Senior Practitioner – Emergency Duty Service

Essex County Council; Chelmsford; On-site; GBP 48,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

15% flat rate allowance

£2,400 AMHP payment

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking a Senior Practitioner for the Emergency Duty Service. The role is permanent, full-time, with rota duties across evenings, weekends and holidays. You will assess urgent cases under the Mental Health Act and work with AMHP colleagues to support vulnerable adults and children.

Location is countywide with a 15% allowance and a £2,400 AMHP payment. Closing date is 30 September 2026. Apply via resourcing team contact.

Qualifications

• Social Work Degree or equivalent and Social Work England registration.
• Registered AMHP under the Mental Health Act (1983, as amended).
• Experience with children, families and child protection investigations.
• Experience with vulnerable adults and Duty Team work.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage workload.
• Strong written and oral communication; empowerment of children and carers.
• Knowledge of Community Care practice and assessment/care management.
• Commitment to anti-oppressive practice and collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Provide emergency social work services outside normal hours as part of a 7-day rota.
• Respond to urgent requests for assessments under the Mental Health Act.
• Travel across Essex to deliver services and liaise with partner agencies.

Skills

Social Work Degree or equivalent

Approved Mental Health Professional (A

Education

Social Work Degree or equivalent

AMHP qualification (Mental Health Act)

Job description

About The Role

Senior Practitioner – Emergency Duty Service

Permanent, Full Time

£48,205 to £57,988 per annum

Location: Countywide

Working Style: Community-based worker

Closing date:30th September 2026

The Emergency Duty Service

We are the Emergency Duty Service, providing support outside of normal office hours, including evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays.

Our team is made up of experienced Managers and Practitioners who are qualified across all areas of social work. All team members are Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs), enabling us to respond to urgent requests for assessments under the Mental Health Act.

We are supported by a dedicated team of advisors who handle incoming calls, gather key information, and provide initial advice or direct enquiries to the Social Work team as appropriate.

Working on a 7-day rota, we respond to emergency situations across Essex and deliver services to Southend Borough Council. A small daytime support team ensures smooth handovers to day services and maintains strong links with partner agencies.

This role is based at in Chelmsford with travel required across the county to meet wherever you may be required. Flexibility is essential, as you will work on a 6-week rolling rota that includes evenings, weekends, bank holidays, and key periods such as Christmas and New Year. This role will require working 4 weekends out of 6.

There is an additional 15% flat rate allowance based on the basic salary and a £2,400 AMHP payment with this role. We are happy to consider job share options with individuals.

For more information about the role, the rota or an information conversation, please contact David Smee on [e-mail]

What is the best part of your job?

We find it rewarding to be able to help and re‑assure vulnerable adults and children out of hours and to provide an effective service for those situations that cannot safely wait until the next working day, and we aim to provide stability to crisis situations where required. It is also rewarding to know that we provide advice and support to other professionals who are also working out of hours in emergency situations.

Comments from one of our AMHP Senior Practitioners

“I applied for the senior position with EDS 4 years ago, but I did not fully know what was expected of me. I was happy to move on from being a Mental Health practitioner to a generic team and a whole world of knowledge and experience was waiting for me to explore and gain. I was aware that it was going to be a challenging field and role as I did not have child protection experience but when I joined the team I was welcomed and given time and space to learn and grow further. Gradually my confidence in child protection increased, and day by day I learned new things, learnt to work in a small but very compact team, that cared and looked after each other. I would say that no shift is the same, we work together as a team, and we grow stronger and stronger with each challenge thrown at us. I would encourage any colleague to apply for this role as this will be very exciting and a great opportunity to apply your own skills and knowledge in practice and learn new ones in the process. You will be supported and encouraged to exceed in your career, no doubt. We all work together as a team and are passionate about our job.”

The Experience You Will Bring

• Social Work Degree or equivalent and Social Work England registration as a qualified Social Worker.
• Applicants must be qualified as an Approved Mental Health Professional under the 1983 Mental Health Act (as amended).
• To have experience of direct work with children and families and preferably to have experience of child protection investigation work.
• Experience and knowledge of work with vulnerable adults.
• Experience of working in a Duty Team.
• An ability to work under pressure and to organise practice workload effectively.
• An ability to communicate effectively in writing and orally in a style appropriate to the context.
• An ability to empower children and their carers to enable their full participation in work undertaken.
• Knowledge of current Community Care practice and multi agency systems of Assessment and Care Management for Older People and vulnerable adults.
• Knowledge and understanding of relevant policy and recent research findings across all client specialisms.
• A commitment to anti-oppressive behaviour, practice and management.
• The willingness and ability to work in an open manner as part of a team, with a commitment to sharing and working alongside staff in your own and other organisations whilst at the same time recognising own management responsibilities.
• An ability to approach your work and duties in a culture of flexibility.

To read more about us please visit: Adult Social Care & Children & Families

Please take a look at our ‘No Magic’ Children & Families video

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community.

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email [e-mail]

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