About Us
West Sussex County Council is a diverse organisation that provides services to more than 850,000 residents every day. This is a great opportunity to join us as an Assessment Officer in our friendly CarePoint Team that prides itself on their supportive culture.
CarePoint provides a first point of contact for customers requiring a needs assessment under the Care Act 2014. It also provides an access and triage point for referrals from the police.
The team comprises:
- senior practitioner occupational therapists
- senior practitioner social workers
- occupational therapists
- social workers
- assessment officers.
The team will start and, in some circumstances, complete a statutory needs assessment with adults who are approaching West Sussex County Council for social care support. Where appropriate, adults requiring ongoing face-to-face assessment will be passed to community teams.
About The Job
Salary: £29,540 per annum to £32,061 per annum
Working Pattern: Full time
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: Horsham (Hybrid/home working to be discussed at interview)
We’re have a great opportunity for Assessment Officers to join our supportive Care Point 2 Access team.
As an Assessment officer you will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team including Occupational Therapists and Social Workers. The ACP2 team is the access point to Adult Social Care in West Sussex. The team’s key role is to undertake an initial telephone Care Act (2014) Assessment.
If you have the talent and ambition to achieve the best for the people we serve, then we will support you to progress and develop throughout your Social Care professional career.
This is a fast paced role which requires a confident, organised, proactive and compassionate individual.
A significant part of the role is desk-bound, undertaking telephone assessment duties. Due to the nature of this role the work will sometimes include contact with customers, carers and families who may be abusive, aggressive or distressed.
You will receive induction and training to enable you to undertake your role, and you will, under guidance and supervision from either a qualified social worker or occupational therapist, provide an intervention to those people who access or need the service. You will also need to use your own initiative where appropriate.
Experience and Skills
Key Skills (these are the short listing criteria so please cover within your application with examples):
- Ability to analyse and interpret information received over the telephone in order to complete an assessment with customers and their families, assessing needs, setting objectives and reviewing progress.
- Ability to engage in partnership with customers and their families, in order to effect positive change.
- Able to manage self; is self-aware and understands the impact of work on self and others, able to respond constructively to situations, balancing competing demands and recognising when to refer upwards and seeking help appropriately.
- Ability to reflect on own practice and to learn from experience. To take responsibility for own performance and to be proactive in relation to own work and professional development.
- Ability to work in a multi-agency environment, responding sensitively and flexibly to diverse groups and customers whilst maintaining confidentiality in order to deliver a service to others
- Sound and accurate IT skills, with the ability to maintain clear, accurate records of all work undertaken and produce records, reports and correspondence for a variety of audiences.
Qualifications and/or experience:
- GCSE English and Maths (C grade or above) or equivalent qualification or experience operating at this level of literacy and numeracy
- NVQ Level 3 Diploma in Care (or equivalent) or demonstrable equivalent comparable experience – Desirable
- Significant experience of using a range of interventions in working with customers and their families
- Experience of using assessment planning and reviewing processes
- Experience of forming effective working relationships within a multi-agency setting
- Experience of working with customers and their families in crisis or complex situations – Desirable
- Experience of working in a Social Care environment – 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 CAFHE06447.
For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Melissa Maer (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 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!
