Social Workers

We have an exciting opportunity for a Social Worker to join our Adult Community Mental Health Services Team in North Hertfordshire. The area is well served with transport links to historic Hertfordshire and its glorious countryside as well as into London and beyond. We are looking for a Social Worker who is passionate about caring for adults with mental health issues, registered with Social Work England, and has experience working in a community based setting.

The role involves caring for an allocated caseload of clients living in the community experiencing or recovering from mental health difficulties and providing direct support and advice to Service Users and Carers within the recovery framework. It requires working as part of a multi‑disciplinary team and partnering with a range of stakeholders inside and outside of the Trust to provide high quality social care services to adults of all ages experiencing mental ill‑health.

• Responsible for the delivery of care to an allocated caseload of adults living in the community experiencing or recovering from mental health difficulties.
• Provide direct support and advice to Service Users and Carers within the recovery framework.
• Provide assessment, care planning and coordination of care from a social perspective to adults accessing the service.
• Deliver recovery‑focused care and support that is focused on the principles of choice, control and independence, as well as ensuring safety.
• Hold a caseload comprising adults experiencing a wide range of mental health and social care needs.
• Maintain constant reflection and development of practice and ensure continuing professional development in line with the standards set out by Social Work England.
• If not already an AMHP, undertake training to become an AMHP; if already an AMHP, contribute to the Trust's countywide AMHP rota.
• Be a champion of social care with a comprehensive understanding of legislation and statutory guidance.
• Take a lead in the promotion of adult safeguarding practice and undertake safeguarding enquiries and contribute to the provision of care plans that protect both adults and children from abuse.
• Undertake comprehensive assessments and reviews for people who may present with a high risk or significant interpersonal, social, legal and/or environmental complexities, ensuring appropriate assessment against social care eligibility criteria as defined by the Care Act 2014.
• Offer direct support to service users and their carers, and to colleagues, through information and advice, to ensure that those who do not meet social care eligibility are appropriately signposted and supported.
• Ensure that appropriate health and social care services are commissioned on behalf of service users, including duty to offer direct payments, and that processes are in place for service users to be charged by the local authority for the social care services they receive, if applicable.
• Ensure that commissioned services allow choice to service users and carers and focus on people living in the community with appropriate support and access to universal services.
• Undertake regular risk assessments and ensure that vulnerable people are kept safe.
• Undertake carer assessments, including identifying contingency plans and provision of support.
• Be skilled in partnership working and identify, develop, and facilitate a wide range of recovery‑focused community services, ensuring colleagues within the locality are also aware of developments and best practice.
• Ensure the involvement of service users and their carers so that the Trust can learn from their experiences to make improvements to service delivery.
• Ensure accurate computer records of all work undertaken are kept up to date.
• Undertake own post‑qualifying and other appropriate training to ensure high standards of practice and continuation of registration with Social Work England.
• Provide both management and reflective supervision to newly qualified social workers and unregistered social care staff.
• Support newly qualified social workers through the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE), with opportunities to train as an ASYE assessor.
• Undertake duties as an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) or be willing to undertake AMHP training.
• Participate in own regular supervision and ensure regular reflection on own practice as both a social worker and AMHP.
• Undertake other tasks and duties which form part of the delegated social care responsibilities accepted by the Trust on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council.
• Adhere to Trust policies and procedures.
• Undertake additional training as required.
• Carry out any other duties as appropriately identified by the Line Manager.

The postholder will be expected to work as part of the multi‑disciplinary team. They will need to work in partnership with service users and carers and a wide range of stakeholders within and outside of the Trust. They will need to demonstrate principles of dignity and respect, focusing on personalisation, choice, and control. They will be a champion and expert in the field of social care and safeguarding and will be responsible for ensuring that colleagues within the service provide high quality social care services.

The postholder will receive and share highly complex, sensitive, and contentious information about service users and carers with other professionals and key stakeholders both within and outside of the Trust. Information will include assessment and details of risk and may be conveyed in a hostile or highly emotive atmosphere. Communication may focus on issues of a highly sensitive nature, e.g. child protection, adult safeguarding, Mental Health Act assessments. Social Workers are professionally accountable for information which may be shared formally, either verbally or in writing. Communication with some service users and carers may be controversial and received with hostility and/or rejection.

The postholder will demonstrate professional knowledge and competence gained through social work training, leading to registration with Social Work England. Expertise within their specialism must be underpinned by theory and post‑qualification training. The postholder’s work will be relatively autonomous, but a reasonable level of support and supervision is provided. Their work will focus on integrated assessment, care planning and care management directly with service users and carers who present with the most complex circumstances.

The postholder will be professionally accountable for their own activities and for the advice and guidance they give to other qualified and unqualified staff within the locality. This will include providing clinical supervision to less experienced social workers and un‑registered social care staff. The postholder will undertake appraisals of staff they supervise. They will supervise and mentor students.

The postholder will be an authorised signatory for packages of care for service user and carers within a delegated scheme of responsibility. They will handle cash and valuables of service users as required. The post holder will act as an agent of appointeeship and handle service user resources in accordance with legislation. They will ensure that local authority charging policies are carried out in line with local and national guidance.

The postholder will implement policy and propose changes in relation to general social care and mental health practice and development which will have an impact across the locality and/or Trust. They will be proactive in identifying where improvements could be made. They may be asked to comment on local policies.

The postholder will assess needs and outcomes and analyse a wide range of information in relation to service users and carers. They will ensure that complex information is analysed, and recommendations made, for which there is professional accountability. They will involve service users and carers to enable us to learn from their experiences. The postholder may be asked to undertake surveys and audits within their locality and contribute to trust wide surveys when required.

The postholder will plan and organise activities requiring formulation and adjustment which may be complex. They will set up, review, and adjust care plans and organise multi‑disciplinary meetings and case conferences, negotiating with other professionals and stakeholders as appropriate. They will be expected to chair case discussions and strategy meetings. The postholder will be expected to contribute to team and countywide rotas of work and contribute to duty systems. They will contribute to AMHP rotas as required.

The postholder will undertake visits in a variety of environments, within and outside of Hertfordshire, including own homes, acute units, residential and day units. This may include the need to manage verbal aggression and aggressive behaviour. They will need to use light physical effort. The role also requires sitting and concentration for sometimes long periods of recording and report writing.

Within the role there is a frequent requirement for prolonged concentration, which is required when dealing with service users and carers who may be experiencing a crisis, or when writing reports and case notes. They may experience service users who pose challenging behaviours or be exposed to highly distressing circumstances, e.g. exposures to situations of direct or threatened abuse, or disclosures of violence, abuse and extreme risk. Work may frequently be interrupted to deal with emergency situations and to give urgent advice to colleagues. Attendance at courts and tribunals will include close cross‑examination and a high level of concentration and competence.

An appropriate professional Social Work qualification. Education to Degree level. Registration with Social Work England. Proven post‑qualification experience. Knowledge of legislation, theory and policy in relation to relevant care group. Experience of undertaking assessments, focused as personalisation, choice and control and care planning. Experience of working as an Approved Mental Health Professional and/or Best Interests Assessor.

If you are not already an AMHP, you will be prepared to undertake the training required to undertake the AMHP role as your career progresses. If you are already an AMHP, you will contribute to the Trust's countywide AMHP rota.

We can offer you a competitive salary, staff benefits package, excellent career development and training that comes from working for Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. Whilst it is a challenging period for the NHS, there has never been a more exciting time to join HPFT. We are on a 'Good to Great' journey as we continue to innovate, improve, transform and deliver the very highest standards of care to the service users and communities that we serve.