Do you have a talent for supporting people and their families during times of crisis?
Are you confident working independently in the community and solving practical problems with calm, professional judgement?
Do you enjoy working with a wide range of partners and professionals to help people live their lives and return home safely from hospital and with dignity?
Are you motivated by making a direct difference to people’s lives?
Our Discharge, Assessment and Review Team (DART), are based at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, plays a vital role in safe and timely hospital discharges for adults across Brighton & Hove. This role puts you at the heart of that work. You’ll help to protect people’s homes and belongings while they are in hospital or community, and support practical arrangements that enable people to return home safely or maintain their property wherever possible.
Interviews to be held: TBC
There is full information about the role below and attached but, if you would like an informal discussion, please contact us –
As a Community Support Worker, you will play a key part in delivering our Protection of Property duties under the Care Act 2014. You’ll visit people’s homes, help secure and protect their property, arrange cleaning or safety works, and ensure pets are cared for. You will work closely with our Social Workers, Social Care Workers, ward multi-agency teams, housing providers, voluntary organisations and specialist services to ensure patients’ homes are ready for occupancy.
Key tasks you’ll be involved in include:
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Visiting and assessing properties to ensure they are safe, secure and suitable for someone to return home.
- Coordinating cleans, decluttering, home-safety interventions and key collection/return.
- Liaising with families, ward staff, housing providers, cleaning companies, animal welfare services and wider partners.
- Supporting arrangements for pets when people are admitted to hospital, including liaising with kennels or emergency pet care.
- Recording accurate information on Eclipse and maintaining clear communication across the hospital system.
- Working independently in the community, making risk‑based decisions and escalating issues appropriately.
Skills and experience we’re looking for:
We’re looking for someone who can engage compassionately and professionally with people who may be unwell, anxious or in vulnerable circumstances. You will need:
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Strong communication skills and the ability to manage sensitive conversations with calmness and respect.
- Confidence in lone working and navigating varied home environments safely.
- Practical problem‑solving skills, particularly in coordinating multiple agencies and arranging property‑related tasks.
- Experience in Social Care, Housing, Health, Community Support or similar public‑facing work.
- The ability to prioritise, make decisions under pressure, and keep clear, accurate records.
- A commitment to inclusive, anti‑discriminatory practice and safeguarding adults at risk.
Benefits of working with us
When you join DART, you’ll be part of a supportive, skilled and diverse hospital Social Work team with strong shared values around dignity, inclusion and person‑centred practice. We offer:
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Ongoing training and development in the Care Act, Mental Capacity Act, Safeguarding, risk management and hospital discharge pathways.
- Opportunities to join project work, such as supporting improvements in discharge pathways, community safety initiatives or multi‑agency collaboration.
- The chance to work in a dynamic hospital environment where teamwork, professional curiosity and adaptability are encouraged and valued.
Diversity and inclusion underpin everything we do. We work with people from a wide range of backgrounds, and our team continually adapts its approach to meet the needs of our communities. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds and welcome people with lived experience relevant to the role.
Brighton & Hove City Council strives to create a workplace that reflects the community we serve. We are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from ethnic minority backgrounds, disabled people and men, who are currently under‑represented in our workforce. We value the strengths diversity brings and are committed to building an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.
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.
