Senior Social Worker

Job responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY

To have an identified clinical role for highly complex cases within their designated service.

To provide advice and support to other staff and members of the multi-disciplinary team within the service

To facilitate collaborative working across the FOLS Team, maximizing on the skills of the team members.

Work with other external agencies and partners where appropriate, to ensure that resources for Family Services are available to all service users to live within the community, implementing the Care Programme Approach, where appropriate.

Be responsible for a complex caseload and assist the Team Manager in providing support to other members of the team, including supervising student social workers as required.

Work with the Team Manager and represent the team in working groups set up to raise the quality of practice and improve the effectiveness of the service, when required.

This job description is an outline of the main duties of the post. The postholder will be required to undertake other duties commensurate with the grade as directed.

The content of this post will be reviewed in consultation with the postholder when necessary and in line with the service developments.

KEY RESULT AREAS:

Clinical

To comply with the post holders professional code and Health Care Professions Council code of ethics and professional conduct and to adhere to national and local policies and procedures.

To work in a specialised autonomous capacity accepting referrals for patients/service users referred to your clinical area. Giving advice and support to other members of the multi-disciplinary team.

To be professionally responsible and accountable for all aspects of your own work, including management of patients with complex needs.

To plan and prioritise own patient caseload (where appropriate), with highly complex needs, using highly specialist skills.

To work with patients/families to aid their acceptance, understanding and management of their condition/disability. To provide the necessary support required in a sometimes hostile/antagonistic or highly emotional atmosphere.

To possess the necessary skills to implement time management and prioritise own caseload whilst assisting and supporting all therapy staff and members of the MDT, across your own and other clinical areas.

To carry out risk assessments and make recommendations to reduce risk to meet the needs of service users, staff, and the wider service/ organisation.

Manage a complex workload with the support of senior colleagues in accordance with the directorate and other agency policies and procedures, applying a multi-discipline approach.

To undertake planned interventions, as required, across a range of statutory casework.

To ensure that, where appropriate, effective and efficient enforcement action is taken.

Keep up-to-date with research, develop and disseminate greater understanding of evidence based practice, providing professional assistance and guidance to colleagues within the directorate and other agencies as appropriate.

To maintain and develop communication and cooperation with colleagues, individuals and groups in the community and other statutory voluntary agencies.

To participate in training and advisory activities.

To chair, where appropriate casework meetings and other employee meetings.

An expectation that the postholder will participate fully in supervision and appraisals and contribute to the development and implementation of the Service and Team Improvement Plans.

To promote and develop collaborative working with allied health and social care professionals.

Prepare a range of reports on clients, as appropriate, in accordance with policies and procedures. consultants, senior managers, professional lead, other medical, therapy and nursing staff, social services, voluntary and private agencies.

To be responsible for risk assessment in your own delegated area, ensuring a safe working environment for all staff, patients and members of the general public.

To undertake own continuous professional development, participate in regular clinical and managerial supervision, to organise peer reviews and maintain up to date knowledge of local and national guidance relevant to the area of speciality through research and work within clinical interest groups

Represent the team in a variety of settings/meetings

To prepare a range of reports which meet National Standards and practice requirements.

Organisational/Managerial

To ensure that the service delivery within the team is of a high standard and that all staff are actively involved in all aspects of clinical governance.

Actively influence service changes and development, including the setting up and monitoring of practice standards and when appropriate taking a lead in implementing them.

To implement an induction programme for new staff.

To network with other Forensic Social Work counterparts across the Integrated Care System.

Managing Resources

To have responsibility for any delegated budgets.

To be responsible for managing the effective use of therapy resources.

Trust Values:

The Trust is committed to ensuring the highest standards of care and treatment and expects that all staff treat people e.g, service users, their carers, relatives, friends, colleagues, visitors etc, with dignity and respectat all time. The post holder must all time act in accordance with the Trusts Values:

Honest, open, transparent

Respectful

Person first and in the centre

Improve and be outstanding

Relevant today, ready for tomorrow

Families and carers matter

Safeguarding:

Report any concerns regarding the safety or wellbeing of children, adults service users, members of their families etc, in accordance with Trust Policy

Prevent and respond appropriately to abuse and understand own role in this by undertaking Safeguarding training.

Trust policies and commitments to be read in line with the relevant Trust Policy:

All staff employed by the Trust must comply with the Trusts policies and procedures, undertake appropriate training required for their role and commit to:

ensure they are aware of the Whistleblowing Policy and how they raise concerns;

maintain confidentiality, in line with the Trusts Confidentiality Policy and Code of Conduct;

understand their personal responsibilities with regards to data quality for any information which they create, use or process in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Trust Data Protection Policy;

comply with the provisions of The Trusts Health and Safety Policy and Protocol. Ensuring their own safety and that of colleagues, service users and visitors. Know the action to be taken in the event of a fire and must undertake fire training annually;

receive supervision in line with the Trusts Supervision Policy and an annual Appraisal in line with the Trusts Appraisal Policy, during which mandatory, role specific and personal development needs should be identified and agreed;

understand their responsibilities under the Trusts Equal Opportunities in Employment Policy and ensure that they adhere to the provisions of the policy;

recognise, respect and support the equality diversity of staff, colleagues, service users, carers and the public. Contribute to a working environment which promotes and responds positively to difference and diversity;

ensure they carry out their duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 years, as issued under Section 11 of The Children Act 2004, by being familiar with and adhering to Trust safeguarding policies and participatingin relevanttraining;

comply with their professional responsibilities to develop their practice and deliver care through a Clinical Governance framework (i.e. CPD, Audit, Supervision);

demonstrate, through practice and practical understanding, the importance of the continual development of individual, team and service wide quality improvement;

abide by relevant codes of professional practice, with the organisation taking action when codes of conduct are breached;

work flexibly to meet the needs of the service/organisation, whilst working within a culture of progressive employment practices and commitment to the Investors in People (IiP) Standards.

adhere to the Trusts smoke free policies, which prohibits smoking anywhere on Trust grounds;

being socially responsible by complying with measures that support the Trust in reducing or offsetting our environmental impact;

Identify and report risks, hazards, incidents, accidents and near misses promptly;

In addition to the Trusts own responsibilities under the Health and

Social Care Act 2008, Code of Practice on the prevention and control

of infections and related guidance, for your safety, ALL staff (and

contractors) are responsible for ensuring their work adheres to this

Code in the delivery of safe patient care.

This job description is an outline of the main duties of the post. The postholder will be required to undertake other duties commensurate with the band as directed. The content of this post will be reviewed in consultation with the postholder when necessary and in line with the service developments.

For full duties of the role please see the attached supporting documents.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree or equivalent in Diploma in Social Work, or equivalent recognised by the Central Council for Education & Training in Social Work
• Current valid HCPC registration

Desirable

• MSC/Diploma in relevant area.

Training

Essential

• Evidence of continuing professional development and post graduate training in relevant area
• Have demonstrable competence to work at Masters or Advanced Level
• Experience of managing and assessing risk whilst working independently

Desirable

• Management or leadership training.
• Risk Assessment training.
• Audit training

Experience

Essential

• Extensive appropriate post-registration experience relevant to clinical area..
• Experience in supervising and managing staff

SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

Essential

• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Excellent leadership skills.
• Excellent teaching skills.
• Supervision skills
• Ability to demonstrate highly specialised clinical reasoning and treatment skills.
• Excellent team working skills
• Proven experience of time management.
• Excellent Prioritisation skills
• Negotiating skills
• Knowledge of local and national guidance relevant to clinical area

Desirable

• Basic IT skills

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

Essential

• Ability to undertake the duties and demands of the post. A satisfactory sickness record over the previous 2 years (subject to the need to act with fairness and equality of opportunity, particularly where the sickness is related to a disability and/or pregnancy).
• A Current driving licence and access to a car during the working day is essential (reasonable adjustments will be considered for any applicants who are unable to drive due to a disability)

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

Essential

• Ability to risk assess and deal with health and safety matters for own and others work area and caseloads.
• Ability to work autonomously.
• Ability to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service possibly including evenings and weekend working.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).