Responsibilities

If the answer is ‘Yes’, then look no further, we are recruiting to our fantastic Early Resolution and Safeguarding Team here at Buckinghamshire Council!

This is a great opportunity to experience a different pace and style of work and have responsibility for being a gatekeeper for Adult Social Care. Your input can have a positive impact on enabling people to remain independent for as long as possible in the community.

Now is an exciting time to join our team, as we continue on our journey to strengthen and transform our partnership approach, working collaboratively with our internal and external colleagues and sector partners.

The role would include complex case work, supporting more junior colleagues to build on their strengths and experiences, some aspects of safeguarding work, work within the Court of Protection and a real focus on strength-based work and enabling positive risk taking.

In addition to the salary advertised, you will receive a market premium of £2,525 per annum.

About us

Why join us?

You will be joining a collaborative, dedicated and enthusiastic team of Social Work professionals who are very proud of their profession, and whose passion is to work with, support and protect our residents who are most vulnerable in our County, whilst promoting their autonomy at all times in line with Making Safeguarding Personal.

We invest in staff wellbeing

We focus on staff wellbeing to enable our employees to support the most vulnerable communities. To achieve this, we provide regular practice, learning and development opportunities via our team huddles and workshops so as to reflect on and consider ways to creatively support people to retain their autonomy and safety where possible, whilst supporting each other.

We also have monthly team meetings and encourage active participation of employees to ensure your voice is heard. We also organise meditation and “getting active” sessions, hold team building and support volunteering days, and promote open and inclusive communication.

Robust induction

We have an innovative approach to induction whereupon you will be provided with a buddy and presented with a schedule of shadowing opportunities already booked into your calendar to help you settle into your role from the first day on the job.

Staff Benefits

You will receive free parking and an essential car user allowance, we will cover the cost of your annual Social Work England registration.

We value and invest in you

We provide a range of internal and external training courses and free access to RIPFa resources with a council log in. We have a clear career progression pathway to give you opportunities to grow and flourish and you will have a bespoke Personal development plan to support you in exploring your areas of development and interest through your Coaching and Performance Appraisal.

About the role

To ensure the highest standards of service are provided to the residents of Buckinghamshire, Advanced Practitioners will ensure:

• Work in accordance with the Better Lives framework
• Promote and deliver goal-based support people to achieve greater independence
• Promote equality as an integral part of a role and treat everyone with fairness and dignity
• Provide a proactive personalised approach to the delivery of care and practice
• Respond to people’s needs in a timely manner
• Focus on improving people’s well-being
• Give people greater choice and control over the care that they receive
• Take account of people’s risks and safety at all times, identifying mitigations to reduce that risk
• Support people to achieve the outcomes that are most important to them using all available resources and taking responsibility for the public purse
• Supervise staff
• Hold a caseload of complex cases
• Competent in completing safeguarding investigations and court work
• Provide personalised information and advice, safeguarding, assessment, support planning and review to individuals/families and their carers

Mobile:

A ‘mobile’ role gives you the flexibility to schedule your own diary, so you can meet with colleagues and clients in a variety of locations. You’ll access digital folders and resources on your laptop and be able to use the network wherever you are based. Working from home will be common, as well as meeting your team in the office where necessary.

About you

You must be a qualified Social Worker (holding a social work degree or equivalent) and be registered with Social Work England. In addition, a full driving licence with access to a vehicle is an essential requirement for this role.

Naturally, you’ll be a great people person, familiar with working to a strength-based approach. Thinking outside the box, you’ll support your clients and help prevent, reduce or delay the need for care. Bringing your in-depth knowledge of the latest legislation and statutory guidance, you’ll work independently and with colleagues to support adults and their families. Persistence and an adaptable approach are needed in an outcome-focused way with partners such as health services, community sector, housing, care providers and other stakeholders.

If you'd like to hear from some of our current social workers and social care staff, take a look at our careers social media pages Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram

Other information

If you have any questions or would like to hear more about this exciting role, please contact: Sarah Beeks at [email protected]

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

All unspent convictions and conditional cautions

All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

Person Specification

Essential:

Please see the job description for a full list of essential criteria.

Desirable:

Please see the job description for a full list of desirable criteria.