Brokerage Team Leader

This is a full time Permanent Post.

ROLE AND PURPOSE

The Adult Social Care vision in Hull is of ‘a life not a service’. Adult Social Care is person centred and focuses on individuals’ strengths to support them to take control of improving their own health, resilience and wellbeing. We want to maximise people’s independence so individuals can achieve their goals and aspirations and live life to the fullest. We work creatively with individuals, local communities and our partners, empowering them to deliver the best possible outcomes for people and to create a positive Adult Social Care culture. Our work is solution focussed, ensuring that those who most need support receive it and that we can continue supporting people in the future. Brokerage is a vital function within Adult Social Care, supporting people to meet their identified outcomes within their support plans. Brokerage will seek to work with people using a strengths-based approach, which will also support people to have self-determination and manage their lives and support to the best of their abilities. In doing so brokerage, as part of support planning, will strengthen people’s existing skills and ways of managing along with supporting them to access community and personal networks to enable them to live as independently as possible. A strong principle of brokerage is to enable people to direct their own support and care by utilising personal budgets, individual services funds along with more traditional forms of service delivery such as home care, day opportunities and residential care.

The Brokerage Team Leader will work with the Brokerage Operational Manager to manage and lead the brokerage team to deliver all the responsibilities and duties required of them as part of the adult social care operating model. This includes providing practice and/or professional leadership to vocationally qualified staff and supporting the development of strengths-based approaches to social care, ensuring a person-centred approach to supporting people to live their lives.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Strategy – Maintain an awareness of changes in national and local contexts and their impact on practice, and communicate this effectively within and outside of the organisation. Positively influence developments that affect social work practice. Contribute to and assist the manager to provide professional leadership of organisational change and development, including the identification of gaps in service. Promote positive working relationships in and across teams, using strategies for collaboration and contribute to a supportive organisational culture. Facilitate case discussion and quality monitoring to ensure that principles of the operating model are understood and implemented. Support the delivery of the Commissioning Strategy as detailed in the published Market Position Statement, utilising commissioned capacity in the most effective way to meet someone’s needs whilst maximising independence through the use of Supported Living Services, both property based and outreach, Extra Care provision, Housing Related Support services for people with Learning Disabilities and Mental Health requirements. Support operational manager to nurture joint working across adult social care managing joint allocations and assessments. Safeguarding of vulnerable adults, implementing principles of Making Safeguarding Personal. Working to legislation, case law and statutory guidance, implements primary legislation and implements assessments/specific pieces of work relating to Mental Capacity Act 2005, Care Act 2014, Human Rights Act 1998, Mental Health Act 1983 including Assessments of Capacity and Best Interest Decisions; Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards assessments and BIA.
• Customer Focus – Co-ordinate a range of strategies/approaches that keep people at the centre of their assessment ensuring that staff demonstrate and evidence effective partnerships that promote peoples’ self-resilience, choice and control. Attend the weekly Quality and Risk meeting, and Integrated Practice Surgery as required, led by the Head of Service for Localities, in which Social Workers present complex and high-cost care package proposals. The meetings review the social work practice, considers the options for meeting a person’s needs and ultimately authorises a series of actions in line with the Care Act duties. The post holder attends the meeting to contribute to the determining of the most appropriate approach to the case, to advise on potential options and market capacity and ensure proposed costings are correct and ensures the authorised actions are carried out by the Brokerage Team. Represent the Brokerage Team at any escalation meetings or Multi-Disciplinary Team meetings to discuss difficult and/or complex cases or Court of Protection issues. These meetings can include social workers, safeguarding officers, NHS, police officers and solicitors and the postholder will advise on commissioned service options, market capacity and will ensure any actions for the Brokerage Team are carried out as requested. Undertake formal complaint investigations and sit on the adjudication panel as part of the formal complaints panel. Responsible for investigating customer, provider and Councillor complaints received outside of the formal complaint process and responding to the complainant. Attend the daily, morning Adult Social Care Huddle meetings with senior managers from across the service and chaired by the Strategic Lead for Integration and Well-being to discuss service pressures and make decisions regarding priorities and pressures. The postholder presents daily figures to the meeting detailing waiting lists for commissioned services and escalates any urgent or problematic issues to the meeting. Distributing guidance and support to enable people to make their own choices and decisions, applying and updating best practice into policy and practice. Model and promote confident and critical application of professional ethics to decision-making using a legal and human rights framework, and support others to do this. Promote and support a partnership approach to working with individuals, communities, families and carers, providing clarity and reasoning when this approach is not appropriate. Ensure that people are always at the heart of the Brokerage Team’s activities. The post holder will make sure that the brokerage team use relevant databases to provide appropriate information and advice including giving an explanation of how people can source community and voluntary activities, get further information and advice, and, if desired/appropriate, purchase goods and services themselves. They will be instrumental in developing and support use of the Council's internal electronic database. Supporting the brokerage team to effectively use finance systems linking to the brokerage service.
• Performance Management – Support operational manager with organising and facilitating team meetings, forums and workshops. Supervise and develop staff through a variety of forums e.g. 1-1 practice development, reflected practice, mentor, coaching including providing honest and constructive challenge/feedback. Research and appraise new ways of working including equipment and digital technology providing expert advice to enable staff/team develops competent and confident practice. As directed support operational manager with continuous team development and service improvements. Direct the prompt implementation of new guidance, procedures and structures work plans to enable staff to complete structured learning and development. Model and assist the manager in taking responsibility for the positive use of workload tools; using workload data to inform the organisation’s workload management and risk management approaches. Contribute to the development and implementation of procedures that are fit for purpose, enhance best practice and contribute to better outcomes. The Team Leader will be responsible for the Brokerage Team meeting its performance expectations in terms of Key Performance Indicators, managing backlogs and waiting times for packages of care to be put in place. The post holder will make dynamic decisions on an ongoing basis on the allocation of resources to ensure the required performance of the Team. Be responsible for conducting practice-based discussions with direct reports to help staff to understand and support development of solution focused conversations, active listening techniques, enhanced legal literacy, and system-wide awareness. Supporting colleagues through supervision to change practices by explaining new ways of working, supporting them to gain new skills and knowledge, providing context to the changes, and enabling staff to respond positively to the social care operating model.
• Leadership – Provide support, advice and encouragement to meet principles of legislation, guidance policies and procedures. To achieve a shift in practice from that based on high intensity care and support provision to practice which prioritises resilience, prevention, and early intervention. Chair weekly Brokerage Practice meetings where Brokerage Assistants escalate cases where they have been unable to broker suitable care packages within the prescribed timescales. The post holder will discuss the case with the Assistant and provide guidance and advice on how to progress the case and make decisions about how best to meet the person’s care needs and discharge the Council’s statutory duties under the Care Act. Screen and triage all assessments and requests coming into the Brokerage Team and allocate work according to urgency and capacity within the Team. Ensure these tasks are completed in the required timescales. It is critical that the postholder ensures care packages are brokered as quickly as possible and within timescales to prevent hospital discharge delays, ensure peoples’ needs are met to enable them to live their lives safely and to ensure the Council’s statutory duties under the Care Act are met. Validate assessments with quality audits of casework including observation of practice to ensure that staff have skills, knowledge and competencies to practice confidently. Facilitate prompt and responsive service especially during periods of high demand/city wide escalation. Realign caseloads to meet increasing demands within the service. Carry out regular inspections/audits of premises and caseloads to ensure that policies and systems are in place which focus on health and wellbeing of staff and people and support the planning and mitigation of business risks and continuity. Promote a culture of professional curiosity embracing research within area of responsibility, encouraging the exploration of different cultures, concepts and ideas. Promote, articulate and support a positive social work identity. Understand concepts of holistic assessment of professional capability and be able to apply to appraisal processes/performance reviews of Brokerage teams and individuals. The Team Leader will be responsible for developing relationships with social work teams in localities, high needs, Humber Foundation Trust and the hospital, along with health colleagues and neighbourhood teams to support the aspirations of the place based operating model. The Team Leader will proactively develop the Brokerage Team’s knowledge of service options available in the marketplace to ensure people receive the most appropriate and cost-effective care package to meet their assessed needs. Ensure any intelligence gathered through support planning is shared with the team. Deputise for Brokerage operational manager as directed in leading team meetings, attending senior officer meetings, providing reports and briefings relating to Brokerage performance and demand. The post holder will lead the respective team to ensure effective professional practice supervision and appraisals take place. They will make sure learning from the staff influence and informs the work of the organisation, providing feedback to strategic leaders, and supporting and managing change as needed.
• Statutory Obligations – Meet the requirements of the professional regulator. Assist operational manager in ensuring practice is compliant with the law. Assist operational manager in ensuring the Brokerage function is ready for the CQC Assurance process and contributes positively to the Council’s overall assessment. Support staff to challenge situations where the interpretation of the law seems unfair or disproportionate. Support staff to access professional social work advice/legal advice to be compliant with the law. Provide advice on statutory issues such as safeguarding, MCA, court of protection, human rights etc. to ensure legal literacy and compliant practice. Prepare evidence, write reports to support operational manager in dealing with complaints, workforce issues, court proceedings etc.
• Budget Management – Responsible for the authorisation of Personal Budgets and spend against Adult Social Budgets to support the people of Hull in receiving the appropriate services. To be accountable for the effective use of resources including budgets directly managed. To ensure brokerage care packages are within agreed and commissioned budgets. Escalate any packages that fall outside the agreed cost thresholds and ensure appropriate authority is obtained. Endorse increases to existing packages of care and authorising service agreements in accordance with the Care Act and to ensure providers are paid the correct amounts in line with their contract. Authorise packages of care up to a value of £1,200 per week.
• Working with Providers – The Team Leader will chair weekly meetings with providers to ensure necessary capacity is available and that peoples’ assessed needs are being met. This will involve identifying and addressing issues of performance with providers and agreeing appropriate mitigating actions. Proactively support providers to be creative in their approach to supporting individuals and to improve their service offer and delivery. Work with providers and brokerage staff to ensure ongoing robust monitoring that service that is being provided meets the desired outcomes.
• Market Development – Stimulate the provider market to ensure the provision of cost effective services to meet the range of needs and goals presented through effective relationship building and negotiation of costs and quality. Regularly meet with Commissioning Managers to address emerging market issues, highlight demand trends and market intelligence and capacity issues to inform the ongoing strategic commissioning work and ensure sufficient capacity exists to meet demand in the city.

Compensation Grades: GRADES 9.

Pay Ranges: £39,862.00 - £42,839.00

Job Classifications: 3- Not Politically Restricted - Designated As Not Politically Sensitive (Politically Restricted Posts), 6- Enhanced (Adult Workforce) - (Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)), Casual - (Travel Allowance Policy), No - (Childcare Disqualification Requirement), No - (Statutory Post), OSP - Other Support Staff (School WorkForce Census)

Benefits of Working of Hull City Council:

• A competitive salary
• An excellent pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Initially 23 days annual leave depending on length of service. You will also get eight public holidays per year, and three additional days off, one in May/August and one during the Christmas/New year period
• Career development and learning experiences from a range of training courses and learning methods
• Supportive and forward-thinking culture
• Great career development opportunities

Please ensure that you complete and submit your application by midnight prior to the closing date. Please ensure that your application demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria against the person specification as listed in the job description. We are committed to increasing the diversity, equality, and inclusion within our workforce to represent the people we serve and build an environment in which everyone can feel like they belong. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. We adopt a ‘name blind’ approach to shortlisting. Recruiting managers will not have access to personal information, including your name and contact details, until a shortlisting decision has been made. Equality monitoring information is not accessible by recruiting managers at any stage. We reserve the right to amend the dates associated with this advert, which may include closing the advert early where required. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. Online searches, including social media, may be carried out as part of the recruitment process.