Social Work Assistant

Role Responsibility

Mental Health Social Work in Kent is in the process of engaging with exciting developments that are enabling us to develop a service based on national guidance which places the person, rather than their label at the centre of our practice. Through the application of strengths based practice we seek to collaborate with our colleagues across all avenues of adult social care provision to make a difference by providing interventions that wrap around the individual and ensure that the response they receive is person centred and local in delivery. This ensures that individuals are enabled to secure the services they require without having to repeat their narrative or rely upon the labels attributed to them. The Early Discharge Planning Team is proud to adopt and promote this approach to adult social care.

This service which is co-located with our health colleagues is now looking to appoint a Social Work Assistant based at Priority House Hospital in Maidstone. You will be providing support to qualified social care staff who seek to offer assessments and urgent interventions under the Care Act 2014 to individuals who suffer from mental ill health and have unmet social care needs.

The role will offer you plenty of opportunities to both undertake and contribute to training initiatives and in-house core training courses, while assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating appropriate recovery plans under the guidance of qualified practitioners. We are committed to working in co-production with service users and carers, within a recovery approach which maximises self-determination and empowerment. Working alongside multi-disciplinary colleagues and with other agencies, including Acute and Community Trusts, Primary Care Services and the voluntary sector you will support service users and carers to develop personalised care and support plans which draw on community resources in order to achieve the most positive outcomes.

You will be educated to NVQ in Care Level 2 or equivalent and be working towards NVQ in Care Level 3 or equivalent. You will have GCSE or equivalent in Mathematics and English. You will have experience of working with people with social care needs and of undertaking initial assessments.

You must also possess:

•          Experience of working within a multi-agency environment.

•          Knowledge of relevant Mental Health and Social Care legislation and the welfare     benefits system.

•          Good computer literacy and report writing skills.

•          Excellent interpersonal skills and mediation and negotiation skills.

•          Ability to work in partnership with people, the Kent Enablement and Recovery Service (KERS) and with our Strategic Partners to help identify services or resources in the community that can support well-being.

Previous Applicants need not apply.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Application to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

The ability to travel across a wide geographical area in a timely and flexible manner at various times of the day is essential.

Contact Details

If you are interested in developing your practice skills by joining a dynamic and progressive Mental Health social work team, please contact:

Szilvia Mackenzie, Team Manager for the Early Discharge Planning Team on 03000 422953.

About the Company

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds and faiths, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note – if you are interested, please apply as soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.