We have a 12 month full time opportunity for a Senior Social Worker to join our Forensic Service is a dedicated role to work alongside the Brighton Probation team to provide a confident mental health perspective across multi-agency risk management and frontline practice. You will strengthen existing arrangements and help Practitioners respond to mental health needs in a timely, safe and person-centred way.
Interview date – TBC
As a Senior Social Worker, you will support the delivery of statutory duties placed upon us by the Care Act carrying and other tasks related to the provision of Mental Health Services. These duties will relate to individuals, families and carers in accordance with relevant statutory legislation.
We are looking for someone with relevant experience of holding complex casework, someone who has high professional standards and who is keen to continue their professional development. An excellent knowledge of current legislation such as the Care Act and Mental Capacity Act is essential.
The post holder will be responsible for:
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Contribute to existing Probation arrangements, including MAPPA Level 1 reviews, local learning events, Pod monthly meetings and (where required) IOM activity, providing a clear mental health contribution.
- Provide practical, timely mental health advice and consultation in response to queries from Practitioners.
- Deliver local training for Practitioners on mental health-related topics, shaped by emerging need, themes and trends.
- Support with signposting to primary and secondary mental health services and adult social care.
- Support Practitioners to navigate local mental health services for People on Probation, including guidance on options when an individual does not meet service thresholds.
- Support the progression of Care Act assessments where appropriate.
- Facilitate reflective case discussions with Practitioners, both 1:1 and in groups.
Warranted Approved Mental Health Act Professionals (AMHPs) will be encouraged to take part in the rota arrangements for the AMHP provision across the city. The AMHP service operates from the AMHP team’s base at Millview Hospital in Hove. A market supplement of £3500 p.a. is paid for 30 days a year on this rota, subject to satisfactory adherence to the 2008 Regulations for AMHPs.
You will receive regular supervision and support and have opportunities for ongoing development and specialist training including AMHP training, subject to the Local Authority’s selection 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.
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.
