Join our friendly and skilled Discharge, Assessment and Response (DART) Social Work team and help make a real difference to people’s lives at a pivotal moment in their recovery. As part of the Transfer of Care Hub, based at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in vibrant Brighton & Hove, you’ll work closely and in partnership with patients, families, and health colleagues to ensure safe and timely discharges, supporting people to maximise their independence, wellbeing, and quality of life.
Please do not apply if you are not a qualified Social Worker and registered with Social Work England. Unfortunately, if you are not qualified and registered, your application will not be read.
Applicants will have completed their ASYE.
There is full information about the role below and attached but, or an informal discussion, please contact Carl Killeen carl.killeen@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Interview date – To be confirmed
About the role
What you’ll be doing
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Carry out Care Act assessments and Mental Capacity Act assessments with patients and families in hospital to empower them to achieve their maximum potential for recovery, independence, and quality of life in their community or other locations to meet their needs.
- Work collaboratively with Transfer of Care and hospital colleagues – including Nurses, Therapists, and Consultants – to enable safe, timely discharges and effective recovery planning.
- Undertake Safeguarding Enquiries (Section 42) and assess and manage risk.
- Provide information, advice, and advocacy to promote independence and prevent future needs.
What we’re looking for
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A qualified Social Worker, registered with Social Work England.
- Applicants will have completed their ASYE
- Strong assessment, communication, and relationship-based practice skills.
- Sound knowledge of the Care Act, Mental Capacity Act, Safeguarding, and risk management.
- The ability to work in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment with resilience and compassion.
- Be part of a supportive, friendly team of 10 social workers, 4 Social Care Workers, 2 Senior Social Workers, an Operations Manager, Community Support Worker and Administrator.
- Work in the new Louisa Martindale Building and enjoy the facilities of the Royal Sussex County Hospital – plus our own office, just a short walk from the seafront.
- Flexible working opportunities, generous leave (25 days + bank holidays + 2 concessionary days), Cycle to Work scheme, and access to continual professional development (CPD).
- Real opportunities for career progression – many of our Social Workers have gone on to Senior Social Work roles, DoLS Assessor posts, Operations Management, Lecturers and more.
Please read our Apply for a job at the council pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.
As part of your application, you will need to upload your Application Form and a supporting statement. Your supporting statement is the most important part of your application as it will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our guidance here (Application Form guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) and (Supporting statement guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.
Encouraging a diverse workforce
Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.
Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).
Why work for us?
As a council, we want to:
- be connected
- be confident
- be innovative and creative
- be diverse and inclusive
- be healthy and psychologically safe
For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us which gives details of our wellbeing support, our benefits including leave and pensions as well as details of our training and development.
How to apply
Please read our Apply for a job at the council pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.
As part of your application, you will need to provide your education and career history and answer some application/shortlisting questions. Your answers to the application/shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.
AI advice for candidates
We are interested in hearing about your experience and skills in your own words. While we value people who know how to use AI, we ask that you minimise using it in your application.
We are keen to hear how your experience and skills align to our values and the skills and experience needed to perform well in our roles with clear real examples from you. To support you in this, we have guidance on using the STAR model which can help you ensure you are telling us your whole story. We also provide clarity on the skills we are looking for in our adverts and in the job description/person specification attached to each job advert.
All the applications we receive are read by at least two hiring managers and we do not use AI in this process. Our experience of reading applications is that those that have heavily used AI contain generic paragraphs that are strikingly similar to other applicants’ responses. This makes it extremely difficult to differentiate between applications, and doesn't give us enough evidence of your individual skills. There is a risk that we will therefore not be able to shortlist you. Instead, we recommend you ensure your application stands out by presenting clear examples of your actual skills and experiences in your own words.
Additional information
Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.
DBS statement options:
Please note that this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and is subject to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check.
We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining. Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.
