervising social workers, supporting newly qualified social workers through their ASYE, and providing supervision and guidance to social work students on placement.
• To achieve the best outcomes for service users, you will work in collaboration with relevant agencies including housing, in-patient units, the courts, supported accommodation and the police. This may involve assisting in developing and implementing multi-agency policies and procedures.
• Supporting staff with managing complex cases, you will take account of levels of risk, safeguarding and issues of mental capacity and DOLS, as required. You may also hold a case load to ensure that your skills are current and to enable you to support with the running of the team.
• You will have experience of completing Care Act assessments and will support health and social care colleagues in undertaking these assessments to ensure compliance with relevant legislation. You may also be required to prepare social circumstances reports for the Mental Health Review Tribunal and attend tribunal hearings.
• It will be key that you ensure effective prioritisation and allocation of work including managing waiting lists.

What we need from you

• It is essential you hold a relevant professional qualification in social work and be registered with Social Work England (SWE).
• We require you to have relevant post qualifying experience in a social care setting and experience of dealing with complex cases.
• You will be able to provide evidence of on-going continuous professional development, knowledge of current legislation and practice relating to social care with the ability to be able to assess and manage risk.
• You must have a detailed understanding of the relevant legal frameworks/legislation in the Mental Capacity Act and the Care Act. While a knowledge and experience of the Mental Health Act will be beneficial it is not essential for this post as support will be given in this area.

What you need to know

• This role is a 12 month limited term contract.
• You will be expected to travel throughout the authority and surrounding area so you must have a full, valid driving licence with regular access to a vehicle or have an alternative means of travel.
• Business insurance will need to be added to your insurance policy and you can claim back mileage expenses.
• Please note that due to the nature of this role, it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained.
• This role is hybrid, predominantly you will be required to work in the office or within the community, with occasional days working at home.

Interviews are likely to be held on the week commencing 16th November.

How a career at South Gloucestershire Council is different

• As part of our benefits package, you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities.
• We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.
• If you want develop a specialism, you’ll get the support you need and your cases will be aligned with your areas of expertise.
• Seniors and managers will genuinely listen at panel and will support you to ensure your service user’s needs are met.
• What’s special here is the strength of the team ethos. We are a relatively small local authority, so managers know staff well. They can plan their services to ensure teams have manageable caseloads and have effective supervision so feel supported to make decisions which are right for the children and young people they work with.
• We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Ensuring all our staff are given right skills, knowledge and support to recognise and respond effectively to potential abuse or neglect.

Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here.

• We're building and shaping communities which people are proud of.
• We're working with the most vulnerable in our community to help them achieve what they want in life.
• We're investing in our schools to ensure every child and young person in South Gloucestershire achieves their full potential.

We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference.

We’re making a difference, be part of it!