Social Worker / Advanced Social Worker

About The Role

Salary: £43,454 - £57,853 per annum (market supplement included)
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Pattern: Full time - 37 hour per week
Location: Based at County Hall North, Horsham with hybrid working

'Working with Social Care feels like a one team approach, completing joint visits to young people can have a real impact on the child, knowing there is a cohesive team around them, encouraging and supporting them through their time within our services really can make a huge difference. It's a privilege to work with the team at West Sussex, their child centred approach and ability to hold us to account has made me a better Officer and I look forward to continuing our one team approach to safeguarding young people in our area.' - Amy, Youth Sergeant

We are looking for an experienced Social Worker or Advanced Social Worker to join us in the Serious Youth Violence, Missing and Exploitation Team. You will act as a professional with excellent knowledge, integrity, and the expertise to develop practices in line with the Professional Capabilities Framework. The role will require you to deal with complex cases including working alongside many other agencies, dealing with intricate family dynamics, managing complex risk levels, and legal issues. With a supportive team environment, you shall deliver first class support to vulnerable children and young people.

You will manage a caseload under regular supervision and prepare for and work with individuals, families, carers, groups, and communities to provide high quality assessments for their needs and circumstances. You must have exceptional knowledge of Social Work policies and practices, along with implementing a range of therapeutic interventions to support change. You will promote innovative ways of working, providing constructive and reflective challenge to champion best practice.

We are looking for emotionally intelligent, organised, resilient individuals who adds value and comprehensive knowledge to their team. You will be expected to confidently chair a range of meetings with the requirement to communicate in English with members of the public.

How We Support You

At West Sussex County Council we aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where you can achieve your full potential, gain a healthy work-life balance, and are rewarded for the work you do with clear pathways to achieve your future aspirations. A few examples of these include:

• Flexible and hybrid working options within your small practice teams, managed by a Team Manager and supported by Child & Family Workers as well as additional flexible administrative support from Coordinators embedded within the service.
• Regular group supervision and peer learning alongside specialist roles within the team to focus on the most vulnerable children.
• We pay your Social Worker England registration fee.
• Excellent learning and development provisions with 5 CPD and training days per year and access to Research in Practice and Community Care Inform.
• An excellent local government pension scheme
• Generous holiday entitlement of up to 29 days (plus opportunity to buy additional leave)
• Health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans.

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Experience & Skills

Just some of the skills and experience you will need include:

• Analysis and interpretation of complex information and data to enable prioritisation and support in planning next steps.
• Work as part of a team and partnership with key stakeholders to assess needs and implement outcomes.
• Communicate effectively to all audiences, both written and orally and negotiated and persuade where necessary.
• Recognised Social Work qualification e.g. Degree in Social Work, Post Graduate Certificate in Social Work, DipSW, CQSW or equivalent as recognised by the relevant professional body.
• Completed relevant post qualifying training, have evidence of at least one year's experience post qualification and be registered with the relevant professional body.
• Knowledge of theoretical Social Work concepts and practices, with demonstrable examples of dealing with a breadth of complex issues and situations, for example, attachment, impact of developmental trauma and child development, motivational interviewing, relational practice, solution-focussed interventions and systemic working. A good understanding of anti-oppressive, anti-discriminatory and anti-racist practice in social work.
• Experience of managing levels of risk within a caseload of complex cases.
• You will need to be able to travel independently around the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport. Pool cars and pool bikes are available.

For a full list of key skills and experience please refer to the job description attached.

About Us

Here at West Sussex County Council, we are ambitious for our children and our workforce. We have made great improvements in our service for the children and families in West Sussex over 5 years. You will join us as at a key time on our continuous improvement journey; the service you would be joining has a stable workforce with manageable caseloads and a fully permanent management team. We are proud of the work we do and we are proud to be a support and inclusive employer.

That's why we need professionals, like you, who really want to be part of the positive change that is happening for children. Be part of an ambitious ongoing improvement plan and make a significant difference to children and families in West Sussex. There has never been a more rewarding time to join.

For further information about us and about working in Children's Social Care at West Sussex County Council, please visit Careers in children's social work in West Sussex.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE05602.

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and complete our application. In your application form please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to Social Work England registration, an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.