Social Worker/Best Interests AssessorSalary: £47,420 - £50,512 a yearLocation: The Council House Hours: 37 hours a week (Job share considered)Contract Type: Permanent
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a driven, passionate and committed Social Worker Best Interests Assessor to join the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Team, in Adult Social Care here at Derby City Council.
If you have excellent communication skills, exceptional social work values and experience as a Best Interests Assessor undertaking assessments under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, this could be the ideal role for you.
Based within a friendly and supportive team, this role will include undertaking assessments, providing expert advice and guidance on the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, quality assurance and upholding the rights of citizens of Derby who are residing in care homes or hospital settings, challenging restrictive practice to strive for quality of life and care for all.
Who We AreHere at Derby City Council, we’re dedicated to delivering nearly 250 first-class services to citizens and businesses in the heart of the Midlands. People are at the centre of all that we do, and we have an outstanding track record of recruiting and developing talented individuals by providing them with varied and fulfilling career opportunities. Find out more about what it’s like to work for us.
What We Offer
You too could be part of something brilliant by becoming a colleague at Derby City Council; in addition to making a difference to the lives of people across the city, you’ll also receive:
• Flexible work/life balance scheme • Hybrid working • Modern office environment • Continued professional development opportunities & career conversations• 27 days annual leave (rising to 32 days after 5 years' service), plus bank holidays • Local Government Pension Scheme • Team Derby Rewards – retail and leisure discounts• Tusker Car Benefit Scheme• Cycle2Work Scheme & free cycle training• Employee Assistance Programmes & Support• Access to our Equality Employee Networks – LGBTQ+, Disabled Employee Network & Carers and our Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic Employee Support Network• Support for colleagues who are carers
The Opportunity
In the role of Social Worker/Best Interests Assessor, here’s an example of what you’ll be doing to make an impact:
- Visits to care homes and hospital settings to undertake assessments of Best Interests, Age, No Refusals and Mental Capacity under the Deprivation of Liberty safeguards framework- Analysing information from a range of sources including communicating with customers, their family, friends, carers and professionals involved in their care, to ensure that care being provided is least restrictive, necessary and proportionate and challenging practice where necessary- Participating on a duty rota to provide advice and support in matters relating to the Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and Safeguarding Adults- Providing expertise and guidance to support the ambition and development of others through a range of methods including delivery of training, providing shadowing learning experiences and practice education, mentoring and supervision, as well as creation of practice guidance
About You
To be successful in this role, you’ll ideally have…
- A Social Work Qualification and current registration with Social Work England- Best Interests Assessor Qualification- Able to drive, full driving licence and access to a vehicle. Reasonable adjustments will be made under the Equality Act for disabled people.- Post-qualification experience of social work with adults - Experience of the investigation of complex cases under the safeguarding adults guidance, delivering positive outcomes for customers- Experience of delivering improved outcomes for customers from a person-centred, strength-based approach and working with them to promote independence and choice- Up to date knowledge of best practice of Social Work, Risk Assessment, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and Safeguarding Adults- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including report writing, influencing and negotiation, and the ability to promote and enhance effective working relationships- Understanding of Think Family, Making Safeguarding Personal, Strengths Based practice and other social work theories and approaches- Good knowledge of relevant health and social care legislation and understanding of how that applies to social work practice with adults- Experience of using a range of IT systems and a range of applications to a competent standard- Ability to demonstrate critical and analytical thinking, with a positive attitude to problem solving- Have a good understanding of equal opportunities and the impact of power imbalances in social work practice and be able to demonstrate practical application of anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice
Next Steps
The closing date for this vacancy is at midnight on 26th January 2024. Any applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
Links to the full Job Description and Person Specification are below.
As part of our safer recruitment checks the successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.
All employees will normally be appointed to the minimum of the grade for the job.
Before you complete your application, please read our guidance on filling in your application form.
Remember to align your personal statement to the essential criteria in the Person Specification.
Please be aware that where there are colleagues within the organisation who are 'at risk' of redundancy, requirements to redeploy to another suitable role will apply and take priority.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
We are a fair and inclusive employer and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds. We recruit for diversity and value difference. As many of our roles can now be home-based, we are able to offer more opportunities for people who need this facility.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. If you are a disabled person, you have the choice to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme so long as you demonstrate that you meet the essential requirements for the job.
We feel it is essential that we recruit a talented workforce that is as diverse as the community we work for.
Please let us know of any individual requirements or reasonable adjustments you may have during the application, interview, or onboarding process and we’ll do all we can to help. We strongly believe in social understanding of disability and for us it’s all about removing barriers to equality.
If you have any questions regarding this vacancy or are having difficulty applying, please contact our Recruitment Team on 01332 640844 (Relay UK - 18001 01332 640 844) or at recruitmentteam@derby.gov.uk. https://www.derby.gov.uk/signing-service/
Please see Job Description here
Please see Person Specification here