Direct Payments Navigator

Are you passionate about making a difference in people's lives? Join Staffordshire County Council’s Direct Payments Support Service, where you'll provide flexible support to individuals with varied and complex social care needs. Our service empowers people to build meaningful lives, promoting personal autonomy and increasing choice and control.

Purpose of the Role: You'll work in partnership with individuals and Social care professionals to develop tailored solutions that meet assessed needs and outcomes for people using or considering a Direct payment. By considering personal preferences, lifestyles, relationships, and priorities, you'll help increase confidence, personal autonomy, and ownership of responsibilities. Your support will lead to improved outcomes and self-determination.

Location: This role offers hybrid working options, allowing flexibility between remote work and office presence.

Working pattern:  Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 5pm 

Contract: This is a fixed-term position, ending on May 2027 – subject to review and evaluation

Join us in fostering a supportive community where individuals can thrive with confidence and autonomy. Apply today to be part of a team dedicated to making a positive impact!

In this role you'll:

• Ensure eligible individuals in receipt of direct payments are aware of all available options.
• Be responsible for setting up and monitoring the use of Direct Payments in Adult Social Care.
• Consult with people, care management, and other stakeholders to resolve issues and provide information, advice, and guidance from the beginning of the Direct Payment journey and throughout.
• Collaborate closely with social workers, and other appointed assessors.
• Partner with individuals to develop solutions that meet their assessed needs and outcomes, considering their preferences, lifestyles, relationships, and priorities.
• Aim to increase confidence, personal autonomy, ownership of responsibilities, improved outcomes, and self-determination for those you support.

Your role is crucial in ensuring that individuals receive consistent and effective support, empowering them to live independently and with greater control over their lives.

You'll have:

• NVQ3 or equivalent qualification (or a willingness to undertake) in a relevant discipline such as social care, advice and guidance, or a related subject.
• Previous experience in Adult Social Care and administering Direct Payments.
• Understanding of the roles and responsibilities of partner organisations, and demonstrable knowledge of Social Care and Direct Payment legislation, guidance, and practice relevant to service users and carers.
• Experience in delivering support to individuals.

We're also looking for someone who has:

• Knowledge of disability, older persons, carers, and young carers, and the impact on individuals, their families, and society.
• Experience working as part of a team.
• Ability to use Information Technology to create documents, data records, diary records, communication, and reports.
• Ability to develop collaborative relationships with adults with learning or physical disabilities, older adults, their carers, and their families to promote choice and independence.
• Effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills to determine needs and enable informed choice.

Interviews will be held during the week starting 28  April 2025.

Don’t feel you meet all the requirements? We value transferable skills, experiences, and qualifications so consider applying anyway or for an informal chat about the role please contact  Sara Bell Deputy Principal Social worker  sara.bell1@staffordshire.gov.uk  

Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role.

We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too. 

Our benefits:

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance. 

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

Our recruitment process:

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post. 

As you’ll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.