About Us
West Sussex County Council is a diverse organisation that provides services to more than 850,000 residents. Employees are genuinely valued, respected and there is an emphasis on work life balance. We are committed to fostering personal growth, with ongoing professional development and continuous learning at the heart of our culture.
Lifelong Services operate countywide, with teams based in each of the three main hubs within West Sussex. Our Lifelong Services Teams have a unique focus, supporting young people and adults with lifelong physical disabilities, learning disabilities, autism, and brain injuries acquired at an early age. We also work with adults with sensory impairments acquired at any age. The structure of Transitions services is under review and may be subject to change and so we would welcome applications from candidates that have Learning Disability and/or Mental Health experience.
The teams offer a dedicated, strengths-based approach to disability that we know makes a positive difference. Whether they are engaging with people seeking advice, providing equipment or skills training, or starting a journey with people that may lead to a personal budget to meet complex needs, they are always looking to deliver the best outcomes.
Transition is a busy and exciting time for workers and young people. You will be expected to work within organisational, policy and legislative frameworks as you support young people to increase their independence and plan for the future.
About The Job
Salary: £48,226 - £51,356 per annum
Working Pattern: Full Time, 37 hours per week
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: Horsham office base, countywide travel required
As a Senior Social Work Practitioner, you’ll support the Team Manager in delivering high-quality, strengths-based practice. You’ll play a key role in mentoring and supervising colleagues, managing complex cases, and ensuring high standards across assessments and care planning, and the functioning of duty.
You will be expected to work within organisational, policy and legislative frameworks as you support young people to increase their independence and plan for the future.
You’ll need a strong commitment to the strengths-based model—empowering people to meet their outcomes using their own capabilities, family support, and local community assets, alongside funded care where appropriate.
To succeed in this role you need to have sound and accurate IT and keyboard skills, As a senior team member you will need to be able to work autonomously and flexibly, including some working out of normal office hours. You will also need to be able to travel across the county and work from various locations across the county.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Supporting the Team Manager in day-to-day operations
- Supervising and mentoring team members
- Chairing Best Interest Meetings
- Quality assuring assessments and reviews with a strengths-based focus
- Promoting and supporting staff wellbeing
- Contributing to complaint resolution and continuous service improvement
- Holding your own case load
You will be a confident and empathetic communicator—capable of managing expectations, delivering difficult messages sensitively, and finding alternative solutions in line with our approach. Experience in a supervisory role (or strong foundations and training in supervision) is essential.
You’ll also be committed to upholding strong social work values and supporting both qualified and unqualified staff.
"I love being a part of a supportive and friendly team and the close connections I have with my colleagues."
— Senior Social Work Practitioner
Experience and Skills
Key Skills (These will be used as the shortlisting criteria so please cover with examples within your application):
- Solution focussed with the ability to analyse complex situations and provide forward thinking strategies and solutions that consider a variety of possible strength-based solutions, balancing risks, resources and desired outcomes.
- Developed communication skills in order to influence in a multi-disciplinary setting and communicate clearly and effectively to explain complicated information to a wide range of people and negotiate and persuade others to adopt a particular course of action that they may not otherwise wish to take.
- Ability to diagnose, research best practice development, analyse and interpret complex or technical information to make effective and robust judgements and write reports which consider business implications and make articulate recommendations considering the broader impacts on the business.
- Ability to think creatively, innovatively and laterally and to adapt to changing situations in a measured and flexible manner in order to tailor the advice.
- Ability to work proactively as a member of the team to make an accurate assessment of needs and negotiate and implement effective plans and outcomes.
- Ability to be proactive in having up-to-date knowledge and understanding of changes in legislation and effectively lead and supervise others and to provide coaching and mentoring when appropriate.
Please refer to the relevant job description for full requirements. Includes:
- Degree in relevant professional or equivalent qualification
- Completion of relevant post-qualifying training.
- Registration with the relevant professional registration body and responsibility for maintaining registration with that body.
- Practice Teachers Award / Practice Education (PEPS 2 level), Best Interest Assessor (BIA) or Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) qualification - Desirable
- Requirement for BIA qualified practitioners to contribute to BIA service delivery, AMHP qualified practitioners to contribute to AMHP service delivery.
- Expectation to undertake post qualifying training in one or more specialised roles, i.e. AMHP, BIA and/or Practice Educator.
- Experience of managing levels of risk within a caseload of complex
safeguarding cases.
- Evidence of effectively prioritising work and meeting deadlines.
- Experience of leading and supervising others.
- Valid, full driving licence – Desirable
Rewards and Benefits
For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.
Further Information
The reference number for this role is CAFHE06387.
For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Cameron McLatchie (Acting Team Manager) at [email protected]. For issues or queries regarding your application please contact [email protected].
To apply, upload your CV and complete the application explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role 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.
West Sussex County Council is an equal opportunities employer committed to promoting an environment that is inclusive and free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of its people. We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and take every possible step to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged.
For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability or Veteran’s Guaranteed Interview Scheme (if you meet the essential criteria), this can be found on our application help page.
Note for Recruitment Agencies: We prefer to hire people directly, but we do have a supplier list for when we need a helping hand. We'll be in touch directly if we need you!
Job Reference: CAFHE06387
