Social Work Professional Lead Advisor

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services); Loughborough; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A government healthcare service in Loughborough is seeking a Social Work Professional Lead Advisor. The successful candidate will lead a Specialist Hospital Social Work Service, promote best practices, and provide expert guidance within a multi-disciplinary team. Expect a competitive salary of £46,040 plus a Market Skills Allowance of £5,000. Ideal applicants will hold a Social Work degree, be registered with Social Work England, and have significant experience in a hospital setting, enhancing welfare and safeguarding support.

Benefits

Civil Service pension

Market Skills Allowance

Extensive training package

Access to Gym & Pool

On-site Cinema

Free parking

Qualifications

• Must have significant post qualification experience in a hospital setting.
• Demonstrated experience in policy development and cross-department collaboration.
• Ability to manage caseloads in a multi-professional setting.

Responsibilities

• Lead a professional Hospital Social Work Service.
• Promote best practice and professional supervision.
• Represent MOD at Family Court hearings.

Skills

Leadership

Effective decision making

Multi-disciplinary team support

Safeguarding knowledge

Education

Degree in Social Work or equivalent

Registered with Social Work England

Job description

Social Work Professional Lead Advisor

The closing date is 04 February 2026.

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services)

Here at Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) Stanford Hall, Loughborough, we are an inclusive and dedicated organisation working to provide excellent rehabilitation service to our entitled personnel.

We are looking to recruit a C1 Social Work Professional Lead Advisor and Regional Lead who actively demonstrates effective decision making and projects personality and character in this role. The successful candidate will motivate, guide and support members of the multi‑disciplinary team to achieve desired end results, whilst working closely with the Head of Service and DPHC Social Work Cadre.

Does this sound like the role for you? If so, we would love to hear from you!

Main duties of the job

As the Social Work Professional Lead Adviser (PLA) you will lead a professional Specialist Hospital Social Work Service, acting as a subject matter expert, for DMRC Stanford Hall. You will be promoting professional best practice, advocacy and advise on education and training for staff and professional supervision, ensuring that Business Continuity issues are in place and that positive collaboration is energetically fostered with external agencies.

• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• Market Skills Allowance £5000 (pro rata for part time)
• An extensive training package tailored to your role
• Access to Gym & Pool facilities
• Access to on‑site Cinema
• Free on‑site parking

About us

Our success depends on our people our Whole Force regular and reservist military, civil servants and contractors, all working as one, working together seamlessly to deliver for us.

Our civil servants are a central part of this Whole Force, developing strategy, making policy, supporting ministerial decision‑making and Parliamentary processes. In fact, with over 2,000 different roles working across 650 sites around the world, now really is an excellent time to join one of the largest, most exciting departments in government.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to attracting and retaining people from across the full range of backgrounds and enabling flexible ways of working as the norm. We offer maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks full pay followed by 13 weeks of statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid, and paternity leave of 2 weeks full pay.

In return, you can expect a department that helps you learn and develop that recognises your expertise and contribution, both as an individual and part of a team.

If you’ve ever wanted to do more, see more, go further or be better, we have roles in more professions and vocations than ever before. Let’s see where your future will take you, together.

Job responsibilities

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Promote a continuous and flexible Social Work service development and improvement plan, to meet the changing demands of DMRCs patient cohort.
• Act as the Single Point of Contact or Subject Matter Expert for Safeguarding Children and Adults, including PREVENT, Mental Capacity Act, Liberty Protection Safeguards, Court of Protection applications at DMRC. To represent the Ministry of Defence at Family Court hearings and liaising with MOD legal counsel as required.
• Assisting clinical team managers /Clinical Director/ DMRC Quality Improvement Programme with service improvement and audit measures.
• With other PLAs, conduct Service Reviews with clinical teams to identify and advise on service improvement issues.
• Act as a point of contact for military welfare, and third sector agencies working in collaboration with DMRC, and Head of Defence Primary Healthcare (DPHC) Social Work B2.
• Attend meetings as required to provide SME input on professional matters with internal and external agencies MOD Specialist Welfare Delivery Group, MOD Safeguarding Adults and Children, DPHC National and Overseas Safeguarding Forum, PREVENT etc.
• Ensuring confidentiality and acceptable standard of patient information and case notes, following Caldicott principles and in line with Defence Primary Healthcare policy.
• Attend Cadre meetings, including C1 Management and bi‑annual professional meetings.

It is important that you read the attached job description and persons specification prior to applying to fully understand all the duties required.

Selection Process

At application stage you will be assessed against the following:

• Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history and previous skills and experience. The selection at sift stage will be based on your CV.
• Please provide information of how you meet the criteria set out in the Job Description. You may wish to further include examples of how you have tackled similar tasks or demonstrated the skills outlined in the job advert.
• When choosing your Behaviour examples, please make sure you use real life scenarios that relate to your own experiences. Whilst technology may help to enhance your written submission, presenting the ideas of others or those generated by technology, could result in your application being rejected.

At interview you will be assessed against the following Behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together
• You will also be required to provide a presentation or vignette - details to be provided to successful candidates at sift.

Please see the link to our YouTube channel for advice preparing your best responses with some hints and tips on answering behaviour‑based questions. Hints and tips such as: Your behaviours can be based on situations from work, volunteering or home; match your situation to the behaviour requested and how to use your 250‑word limit.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance at https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/artificial-intelligence-and-recruitment/ for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

The sift will be completed within 10 working days of the vacancy closing date. Interviews will be held on a date to be confirmed.

There will be no reimbursement for any travel expenses for the interview.

All employees joining Ministry of Defence who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a 6‑month probation period (unless otherwise advised) effective from the employment start date.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Provide evidence of your immunity to Hepatitis B, including serology levels. It is recommended you complete Hepatitis B vaccinations and can be supported in this through Occupational Health providers.

To be considered for this role, qualifications and memberships detailed must be held in full, prior to submitting your application.

There is no requirement to deploy as this is met by our uniformed personnel, but you will form the continuity of care required by our patients when based at home.

The post does NOT offer relocation expenses (move of home, excess fares or temporary transfer). Non‑Standard move applicants will be eligible for the full package, subject to eligibility.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points‑based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points‑based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

This vacancy is part of the A Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

The Ministry of Defence embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact [e-mail].

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre‑employment checks will be carried out.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second‑hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke‑Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non‑MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Degree in Social Work or equivalent diploma in Social Work (DipSW) / Certificate of Qualification in Social Work (CQSW)
• Be registered with Social Work England (SWE), Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), the Care Council for Wales (CCW) or Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC).
• Have an understanding and working knowledge of all relevant social care legislation Mental Health Act (MHA) (83), Mental Capacity Act (MCA) (05) Inc Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS), Care Act 14, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (98) Adult and Children Safeguarding Policies.
• Have a significant post qualification experience, which must be within a hospital setting and DOLS/ Best Interest Assessor (BIA), or willing to train as BIA.
• The candidate must have caseload management experience in a multi professional setting.
• Have proven strategic experience, including the ability to develop and implement long term plans to align with organisational goals.
• Have experience in policy development, cross department collaboration and data driven decision making.
• Please provide your registration number

Registration & Membership

• Please provide your registration number

Provide a CV

• Please copy and paste your full CV as your response to this question - you will not be able to upload your CV as an attachment.
• Please ensure to refer to the essential criteria where applicable as your application may be rejected should insufficient information to shortlist be included.
• Please use double spacing where possible

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services)

£46,040 a year PLUS Market Skills Allowance £5000 (pro rata for part time)