Senior Social Worker - Adults Hospital Team

About Us

Are you keen to join a dynamic social work service, at the forefront of integrated collaborative working across Health and Social Care?

Richmond and Wandsworth Adult Social Care & Public Health Department has strong social work values.

“Delivering the best for residents” is our vision for change in Adult Social Care across Richmond and Wandsworth Councils in South West London.

Above all, we value promoting wellbeing and supporting residents to remain active in their communities and to retain their independence for as long as possible.

We need Senior Social Workers to join our Hospital Social Work Teams. Our teams are high performing, committed to integrated working and delivering the right care, in the right place at the right time. Our service supports the safe and timely discharge of our residents from several hospital sites, working closely with our community Health and Hospital Trust colleagues to deliver Discharge to Assess.

This is a great opportunity for experienced Social Workers to move up in their career and skilled Senior Social Workers who want to progress and advance into the future of Adult Health and Social Care. A keen interest in joint working with our Health colleagues is essential.

We need our Senior Social Workers to be at the forefront of maintaining high quality practice in professional social care to support the team to maintain these standards. You need clear verbal and written communication skills, being able to represent Adult Social Care.

Senior Social Workers support the management of the team to deliver a high quality and person-centred service, that values and promotes independence and well-being of our residents after leaving hospital.

The role includes providing regular formal supervision, co-ordination of referrals, oversight and clear decision making. You will be a safeguarding adults manager (SAM) or willing to train as part of this role.

The current Discharge to Assess model is in operation seven days per week. You will work a 36 hour week over a seven day period. This role will include some weekend working, on a rota system. 

As a qualified, SWE registered, Senior Social Worker the key aspects of the role include:

• Provide professional supervision to front line staff
• Participate in managing the duty service across the Discharge to Assess service
• Provide SAM oversight on safeguarding cases
• To independently manage a caseload, including safeguarding enquiries
• To arrange and undertake Care Act Assessments including home visits, as per the Discharge to Assess guidance
• To arrange and undertake Mental Capacity Assessments and Best Interest Meetings
• To implement packages of care as per Discharge to Assess guidelines
• Deputise for the Assistant Service Manager
• Work in partnership with health and community colleagues
• To participate in Continued Professional Development 
• To maintain Social Work England professional standards

 The person interested in this post will:

• Have experience with
• Hospital discharge
• Care Act Assessments
• Mental capacity Assessments
• Safeguarding
• Using a strength based approach
• Screening referrals
• A ‘can do’ attitude to work
• Continuously seek better value for money and improved outcomes
• Have the interests of residents and service users at heart and ensuring they receive the highest standards of service
• Take a team approach that values collaboration and partnership working
• Understand relevant legislation, national guidance and frameworks and how to implement them
• Have knowledge and experience in safeguarding adults
• Have excellent communication and time management skills

The Adult Social Care and Public Health Directorate is committed to providing Continuing Professional Development and ensuring that our practice is forward thinking, dynamic and works within the principles of Strengths Based Practice. We will offer the successful candidate supportive, regular supervision, training and the opportunity to develop their career within an organisation that works towards positive outcomes.

We are committed to the development of our staff, and our Adult Social Care Academy offers a range of professional development opportunities for staff in Adult Social Care and Public Health. 

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including, working from home, compressed or term time only, job shares and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore. We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 39 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities.

In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline:

Useful Information:

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the advertised dates for interviews may change due to the current Covid-19 situation. If they do, we will let you know as soon as possible. Your health and wellbeing is our top priority. Should you become unwell due to Covid-19 during the recruitment process we would very much appreciate receiving an update from you as soon as possible.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. 

The application process for this campaign will be anonymised. 

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important Information:

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).