Social Worker (Emergency Duty Team)

Social Worker – Emergency Duty Team (EDT), Children’s Social Care

Fixed Term / Secondment Opportunity for 6 months

PO4: £49,638 rising in annual increments to £55,710 pa LW Plus, an enhanced of 20% for out of hours and an additional £3,000 AMHP allowance

Full Time / Hybrid Working

In Lambeth, we are focused on practice that builds relationships, enables and supports change for families, and promotes children’s and adults’ wellbeing and development. We believe we can achieve this by working with families and children openly and collaboratively.

The Out of Hours Social Work Team is responsible for dealing with all social services emergencies and statutory duties that arise outside normal office hours. Their role is to carry out an initial assessment of the presenting situation and establish a safe and viable solution pending follow up by the daytime services. This role includes the out of hours workers carrying out Mental Health Act Assessment under the Mental Health Act.

This is an exciting opportunity to join Lambeth Emergency Duty Team (EDT) as a social worker. The team provides a statutory out of hours emergency response to children, young people and their families where their circumstances require immediate intervention that cannot wait until the next working day. As such, the team plays a pivotal role in safeguarding and supporting our most vulnerable residents.

The Role

As a qualified experienced Social Worker, you will have a broad and detailed knowledge of all statutory functions of Social Care and Health Services (including legislation, policy, and procedures). Whilst on duty you will triage and prioritise incoming work ensuring that the appropriate response is made in line with policy and procedure and using your professional judgement. Working with complex situations that require thorough and robust risk assessments, crisis intervention and decision-making. The core focus of this role is to be the single point of contact for the social care service for children, adults, young people, and mental health, out of hours.

About You

To provide a service to individuals and families in social crisis which requires an immediate and/or urgent response, using social work methods, models and tools. The service is operated from 5pm until 9am, and 24 hours on weekends and bank holidays. The role requires an experienced Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) and Children Social Worker. Successful applicants will be committed to providing an effective and responsive service in emergency situations to children, young people and their families in accordance with relevant statutory legislation and guidance, including the Children Act 1989, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023, the London Safeguarding Procedures, and the Concordat on Children in Custody 2017. The successful candidate must also be conversant with the Mental Health Act, Care Act, The Mental Capacity Act and other relevant legislation pertaining to adults. Additionally, the successful candidate will require excellent communication skills, the ability to work autonomously and to respond swiftly to emergencies, as well as the ability to work with a diverse range of agencies and teams. Good IT skills are also essential.

If you have vision, creativity, and commitment, can work under pressure and are looking for a new challenge that can make a positive difference to people’s lives, we would like to hear from you.

How to Apply:

If you’re interested in this opportunity, click on the apply button and complete an online application by uploading a Cover Letter and CV. Please make sure your Cover Letter clearly evidences how you meet the criteria marked with an 'A' at shortlist stage on the job specification page. We operate an anonymised application process, so be sure to remove personal details when uploading your CV and Cover Letter.

Closing date: 10th July 2025 at midnight

We especially encourage applications from people from underrepresented groups and while the role is open to all applicants, Lambeth will utilise the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010 to appoint a candidate from underrepresented groups where there is a choice between two candidates of equal merit. At Lambeth, we are dedicated to providing quality services and equal opportunities for all. We are committed to safer recruitment and are proud to be a Stonewall diversity champion, a Living Wage Employer, and to guarantee interviews for all disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria of the role.