Responsibilities

Despite the challenges that Adult Social Care has faced, our approach in Buckinghamshire has not been to take shelter and wait for the storm to pass. Instead, we have chosen to transform and restructure Adult Social Care so we can respond to a crisis as well as build for the future. We have created more roles in Social Work and Occupational Therapy; we are adapting to work much more closely with the community and support people near to where they live; we have developed a career progression framework to encourage staff ambition and development. In addition, to establish the conditions to deliver outstanding practice, we have reduced the numbers that managers supervise and the caseloads the team have, to allow for more contact with our residents.

You will be entitled to a ‘Golden Hello’ lump-sum payment of £2000 paid on successful completion of your probationary period.

About the role

To ensure the highest standards of service are provided to the residents of Buckinghamshire, Occupational Therapists will:

• 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
• Provides 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
• 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 Council laptop and will be able to access 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 have a degree or equivalent qualification in Occupational Therapy and have a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration. In addition, a full driving licence with access to a vehicle is an essential requirement for this role.

Naturally, you will be a great people person, familiar with working to a strength-based approach where you think outside of the box and enable people to 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 is needed in an outcome focused way with partners such as health services, community sector, housing, care providers and other stakeholders.

If you are looking to return to occupational therapy please contact Tom.Judge@buckinghamshire.gov.uk or Lauren.Evans@buckinghamshire.gov.uk to find out more information.

If you'd like to hear from our current Occupational Therapy team, visit our Bucks Careers pages Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Please see the attached job summary for full details.

Person Specification

Essential:

• Qualified Social Worker or Occupational Therapist
• Commitment to continuing professional development
• Demonstrable experience in relationship and strengths-based practice, working collaboratively with adults and their families.
• Demonstrable experience of undertaking direct work with adults
• Proven experience in one or more areas of practice and have a broader knowledge of local and national resource networks
• Ability to use advanced theoretical/practical/ procedural/ organizational/ police knowledge across a specialist area.
• Knowledge and experience of working with vulnerable adults in a statutory setting
• Knowledge and experience in the application of relevant legislation, statutory guidance, standards and local policies and procedures
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience in the application of relevant theoretical frameworks, practice models and research findings
• Ability to demonstrate awareness of legislation relating to General Data Protection Regulations and Freedom of Information
• Demonstrable ability to build sound, productive working relationships with colleagues, partners and other staff.
• Demonstrates strong assessment skills and analysis of relevant information and develops multi agency outcome-focused plans to improve outcomes for adults using evidence based practice.
• Engages effectively with adults and has experience of using different tools and methodologies to communicate with adults.
• Ability to maintain accurate and up to date case records in a timely manner
• Ability to write high quality written reports which are suitable for a variety of professional settings.
• Ability to analyse and interpret varied and complex information, developing strategies and solutions for the medium and long term.
• Ability to use well developed communication skills to present complex/sensitive information in an understandable way, to a range of audiences.
• Competent in the use of Microsoft Office packages as well as an electronic case management systems
• Ability to practice effectively and competently with an increasing level of autonomy and independence.
• Ability to determine which interventions, knowledge and skills to deploy to effectively respond to different issues.
• Ability to carry out tasks which impact on the wellbeing of people, including assessing needs, implementing care/welfare, implementing regulations, providing guidance on internal procedures and interpreting policies and procedures to meet specific circumstances or problems.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage time and workload effectively.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team to achieve team and service plan objectives and targets.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality at all times
• Social Work Advanced Practitioner - Qualified Social Worker
• Occupational Therapist - BSC degree in Occupational Therapy or COT Diploma qualification or equivalent
• Successful completion of qualifying year together with one years post qualifying experience of working with adults
• Full driving licence with access to a vehicle
• Registration with Social Work England or HCPC
• Commitment to continuous professional development
• Ability to demonstrate a commitment to individual and reflective supervision
• Enhanced DBS check
• Work flexibly where needed to facilitate seven day working
• An understanding of Social Work England’s/ HCPC’s professional standards and a commitment to upholding them in your practice

Desirable:

Please see the job description for further information.