Team Manager - Adult Social Care - Mental Health, Ashford and Canterbury

Role Responsibility

At Kent County Council, we value the importance of our Mental Health teams. Providing a first rate service that places the welfare and empowerment of the client and their carers at the centre of our focus we know just how essential their work is.  

There are currently 250,000 people in Kent living with mental health problems. Many of these people are suffering from conditions such as anxiety and depression, but 60,000 of them are suffering with severe mental illnesses such as chronic depression or schizophrenia. The impact of COVID will have an impact on our communities and now is the opportune time to build management capacity in the Ashford and Canterbury Social Care Team. We are now looking to appoint a Team Manager who will provide support across the two areas. This is a new post in the team, and they will be pivotal in the operational day to day management of the 2 teams.

You will be accountable for the efficient working and performance of the team, ensuring adherence to relevant national legislation and the policies and procedures of the Council.  You will utilise agreed monitoring and review methods such as; dashboards, wider divisional performance reports, staff supervision and workforce reports, develop the team’s knowledge base and expertise to ensure services are delivered and meet the standards required whilst promoting closer integrated working across Adult Social Care, partnership agencies and developing local care systems.

We are committed to working in co-production with service users and carers, within a recovery approach which maximises self-determination and empowerment. You will provide supervision to the Advanced Practitioners within the 2 teams and offer a consultative service to other members of the multi disciplinary team. You will also provide professional leadership for the delivery of Key Social Care agendas. It is your inspiring professional social work knowledge that will see you advising at key meetings, constantly striving to improve the service through new initiatives, ensuring awareness in your team of changes in legislation and related social care policies.

This post does not require you to be an Approved Mental Health Professional, however if you are a practising AMHP you will be eligible for the £2000 Market Premium payable upon re-approving as an Approved Mental Health Professional.

You will be a registered social worker with a degree in Social Work, CQSW/DipSW or equivalent and registered as a social worker with Social Work England. You will also have a recognised Post Qualifying qualification in Management. Kent County Council have an accredited management programme which we would expect you to have or be willing to work towards.

You must also possess:

• Significant diverse experience in working in integrated social care services, and experience of complex Mental Health issues is required.
• Previous experience of mentoring and developing both qualified and unqualified social care staff.
• Experience of research in evidence-based practice, leading to the evaluation and improvement of services and patient experience.
• A confident manner when dealing with emergency situations, plus exceptional negotiating and interpersonal skills.
• A good working knowledge of all relevant Mental Health and Social Care legislation and Codes of Practice.
• A high-level working knowledge of KCCs policies and procedures, plus a thorough understanding of Social Work England and Social Work Reform Board requirements.
• An in-depth know-how of the Social Care models of intervention, plus a solid understanding of Care and Support planning and good knowledge of national and local initiatives relating to mental health and social care services.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring service and registration as a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England.

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.

Due to the current COVID position, any interviews will be set up to ensure adherence to government guidelines so may not be a face to face interview, details will be discussed with successful candidates nearer the time.

Contact Details

For further information – please contact Nic Esson, Service Manager Ashford and Canterbury. E- Mail: Nicholas.esson@kent.gov.uk Tel: 03000415871