Autism Specialist Social Worker (Level 2) | 10111 | fixed term contract for 18 months (secondment opportunity) | 37 hours per week | £39,862 to £41,771 per annum | Grade J | Hellesdon Hospital, Norwich
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and enthusiastic Social Worker with at least two years post-qualification experience to work alongside Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust’s new Autism Intensive Support team. This is a pilot project providing specialist support to autistic adults, as part of Adult Social Services’ transformation programme. We’re evolving the way we work through a Human Learning Systems approach – focusing on relationships, understanding people’s lived experience and learning together.
The pilot also relates to the Norfolk All Age Autism Strategy 2024-29 , which highlights the need to improve services for autistic people in Norfolk, and the importance of early intervention and specialist support. We believe that intervening early and providing an autism informed approach will mean that we can support autistic adults to develop skills and strategies for independent living, improve relationships and prevent crisis situations.
You will be based with the Autism Intensive Support team at Hellesdon Hospital. This small team offers intensive psychology-led support to a small number of autistic adults who are frequent users of emergency and crisis services. Your role will cover the whole county, and you will spend much of your time out in the community working directly with autistic people and their families, alongside health colleagues and staff from other agencies.
You will develop excellent working relationships with colleagues in the Autism Intensive Support team to enable you to work together in a multi-disciplinary approach. You will work with a focused caseload, enabling meaningful, relationship-based practice, and reflecting the need to work in an intensive way with those you are supporting.
You will support autistic adults to access community resources, improve relationships and develop strategies to sustain their wellbeing and live more independently. You will be responsible for carrying out statutory functions such as Care Act assessments, mental capacity assessments and safeguarding enquiries when required. You will also work with families and carers, enabling them to access support and resources that will benefit them, and completing carer’s assessments when appropriate.
We are seeking somebody with at least two years’ post qualification experience, who has the experience and knowledge of autism to be able to tailor their approach to the needs of the individual, and support those around them to interact more effectively with autistic people. You will have the confidence to represent Adult Social Services in a multi-disciplinary setting and to bring a social work perspective to multi-agency working.
You will be a member of the Norwich mental health social work team. This is a very supportive team with a strong learning culture. You will be given a structured induction, opportunities to develop your knowledge and skills and support from managers in multi-disciplinary meetings when appropriate. You will have regular supervision and will also share your knowledge and skills and use the relationships you have built up with other agencies to support practitioners in working with autistic adults. You will also be a key member of the Adult Social Services autism champions network.
To build meaningful relationships with the people we support, this role requires regular in-person work in both the office and community.
This role is offered on a fixed term/secondment basis. It is part of an eighteen-month pilot, aimed at testing and learning what works best when supporting autistic adults to prevent the need for longer term care and support. We expect the pilot to evidence the benefits of this new way of working, and the need for this role to continue.
You will support the Autism Strategic Business Lead to gather evidence of the impact of your role and will meet regularly with the pilot team (including the new Autism Assistant Practitioner in South Place) to share learning and support each other.
If you are excited about the opportunity to shape a new type of role in Adult Social Services, then we want to hear from you.
For an informal discussion, contact Karen Dures (Autism Strategic Business Lead) on 01603 679229 or Olusegun Ajayi (Team Manager, Norwich Mental Health Team) on 01953 450862.
What we offer in return.
Our superb support culture means whether you are at the start of your social care career or have years of experience, you will have access to advice and support when needed from managers, and great opportunities for career development. We're realistic about the challenges, but we're passionate about how we can support you to meet them, so you can enjoy the rewards social work has to offer.
If you want to use your skills to be part of an organisation which makes a positive difference to those living in Norfolk, we would love to hear from you.
Before you apply, we recommend reading the full Job Description and Person Specification to help you demonstrate you meet the criteria.
How to Apply
Please ensure you include a supporting statement in your application to demonstrate why you feel you meet the person specification and job description for this post. CVs submitted without a supporting statement about this post may not be accepted
These are some benefits you can enjoy by working for Norfolk County Council:
- Competitive salary
- Generous holiday entitlement
- Health and Wellbeing services including fast-track physiotherapy and a free counselling service
- Flexible working opportunities including flexi-time, part time, remote and hybrid working – dependent on your job role and business need.
- Financial benefits such as:
- ‘ Norfolk Rewards’ our employee discounts programme which helps you save money on almost anything, from everyday groceries and clothes, to holidays, new technology, gym membership, trips to the cinema and days out.
- A Blue Light card for Fire Service and Social Care Workers
- Relocation expenses (where applicable)
- An advance of your expenses if you travel for work
- Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution, life assurance, death in service payments and dependants’ pensions.
Tax efficient ways of getting extra pension and new bikes
Access to our tax efficient car lease scheme for greener travel enabling you to lease a brand new, ultra-low emission vehicle (subject to eligibility)
A payment if you refer someone you know to a hard to fill job
You can find information on our Terms and Conditions here.
Already a Norfolk County Council employee? See and apply for internal and external vacancies in myOracle using your @norfolk.gov.uk or @nccal.ac.uk email.
We would like to make you aware that priority consideration for this post may be given to current employees who are at risk due to restructure within the organisation or are in a redeployment position.
Redeployment closing date: 22 June 2026
All other applicants closing date: 12 July 2026
Interview date: 22 July 2026
