Consultant Social Worker - Think Ahead

Description

Surrey County Council is committed to the development of its workforce and as such this role is only available to applicants who already work for Surrey County Council within the Mental Health Service. We thank you for your interest in Surrey County Council and would encourage you to review our current vacancies which are available to all.

The starting salary for this role is £50,942 per annum based on a 36 hour working week.

This is a 12-month secondment opportunity.

We are partnering with Think Ahead – a charity that works with NHS and Local Authority mental health services to strengthen the contribution of social work. We'll be taking on five trainee Social Workers (participants) who will join the organisation in August 2024. This is a great opportunity for one experienced Social Worker to take on the role of Consultant Social Worker.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About the team

You'll be joining a network of leaders across the country promoting and strengthening mental health social work by leading and developing four talented participants, who are passionate about mental health and social work. You'll have the opportunity to develop your skills in practice, supervision, and education and receive fully funded CPD training with Middlesex University.

About the role

In this full-time, 12 month secondment position starting in July 2024, you'll manage a "unit" of up to five participants who are placed in an adult mental health service. You retain a frontline role, share a service user caseload, and act as their leader and role model. You will provide practice education of outstanding quality. You'll work with an academic tutor and assess participants' ability to put social work theories, interventions and legislation into practice.

You will join a group of Consultant Social Workers delivering a prestigious, high-profile initiative across the country (to date, Think Ahead has worked with more than half of NHS Trusts and over a third of Local Authorities). You'll receive CPD training to develop your expertise in evidence-based interventions and leadership skills. You do not need to be a qualified Practice Educator as you will receive Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS) training stages 1 and 2 with Middlesex University. If you have PEPS 2, you will do one day of PEPS refresher training.

Shortlisting criteria

To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:

• You will be a registered Social Worker
• Significant experience of working with service users with complex mental health needs from a range of adult mental health services
• You will also need the enthusiasm, confidence, and authority to inspire others

We expect Consultant Social Workers to role-model these personal qualities following Think Ahead's values:

• Leadership: Acting as a professional role model to lead the participant unit in the organisational context, manage day to day operations and provide inclusive learning opportunities
• Motivation: Commitment to undertake practice education and deliver high quality placement learning
• Adaptability: Ability to adapt to competing demands including managing participants' learning experience as well as their own training and development, and organisational roles and responsibilities.
• Relationship-building: Establish an effective collaborative working relationship with participants and manage authority in the educator/assessor role skilfully with underpinning principles of equality, diversity and inclusion
• Communication: Ability to provide constructive feedback for participants' practice and development
• Problem-solving: Ability to look at strengths-based approaches to navigate complexity in placement learning
• Self-awareness: Understanding of professional values and ethics and able to advise participants of their rights and actively lead on challenging oppressive or discriminatory situations that may be experienced by participants

You can also read about the experiences of some of Think Ahead's current Consultant Social Workers on Community Care and Think Ahead's website.

Contact us

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment.

For an informal discussion please contact Augustine Blankson via email at augustine.blankson@surreycc.gov.uk or Melanie Cookson at melanie.cookson@surreycc.gov.uk.

This advert closes at 23:59 on 24th April with interviews to follow.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below where you will be asked to complete an application form.

Our Values

Our values are as important as our abilities and shape who we are as an organisation. Discover more about our values.

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description. Our Life at Surrey handbook also attached provides insights of the culture at Surrey and how as a valued employee, you can help shape our Council.

Our Commitment 

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where: 

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application 
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.