Senior Social Worker - Physical & Sensory Impairments

Essex County Council; Chelmsford; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking an experienced Social Worker to provide expert guidance, undertake comprehensive assessments, and develop person-centred care plans. The role involves handling complex cases, mentoring staff, and ensuring Care Act compliance within a supportive, multidisciplinary environment.

The post emphasizes collaboration with partners, leading multi-agency meetings, and promoting independence while safeguarding vulnerable adults.

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Worker with current Social Work England registration.
• AMHP, BIA or Practice Educator qualified.
• Proactive and passionate Social Worker with a proven record of handling complex cases and supporting colleagues.
• Ability to mentor both newly-qualified and experienced team members and provide guidance in complex situations.
• Significant Adult Social Care experience with a comprehensive understanding of current legislation, regulations and guidance.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and capability of practice to current standards.
• Understanding of the financial implications of commissioned care packages.
• Ability to make clear decisions and highlight risks associated with intervention.
• Experience chairing meetings with clients, family members, carers and multi-agency professionals.
• A passionate social worker who wants to join the management team.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert guidance and mentorship to staff and colleagues.
• Assess and support on complex caseloads with person-centred care plans.
• Ensure compliance with Care Act requirements and organisational standards.
• Manage caseloads and deliver high-quality social work practice in complex situations.
• Collaborate across the Council and with partners to shape high-quality, independent living solutions.
• Represent Adult Social Care by chairing multi-agency meetings and leading social care perspectives.

Skills

Mentoring

Interpersonal skills

Decision making

Chair multi-agency meetings

Care Act understanding

Education

AMHP

BIA or Practice Educator

Job description

Responsibilities

• Provide Expert Guidance: As a highly skilled Social Worker you will foster a supportive environment and model best practice, offering specialist advice, and mentoring both newly qualified and experienced colleagues.
• Assess and Support: You will manage a diverse and complex caseload, undertaking comprehensive assessments and creating person-centred care plans.
• Ensure Compliance: You will support the people we work with to live full and fulfilling lives, within the framework of our statutory Care Act requirements, relevant legislation and organisational standards.
• Manage Caseloads: We look to our Senior Social Workers to provide expert social work practice in complex situations, upholding the highest standards of professional practice.
• Collaborate: The ability to collaborate and build strong relationships across the Council and with our partners helps shape solutions that are high-quality and promote independence.
• Represent Adult Social Care: Confident in chairing multi-agency meetings, you will proactively take the lead to ensure a social care perspective is actively represented.

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Worker with current Social Work England registration
• AMHP, BIA or Practice Educator qualified.
• Proactive and passionate Social Worker who has a proven record of working complex cases and supporting other staff members.
• Ability to mentor both newly-qualified and experienced team members and to provide advice and guidance in complex situations.
• Significant Adult Social Care experience with a comprehensive understanding of current legislation, regulations and guidance.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and capability of practice in accordance with current professional standards.
• An in-depth understanding of the financial implications of commissioned care packages.
• The ability to make clear decisions, to highlight and limit potential risks associated with intervention.
• Experience of chairing meetings involving clients, family members, carers and other multi-agency professionals
• A passionate social worker who wants to develop and become part of the management team.

This role involves travelling around Essex, in areas that are often rural and not well served by public transport. Therefore, a driving licence and car - or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means such as Access to Work - is essential.

We’re an adult social care team that wants to see citizens of Essex have as much choice and control over the way they live their lives as possible. We think everyone should have the chance to live a fulfilling life with people they love and care about, doing things that matter to them and living in a place they can call home. We’re determined that with the right support, everyone can maintain or achieve some independence and we’re proud to be working to make these ambitions a reality.

The Mid Essex Physical & Sensory Impairments team support people from eighteen years old with a wide range of conditions and difficulties including, Acquired Brain Injury, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke (CVA), Huntingdon's Disease, Sensory Loss and Fibromyalgia.

As a member of this Team, you will have opportunities to practice systemically and will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team. We aim to support adults, and their families, who have complex social care and support needs and are more vulnerable because of their disability, exclusion, or diminished capacity. We aim to safeguard and protect the adults that we work with balancing independence, control and being able to live as independent and a fulfilling life as possible.

The team are friendly and dynamic and always strives for achieving good outcomes for people we support through innovative working using TEC and community solutions for early help alongside complex interventions and safeguarding adults to bring positive outcomes and ideas to life. The achievements within the team truly make a difference to the lives of the people we support and take a step towards changing the opportunities and outcomes for adults in our local community.

We are proud to offer hybrid working options, with an expectation to be office based in Chelmsford around 2 to 3 days per week depending on business need for collaborative team working and training. In March 2026, Greater Essex was 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 .

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.

In June 2025, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated our Adult Social Care services as "Good" with a score of 73%.

"The local authority had a good structure and processes in place to enable people to be supported successfully, and support people to remain independent and live healthy lives. The workforce was passionate about supporting people to achieve these