Senior Practitioner

Bristol City Council; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 49,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

The Senior Practitioner role in Bristol City Council leads the Transition Hub, supporting young people aged 14-25 as they move from children’s services to adulthood.

You will work with social workers, occupational therapists and practitioners to provide day-to-day guidance, with a focus on leadership and high-quality care.

Qualifications

• Registered Social Worker or Occupational Therapist with current registration.
• Leadership experience preferred but not essential.
• Knowledge of Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Act and Safeguarding.

Responsibilities

• Lead as part of the leadership team and support the Team Manager.
• Provide day-to-day consultation and direction to practitioners.
• Manage a varied caseload with complex cases and carry out assessments.
• Travel across the city and work from City Hall up to 2 days per week.

Skills

Leadership experience

Clinical reasoning

Education

Social Worker registration

Occupational Therapist registration

Job description

The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.

Job details

Job reference VAC008980 Date posted 23/10/2026 Application closing date 08/11/2026 Location City Hall College Green City Centre Bristol BS1 5TR Salary BG13: £48,738 - £51,928 Package Blank Contractual hours 37 Basis Full time Job category/type Social Care Attachments Job Description.pdf Person Specification.pdf

Full Time, Permanent This is an exciting opportunity for a Senior Practitioner to join our team as we continue with our multidisciplinary offer for young people transitioning between children’s services and adults. We are a multi-disciplinary team working with Social Workers, Occupational Therapists and Social Care Practitioners.

What you’ll be doing

As a Senior Practitioner in the service, you will be an important part of the leadership team.

You will work alongside the Senior Practitioners and support the Team Manager to further implement the Transition Hub model and provide day to day consultation, direction, and support to the practitioners.

You will need to have a flexible, adaptable and strong clinical reasoning skills. Along with being able to problem sole and manage competing demands and priorities.

You may carry a small caseload of challenging and complex cases and lead by example to model best practice. You must be legally literate in the Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Act, Safeguarding and other key relevant legislation.

The Young Adults Transitions Service are a citywide team who can work with young people with additional needs from age 14-25 to support them to be as independent as possible as they reach adulthood.

The team operate across the city and further afield (where the local authority continues to hold funding responsibility). We complete Care Act assessments and support our young person through their transition into adulthood.

We also complete support planning to support the commissioning of services to meet the young person’s needs, and we will utilise other sources of non-commissioned support like external agencies, charitable organisations and provide technology and equipment to maximise young people’s independence. We work alongside families and carers where we can as we understand the value in supporting a whole family approach.

The teamwork from a multi-disciplinary perspective and work in partnership with a wide range of agencies and professionals including health, education, children’s services, housing, provider services and the police. You will receive regular profession specific supervision.

What are we looking from you?

A registered Social Worker or Occupational Therapist – ideally you will have previous leadership experience, experience working in the community or have an interest or previous experiences of working with young adults/transitions services. (advantageous but not essential).

We would expect you to be working within the statutory structure of the Care Act 2014 legislation, undertaking Care Act Assessments, Carer assessments, Mental Capacity Assessments and Best Interest Assessments.

You will work closely with internal and external agencies and departments across all Adult Social Care. You will collaborate with partners across Children’s, Education and SEND partnerships.

You will have a strong passion for Equalities and Inclusion to ensure people who draw on care and support are strengthened from their individuality. You will have a varied caseload with complexity.

You would need to be able to travel across the city either from home or from City Hall where the service is based. Currently, working from home is permitted but you would be expected to work from the office a minimum of 2 days per week.

Please note that this role is subject to an Enhanced DBS Check.

Why Bristol City Council?

Vision for Adult Social Care

“We are proud of our vibrant and diverse city. Our Vision is that all of us will have the support we need to live in a place that we call home, with the people and things that we love, in communities where we all look out for one another, doing the things that matter to us.”

At Bristol City Council, we go that extra mile for our people; we offer a work environment which is fast moving and supportive, giving you the chance to use your skills and develop new ones within a high-profile organisation. For the majority of our roles hybrid working arrangements are available, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice - mixing both home and office working.

Join us and you’ll receive an excellent rewards package including flexible working and flexitime, membership of the Local Government Pension scheme, and a generous annual leave allowance. In addition, you’ll be working in a supportive environment where you’ll have the chance to make Bristol a better place and contribute to its future.

We're a Disability Confident employer which means we value recruiting and retaining disabled people. Any job applicants who consider themselves to be disabled and meet the essential criteria in the Person Specification are guaranteed an interview. We'll make reasonable adjustments throughout the interview process and provide continued workplace support throughout your career.

Want to know more?

For further information please contact: Nadine McCootie (Team Manager, Occupational Therapist) - [e-mail]

Interviews are likely to take place week commencing 16th and 23rd November 2026 . These will be held face to face at City Hall, BS1 5TR.

Bristol City Council are not offering sponsorship for this role.

Bristol City Council strives to have a workforce that reflects the communities it serves, we are therefore committed to ensuring diversity in our hiring process. We welcome, develop and promote people from all sections of the community. We particularly welcome applications from Black and racially minoritised and Male candidates who are currently under-represented within this Service of Bristol City Council. Appointments will be made on merit.

The personal information section (including your name) you’ll complete as part of the application form will not be visible to hiring managers, but is used confidentially to make sure that everyone is treated fairly.