Senior Social Work Practitioner - Learning Disability and Autism Team in Newcastle upon Tyne

We recognise the demands of a Senior Practitioner role and the need to support our staff; we offer regular one-to-ones with a Team Manager, regular team meetings as well as learning and development opportunities relevant to the role.

We are looking to recruit a Senior Social Work Practitioner into the Intake section of the team. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to develop skills relevant to each area of work as there may be a need to support each area if the situation requires it. We are looking for a dynamic individual who is committed to providing an excellent social work service and who will bring a comprehensive knowledge and skill-base to the challenge of working with adults who have a learning disability and/or autism, their families and carers. You must be an enthusiastic team player who is passionate about achieving the best outcomes for adults. Candidates will be required to have the determination, commitment and social work value base to create positive outcomes for adults in the City. You will have experience of working in Adult Social Care and have relevant skills and experience across a range of areas, such as experience of assessment and support planning, hospital discharge planning, Mental Capacity Act assessments, safeguarding adults procedures and of making applications to the Court of Protection work, as well as working with partner agencies as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

You will also be self-motivating and able to prioritise your work load and complete work to a high standard, often within tight timescales. You will be expected to undertake in‑depth and complex casework while assisting the Team Managers to deliver services in accordance with agreed objectives, financial targets, quality and performance standards which will improve the outcomes for individuals and families. You will also be required to mentor and support trainee and unprogressed social workers and other social care support staff while fostering a learning environment. This post requires you to hold a relevant Social Work qualification such as the Social Work Degree, DipSW, CQSW or CSS. You must be registered with Social Work England and have completed Post Qualifying modules and In‑House progression (or equivalent process from a previous employer).

You would receive a warm welcome if you joined the Learning Disability and Autism Team at Newcastle City Council. We are using the innovative Newcastle 3 conversations model to enable our Social Workers to have open and interesting conversations with people and families who need our support, and with our colleagues and partners to foster collaboration to make things happen, so that we can be useful for people and help them get on better with their lives. The team is structured to maximise the support that we can offer to people, their families, carers and our partner agencies and comprises of two sections; Intake which focuses on new referrals and short‑term work including preventative and strengths‑based work that promotes the independence of people at the point of referral; and Intervention for those with more complex needs and more in‑depth work to fulfil statutory obligations, often involving applications to the Court of Protection.

Newcastle is a great place to work and here are some of the benefits that make us think there is nowhere better:

• Generous annual leave plus Bank Holidays with the ability to buy additional leave annually
• Access to a generous, defined benefit pension scheme
• Access to a home electronics scheme and vehicle leasing scheme
• A range of flexible working options, including the ability to take two flexi days per month
• Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave
• Working in a supportive team environment
• Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring