Senior Social Worker - Littlehampton Community Team

West Sussex County Council; Clapham; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Part time

Job summary

West Sussex County Council is seeking a Social Worker for the Littlehampton Community Team. The role offers hybrid working with an office base in Worthing and requires you to travel independently to the Littlehampton area.

You will carry out assessments, develop care plans and work with multidisciplinary colleagues to support adults in the community. The post is permanent, part-time (22.5 hours weekly) with a salary of £25,040–£29,637 per year.

Qualifications

• Degree in Social Work or recognised equivalent qualification.
• Registered with Social Work England is essential.
• Experience in assessments and intervention planning.
• Experience safeguarding enquiries and multi-agency work.
• Valid full driving licence is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Carry out strengths-based assessments and reviews.
• Undertake safeguarding enquiries and MCA assessments.
• Collaborate with individuals, families and carers to plan personalised support.
• Apply Care Act 2014 and other legislation to promote wellbeing and independence.
• Develop and monitor care packages and manage varied caseload.

Skills

Strengths-based assessments

Safeguarding awareness

Person-centred planning

Collaborative working

Education

Degree in Social Work

Registered with Social Work England

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.

Our Adults' Community Teams offer an exciting and rewarding area of practice, giving social workers the opportunity to make a real difference in people's lives. We work with adults aged 18 and over, including individuals with physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries, chronic health conditions, older adults, and people living with dementia.

We're proud to embed a strengths-based approach in our practice-supporting individuals to explore their networks, maximise independence, and access local community resources. We also maintain strong partnerships with health colleagues through proactive care initiatives, including regular multidisciplinary meetings at local GP surgeries.

Our community teams play a central role in fulfilling the statutory duties of Adults' Services. A solid understanding of the Care Act 2014 is key, and our practitioners are skilled in safeguarding enquiries, person-centred assessments, and multi-agency working.

I love being a part of a supportive and friendly team and the close connections I have with my colleagues. - Senior Social Work Practitioner

We work to ensure that innovation and evidence-based practice underpins what we do and that we maintain an environment within which our social workers can develop and progress in their careers. If you have the talent and ambition to achieve the best for the people we serve, then we will support you to progress and develop throughout your social work career.

If you are thinking why join West Sussex there is a supportive culture that is second to none. You will receive regular, supportive and reflective supervision from senior social work colleagues, but you will also need to use your own initiative where appropriate. Employees are genuinely valued, respected and there is an emphasis on work life balance. Hybrid working helps us deliver a great service and our employees enjoy the flexibility this gives to carry out their role whilst fitting around their home lives.

About The Job

Salary: £25,040 to £29,637 per annum
Working Pattern: Part time, 22.5 hours per week
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: Littlehampton area with hybrid working and Worthing office base; Successful candidate needs to be able to independently travel

We have an exciting opportunity for a Social Workers/Senior Social Workers to join our Littlehampton Community Team.

The Littlehampton team is a supportive and enthusiastic team and consists of a mixture of qualified social workers with varying experience and assistance care managers who work together to support residents on our area and each other to meet their full potential

Our Social Workers/Senior Social Workers have a really supportive working environment and inductions are well planned with help from across the friendly and considerate team. There are a mixture of qualified and unqualified team members, so whether it's in person, on the phone or even in the chat group there is always someone on hand to offer help and support.

The team work across Littlehampton and the surrounding areas, and have an office base in Worthing. As well as assessing you will be completing plans, implementing and monitoring and reviewing care packages. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference in people's lives while building your skills in a collaborative, forward-thinking environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Carrying out strengths-based assessments and reviews
• Undertaking safeguarding enquiries and Mental Capacity Act assessments
• Collaborating with individuals, families, and carers to identify eligible needs and develop personalised support plans
• Applying relevant legislation and social work practice to promote wellbeing and independence
• Making effective use of local community assets and resources
• Managing a varied caseload and contributing to the development of safeguarding practice within the team

You will be part of a supportive and committed team that values professional growth, reflective practice, and shared learning. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference in people's lives while building your skills in a collaborative, forward-thinking environment. You would also have the option to work on a hybrid basis.

Experience and Skills

Please review the job description for the key skills as these will be used as the shortlisting criteria so please cover with examples within your application)

Qualifications and/or experience

Degree in Social Work or a recognised equivalent Social Work qualification e.g. Diploma in Social Work.

• Registered with Social Work England.
• Experience of undertaking assessments and social work intervention planning, implementation and review by means of creative and pragmatic solutions.
• Experience of working in partnership with those who access the service and maintaining a focus on the needs and strengths of the people, and the outcomes they want to achieve, whilst handling conflict and disagreement.
• Experience of contributing to or undertaking safeguarding enquiries.
• Experience of managing risk within a risk enablement approach
• Good, up-to-date working knowledge of relevant legislation e.g., Care Act (2014), Mental Capacity Act (2005) etc.
• Valid, full driving licence. Desirable

Further Information

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to Social Work England registration, 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.