Senior Practitioner

As a Senior Practitioner Social Worker in the Promoting Independence and Reablement team, you will play a key role in promoting an independence-focused approach, ensuring that the social, health and welfare needs of adults in South Gloucestershire are met in line with departmental strategic objectives. You will be instrumental in delivering timely assessments, support planning and service procurement for individuals referred into the Reablement Service from the community, as well as those discharged from Hospital Discharge Pathway 1.

With the support of a Team Manager, you will take a proactive role in the day-to-day supervision of the team, providing advice, guidance and support on casework and practice. Working with other senior practitioners, you will assess risk, manage safeguarding referrals and provide direction on complex cases, ensuring all decisions are informed and aligned with procedures and professional standards. It will be your responsibility to maintain high performance and quality standards across the team, ensuring compliance with statutory and local requirements whilst supporting positive outcomes for service users.

Using your experience and knowledge, you will prioritise and allocate work efficiently, ensuring accurate record-keeping and the delivery of clear, concise and high-quality reports. As an experienced practitioner, you will maintain up-to-date professional knowledge of legislation and practice, while actively supporting the development of students and newly qualified staff.

It is essential that you hold a relevant professional qualification such as DipSW, CQSW, CSS and be registered with Social Work England. We are looking for someone who has significant post-qualifying experience within a social care setting, including managing complex cases and supporting casework supervision. You must have the skills, knowledge and confidence to assess and manage risk effectively, while providing clear guidance, oversight and support with casework. You will demonstrate a commitment to continuous professional development, maintaining up-to-date knowledge of current legislation and best practice in social care.

You will be expected to travel throughout the authority and surrounding area so you must have a full, valid driving licence with regular access to a vehicle or have an alternative means of travel. Business insurance will need to be added to your insurance policy and you can claim back mileage expenses. Please note that due to the nature of this role, it is a requirement of employment that an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is obtained. This role is hybrid, with a mixture of working at our office in Badminton Road, working from home and working within the community.

As part of our benefits package, you will receive generous annual leave (pro rata), employee wellbeing support and you will have access to a range of staff discounts, including eye tests, travel, shopping and leisure activities. We recognise that our diverse team of skilled and dedicated people make us a great place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and developed on the basis of their merits and abilities.

If you want to develop a specialism, you’ll get the support you need and your cases will be aligned with your areas of expertise. Seniors and managers will genuinely listen at panel and will support you to ensure your service user’s needs are met. What’s special here is the strength of the team ethos. We are a relatively small local authority, so managers know staff well. They can plan their services to ensure teams have manageable caseloads and have effective supervision so feel supported to make decisions which are right for the people they work with.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the safety and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, ensuring all our staff are given the right skills, knowledge and support to recognise and respond effectively to potential abuse or neglect. Our teams at South Gloucestershire Council are making a real difference to the lives of people who live, work and learn here. We're building and shaping communities which people are proud of. We're working with the most vulnerable in our community to help them achieve what they want in life. We're investing in our schools to ensure every child and young person in South Gloucestershire achieves their full potential.

We've achieved a great deal, but we need talented and dedicated people to ensure we continue to make a difference. We’re making a difference, be part of it!