Social Worker

NHS Jobs; Hereford; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 22,000; Full time

Job summary

St Michaels Hospice in Herefordshire seeks a Social Worker to deliver and develop specialist palliative social work services across hospice settings. You will provide expert psychosocial assessment and interventions for patients, families and carers facing complex emotional and safeguarding issues related to life-limiting illness.

Work alongside Information and Advice Navigators to maximise community support, while developing services and contributing to grant applications.

Qualifications

• Qualified social worker with professional registration is essential.
• Experience in complex social care within palliative settings is expected.
• Ability to manage safeguarding and family dynamics with discretion.

Responsibilities

• Deliver specialist palliative social work across hospice settings.
• Assess and support patients, families and carers with complex needs.
• Collaborate with Information and Advice Navigators to access practical support and services.
• Support safeguarding and professional conduct within the team.

Skills

Empathy

Communication

Assessment

Teamwork

Organisational skills

Independence

Emotional resilience

Professional development

Education

Social worker qualification

Social Work England registration

CQSW/DIPSW or equivalent

Job description

Job title: Social Worker

Salary Range: 18-20-22

Department: Supportive Care

Location: Pan-Hospice

Place of work: St Michaels Hospice, Bartestree

Reports to: Lead Social Worker

Responsible for: Information and Advice Navigators

Job purpose

Deliver and further develop specialist palliative care social work services across all Hospice settings. The postholder will provide expert psychosocial assessment, intervention and support for patients, families and carers experiencing complex emotional, social, family, or safeguarding issues associated with life-limiting illness, dying and bereavement. The postholder will work alongside the Information and Advice Navigators, focusing on interventions requiring professional social work expertise while delegating less complex practical support, benefit applications and community signposting through agreed pathways.

Service provision

Provide a highly skilled, specialist palliative social work service to those individuals, children, adults and families at highest risk of social, emotional and/or family breakdown during illness and bereavement within the hospice and home environment. Assist in identifying, assessing and monitoring the impact of illness, dying and bereavement on individuals and family dynamics. Design, implement, monitor and evaluate individual and family interventions to promote the social and emotional well-being of all those affected, patients, carers and family members. Provide specialist assessment of complex needs and coordinate appropriate interventions to meet the psychosocial, emotional and safeguarding needs of patients and families. Work jointly with the Information and Advice Navigators to ensure patients access practical support, statutory services and community resources. Develop relationships with community agencies and partner organisations while supporting the Information and Advice Navigators to maximise community-based support available to patients and carers. Contribute to grant applications for social and psychological care services and projects as required.

Communication and Education

Liaison and collaboration with external health and social care agencies, schools and colleges (alongside HOPE) to develop more proactive, multi-disciplinary supportive palliative care service provision throughout the County of Herefordshire. Initiate and facilitate referrals to external providers where appropriate to optimise the use and development of resources available in the community. Assist in the collation of user feedback and undertake needs analysis, research and audit to inform service development as required. Assist in educating and supporting the Hospice MDT in the development and application of legislative policies and procedures e.g. DOLS and Safeguarding. Progress integration of the specialist supportive care model into true multi-disciplinary working pre- and post-bereavement within Hospice practice (community patient, out-patient, day-patient and in-patient services) to enhance patient and carer experience.

Management and supervision

• Attends Supportive Care team meetings
• Line manage and supervise the Information and Advice Navigator
• Provide supervision, guidance and case consultation regarding delegated social care activities
• Accept escalations where patient needs require specialist social work intervention
• Support effective allocation of work between specialist social workers and the Information and Advice Navigators
• Operate as part of an expert social work resource, internally and externally. To work alongside the wider multidisciplinary team in promoting the Rehabilitative Palliative Care approach enabling people to live fully until they die.

Specialist knowledge and experience

Essential

• Qualified social worker, CQSW, DIPSW degree or equivalent
• Professional registration with Social Work England
• Social work experience in complex environments with responsibility for managing own case load
• Able to work weekends and evenings as required
• Hold a clean valid UK driving license

Desirable

• Experience of working with social work students
• Experience of working with: Grief, loss, death and bereavement, welfare benefits, children, adolescents, family work, group work

Skills and behaviours

Relating to others: quickly builds rapport and easily establishes relationships with individuals and families and is able to work at depth with complex issues. Works alongside and interacts with others in a sensitive and effective way.

Assessment: ability to identify and assess patient and family needs with respect to financial, physical, emotional and psychological vulnerability and strengths.

Communication: able to utilise skilled verbal communication in all areas of practice to achieve best possible outcomes for patients and families. Writes fluently, clearly and concisely.

Advocacy: negotiates on behalf of patients and families. Is persuasive and influences decision making.

Team working: Develops effective and supportive relationships with internal and external colleagues. Collaborates with colleagues to provide effective service provision.

Organisation: manages own workload and organises own time effectively.

Ability to work independently in the day to day implementation of social work practice.

Able to develop and maintain emotional resilience.

Commitment to professional development: Identifies own learning needs and maintains professional development.

Special conditions

• This post is conditional to a standard/enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check.

Our values

What matters to you is whats important to us To ensure we deliver upon this every day, we empower people to work collaboratively to reach the best possible decisions, realise them in the best possible way and at the best possible time. We value: Knowledge, judgment, and kindness in reaching the best possible decisions, courage, integrity, and passion in realising those decisions in the best possible way, and honesty, empathy, and determination in doing so at the best possible time. Living our values influences the way we behave. The way we behave informs the way we do things. The way we do things is the St Michaels way.

Equal Opportunities Statement

At St Michaels Hospice we are committed to an equal opportunities approach in everything we do. This means that we seek to ensure anyone connected with St Michaels, from patients and families through to donors, supporters, volunteers and staff are treated fairly, appropriately and with dignity and respect

September 2026