Senior Social Worker

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust; Wickford; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job description

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About Us

EPUT provides community health, mental health and learning disability services to support more than 3.2 million people living across Bedfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. Also:

• We are among the largest employers in the East of England region, with more than 10,000 staff working across more than 200 sites.
• We run the COVID-19 vaccination programme across mid and south Essex and Suffolk and north east Essex.

EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (NEP) and South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT). A new leadership team was established at the Trust in 2020.

Our Vision

"To be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care".

Our Purpose

"We care for people every day. What we do together, matters".

Our Values

• We Care
• We Learn
• We Empower

Job overview

It is an exciting time to join EPUT as we continue to develop treatment pathways, new processes and therapeutic provisions to meet the needs of our clients with a diagnosis or traits of personality disorder. The Personality Disorder and Complex Needs team has been established to support this client group across usual service boundaries. We are able to provide continuity of care, support successful engagement with locality services through work with colleagues and clients. The holistic Social Work perspective is recognised as a vital provision for this client group who often experience difficulties with relationships and community involvement.

The successful candidate will have experience working with this client group; able to handle a caseload providing specialist assessments and treatment packages, in liaison with locality colleagues. You will have clinical autonomy supported appropriately by the MDT and supervision.

You will either be a qualified AMP or willing to commit to this training.

The PD&CN MDT has established a 'Multi-Agency Forum' in localities across the Trust.

You will support the MAF by participating with Trust colleagues and wider agency partners in developing integrated formulations, treatment planning and robust 'joined up' working relationships for the benefit of client care.

You will provide training, supervision, reflective practice to Trust colleagues and agency partners as appropriate. You will support the KUF training programme.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will be supported with supervision in the MDT but also open to join a group of social workers across the Trust and Social Care Services for expert professional supervision. CPD is encouraged.

The successful candidate will need to demonstrate experience working with clients with a diagnosis of EUPD. This includes relevant theoretical understanding of EUPD, trauma and the ability to work with this distress within the therapeutic relationship.

The post holder needs to be flexible, interested in a post that is varied. The Social Worker is involved in developing formulations with clients and families, recommending packages of care including accommodation arrangements, have a solid working knowledge of the MCA, provide support for colleagues in locality teams and as appropriate support the 'AMP Hub'. You will be involved in securing appropriate placements and accommodation for complex clients. You will work jointly with PD&CN colleagues to provide training and participating in locality 'MAF' amongst other duties.

The successful candidate will either be a qualified AMP or commit to pursue training.

The PD&CN MDT takes a lead on providing training to enhance skills, reduce stigma and develop trauma informed care. You will take an active part in delivering training programmes including Knowledge Understanding Framework. Do you have experiences with this or the commitment to undertake this training 'in-house' leading to ability to deliver the KUF programme.

Working for our organisation

EPUT are looking for motivated staff who share our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;

• Season Ticket Loans
• NHS discounts for staff
• Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
• Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
• The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
• Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
• Day One Flexible Employer

The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The landscape of mental health provision is changing and EPUT is committed to working with partners and all colleagues in developing an outstanding service. EPUT is moving forward on culture change; embracing the value of 'trauma informed care'. The PD&CN team is a leader in the transformation and delivery of trauma informed care.

This post is embedded in the PD&CN team. This is a multi-professional team including psychologists, psychotherapists, a social worker, psychosocial nurse and assistant psychologists support. The Service User Network is an aspect of the provision and brings an exciting dimension to our work. This post offers varied opportunities to use social work theory, practice and your skills to support this agenda. You will be encouraged to provide training, supervision, reflective practice to Trust and partnership agency colleagues, as appropriate.

You will join a team of colleagues all with a commitment to the continued development services that is responsive to client need, is trauma informed. The post holder will work with colleagues to support the engagement of clients and families or caregivers as appropriate in formulation and treatment planning.

The successful post holder will need to demonstrate their ability to be client focused, understand what is meant by trauma informed care, use this and their social work perspective in clinical thinking and interactions with colleagues, carers and other stakeholders at all times.

This is an exciting and diverse role that will enable the continued development of the successful candidate. It is a senior position, the post holder will support the management and continued development of the service. The work pattern is hybrid, in negotiation with the team manager.

Person specification

Education/Qualification

Essential criteria

• Possession of recognised Social Work Qualification - Degree in Social Work, DipSW, CQSW, CSS or equivalent.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Multi-disciplinary Social Care experience within multi-disciplinary team - relevant to people with mental health difficulties.
• Awareness of government guidance and legislation changed across a broad range of NHS and Social Care.

Desirable criteria

• A variety of experiences working with people with mental health difficulties.

Skills/Experience

Essential criteria

• Deals effectively with complex interfamilial and interagency problems and develops solutions.
• Negotiates and implements effective plans for support, enablement, prevention, protection and monitoring, within department/government targets.

Please note - staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered 'suitable alternative employment' to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.

Equal Opportunities Employer

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [e-mail] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Covid Vaccination

Although Covid vaccinations are no longer a mandatory requirement within the NHS we continue to encourage and support the vaccination uptake as this remains the best line of defence against Covid19. The safety of our staff and patients is a top priority for us at EPUT.