Senior Social Worker - Physical & Sensory Impairments

Essex County Council; Maldon; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Lease Car scheme

Life assurance

LGPS (Local Government Pension Scheme)

Employee wellbeing support

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking a Senior Social Worker in the Mid Essex Physical & Sensory Impairments team to support adults with complex needs. You will provide expert guidance, assess and plan care, and ensure compliance with the Care Act.

You will manage diverse caseloads, collaborate with colleagues and partners, and lead multi-agency meetings to promote independence and quality outcomes. A driving licence and mobility support are essential.

Qualifications

• Qualified Social Worker with current Social Work England registration.
• AMHP, BIA or Practice Educator qualified.
• Proactive and passionate Social Worker with a track record in complex cases and supporting others.
• Ability to mentor both newly-qualified and experienced staff in complex situations.
• Significant Adult Social Care experience with understanding of current legislation and guidance.

Responsibilities

• Provide Expert Guidance and mentor colleagues.
• Assess and Support: conduct comprehensive assessments and person-centred care plans.
• Ensure Compliance with Care Act requirements and organisational standards.
• Manage Caseloads in complex situations with high professional standards.
• Collaborate across the Council and with partners to shape high-quality solutions.
• Represent Adult Social Care and chair multi-agency meetings.

Skills

AMHP

BIA

Practice Educator

Mentoring

Leadership

Communication

Education

Social Work qualification

Job description

About the Team

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 work with 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.

About the Role

As a Senior Social Worker in the team you will:

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.

About You

• 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.

Why Join Us?

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 outcomes and the local authority had good knowledge of their area, the people living there and the demographics.\"

You can read the full report on the CQC website here.

Our teams are busy but warm, friendly and supportive. Our fabulous team managers will help you manage your workload and develop your practice.

We take your career just as seriously as you do, and we have a continuing professional development offer that's second to none.

We welcome diversity because it makes us grow and we're determined to become a fully inclusive and an anti-racist organisation.

What We Offer

We'll support you to be your best and will offer:

• Ongoing opportunities for continuing professional development


• Flexible working options


• Employee wellbeing and counselling


• Lease Car scheme


• Life assurance of three times annual salary


• Local Government Pension Scheme. View Key Factsand FAQ's about the LGPS.


• Volunteering leave


• 27 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), rising with service


• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - access to free and confidential information, support, and guidance from a team of highly qualified professionals.


• Employee Networks - communities to support you, connect you and help influence change at ECC


• Payment of your Social Work England registration fees!

Whatever you want to achieve in your social work career, you can do it here.

*T&Cs Apply.

For more information contact [e-mail]

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 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.

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