Specialist Social Worker

Integrated Care System; Manchester; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

An integrated care system in Manchester is seeking a Specialist Social Worker. This senior role involves leading the identification of social care requirements for children and young people, ensuring their safety and wellbeing. Key responsibilities include managing multi-disciplinary collaborations and providing social care risk assessments. Candidates should have a degree in social work, specialist knowledge in child mental health, and experience in safeguarding practices. A competitive salary from £47,810 to £54,710 per annum is offered.

Qualifications

• Degree / Diploma in Social Work required.
• Professional registration and commitment to ongoing development necessary.
• Qualification in safeguarding supervision and accredited training qualification expected.

Responsibilities

• Lead on identifying social care requirements and safeguarding processes.
• Collaborate on safeguarding best practices with multi-disciplinary team.
• Support families in developing practical parenting strategies.

Skills

Knowledge of safeguarding policies

Experience with children and families

Leadership skills

Education

Degree / Diploma in Social Work

Specialist knowledge in child and adolescent mental health

Job description

Go back Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Specialist Social Worker

The closing date is 05 August 2025

To function as an independent senior member of the MDT leading on the identification of social care requirements, safeguarding needs of children and young people, and safeguarding processes within the service, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the children and young people and ensuring staff follow correct policy and procedure.

To contribute towards the management and development of the Service.

To provide social care risk assessments appropriate to the child/young person's and parent's/carers needs and contribute to care planning within a multi-disciplinary team.

To work with and develop effective relationships with voluntary and statutory social care services.

To ensure parents and carers' needs are identified and assessed.

To develop the role of social work within the service and ensure active engagement with national inpatient CAMH services.

Main duties of the job

Safeguarding

To collaborate with Trust safeguarding nurses and named doctor for safeguarding.

To promote safeguarding best practice, working in partnership with the MDT and Safeguarding Team.

To ensure safeguarding referrals are made to the local authority and lead on disclosure work in collaboration with the MDT and Safeguarding Team.

Support families/carers in developing practical parenting strategies which enhance positive parent/carer-child relations.

Access the needs of children and young people who may need Local Authority Children's Social Care intervention and make appropriate referrals.

Create and maintain effective relationships with children, young people, their parents, families, and carers to ensure diverse needs are identified, met, and reviewed.

To liaise with local authorities under Section 85 of the Children Act where children have been, or are expected to be, an inpatient for three months or more.

To further enhance safeguarding training and safeguarding supervision to service staff in accordance with Trust and Divisional Safeguarding Supervision Policy and Safeguarding Training Needs Analysis.

To provide information and advice and signpost to resources on safeguarding children/young people and be accessible to all staff to support their day-to-day practice.

Please see JD & PS for further information.

About us

MFT is one of the largest NHS Trusts in England with a turnover of over £3bn. We are creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.

Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 30,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate, providing a scale of opportunity that is extraordinary.

We've also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & innovation through Hive, our Electronic Patient Record system launched in September 2022.

We're proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, supporting high-quality research programmes. We're also embarking on our Green Plan to make healthcare more sustainable.

At MFT, we foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development, and prioritize your health and wellbeing.

Job responsibilities

To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience needed, please see the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading. We recommend reading the Candidate Essentials Guide for detailed information about the Trust, benefits, and application process.

Diversity Matters

MFT is committed to promoting equality, valuing diversity, and eliminating discrimination. We encourage applications from all individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. If you have any special requirements, please contact our team at [e-mail].

We look forward to hearing from you!

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Degree / Diploma in Social Work
• Specialist knowledge in child and adolescent mental health or equivalent to Masters level
• Professional registration maintained and commitment to ongoing professional development
• Qualification in safeguarding supervision
• Accredited training qualification

Knowledge/Experience

• Knowledge of safeguarding policies, guidelines, and legislation
• Experience with children and families with complex mental health issues
• Leadership skills, supervising staff and students
• Training delivery experience
• Policy development and implementation experience
• Understanding of issues affecting minority and socially excluded groups
• Knowledge of child health, development, and maltreatment
• Experience in multi-agency child protection work
• Experience with relevant legislation and court procedures
• Experience in CAMH settings and assessments

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to DBS checks as per the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975.

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

£47,810 to £54,710 per annum (pro rata)