Senior Mental Health Social Worker - Social Care Duty Team

SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 47,000; Part time

Job description

This role has a starting salary of £30,932 per annum (pro rata to £46,399 FTE), based on a 24-hour working week.

We are hiring a Senior Social Worker to join our fantastic Mental Health (MH) Social Care Duty Team for 3 days per week. The team is currently based in Leatherhead but will soon be relocating to Dorking. We are proud to consider ourselves a supportive and friendly team with a strong commitment to supporting residents who present with mental health needs and as a result struggle to meet their social care needs.

We are strongly committed to working in a strengths-based way; we are forward thinking and have a strong ethos of partnership and continuous professional development. The team works flexibly with the expectation that all staff work at least 2 days in the office per week pro rata.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• Hybrid working, including the ability to work from home
• A fantastic Adults Academy which has a fantastic track record of developing our staff and putting our Senior Social Workers in the best position to progress further in their careers.
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Refer a friend scheme

About the Team

The Mental Health Social Care Duty Team (MHSCDT) is the central point of access for all referrals into mental health social care in Surrey. This includes professional referrals; self-referrals; third party referrals and police reports. We cover the whole county. The team undertakes triage and screening of the referrals; complete social care assessments and undertake welfare visits when required. We work closely with residents and carers, as well as with our colleagues in Mental Health Social Care as well as with other internal and external partners to support the residents of Surrey to access the appropriate pathway for their needs.

About the Role

As a Senior Social Worker in the MHSCDT, you will be expected to have wide knowledge of the Care Act; extensive experience in assessing the social care needs of service users and provide direct social work intervention to some of the most challenging and complex service users and their carers.

You will provide effective support to individuals with mental health needs using a strength-based approach to enable individuals to live as independently as possible with more choice and control. As a Senior Social Worker, you will supervise and support staff, as well as work alongside the team manager and assistant team manager to improve processes and shape the team.

You will need to be flexible to work in a challenging environment and will be supported to do so, benefiting from a structured induction programme.

Shortlisting Criteria

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

• Professional qualification in Social Work and current registration with Social Work England.
• Successful completion of an ASYE programme if qualified as a social worker after June 2012.
• A minimum of 2 years of relevant post qualifying experience, including working with complex case management.
• A working knowledge of current legislation, assessments, preparation of care plans, undertaking placement reviews, monitoring and reviewing outcomes.
• Commitment to your own professional development, including maintaining up-to-date knowledge of mental health issues.

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and locality based social care workers will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK and access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 27th April 2025 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 to submit.

Our Commitment

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