Permanent
Full Time, 37 Hours Per Week
This is an exciting opportunity if you are keen to progress your career within the field of Adult Safeguarding.
Devon County Council is investing in its social care workforce to ensure that the people of Devon can access appropriate community assets and resources.
Be part of our ongoing commitment to excellent delivery and integrated care.This post is suitable for an experienced and qualified Registrant with Social Work England (Social Work) or the Health and Care Professions Council (Occupational Therapy).
It will suit someone with extensive experience of managing complex and high-risk cases, drawing on legislation and policy, with a working knowledge of social care and safeguarding duties under the Care Act 2014.In this role you will be working alongside team managers in leading a small, experienced team of Social Workers and Social Care Assessors based at the Safeguarding Hub in Exeter, covering the Eastern Devon area.
You will provide leadership, support and guidance at an operational level to enable staff to ensure timely and effective triage of concerns where an adult may be at risk of harm or neglect, including those relating to allegations of whole service or organisational abuse.
Another key aspect of the role will be to chair whole service, and complex individual, s.42 enquiries.You will be working closely in partnership with a range of stakeholders, including commissioners and providers, to support the protection of adults at risk of abuse or neglect, and to deliver a service to the public that meets required quality standards, and which optimises the opportunity for people to lead and manage their own support.
You will provide expert advice in line with national policy where cases present such issues as county-line gang violence, modern slavery and the prevent agenda. In this role you will also play a key part in identifying improvements to adult safeguarding practice and systems, so that as lead agency we continue to deliver an effective safeguarding response across our local communities.The context for the role includes:• A strong focus on leading and developing behaviour and practice of team members and other colleagues to ensure high quality and effective social work practice in relation to safeguarding adults• Ensuring the principles of Making Safeguarding Personal are central to all safeguarding adult work, and that the preferred outcomes of the adult are central to action taken under a safeguarding adult framework• Providing expert professional, technical and practice advice to staff and colleagues to support delivery of the Safeguarding Adult Framework and ensure high standards of team performance which compare well with our peers• Reviewing the quality of practice against required standards, providing feedback and supporting and monitoring improvement where required.The role is predominately office-based though some travel within the community may be expected. This would be to support complex individual or whole service investigations, and to work with community teams and partner agencies in relation to adult safeguarding.As Advanced Practitioner you will:• Provide expert professional, technical and practice advice to staff ensuring legal frameworks and statutory guidance, including procedures and protocols for safeguarding adults, are met and applied in all areas of team/individual activity• Monitor team performance, alongside team managers, in respect of workflow requirements, and quality and outcomes from safeguarding adult enquiries• Provide consultant support to complex safeguarding adult cases held by managers and practitioners including support in resolving safeguarding adult disputes• Lead, co-ordinate, and manage a workload of complex or specialist cases, to resolve situations of high complexity and risk, including situations where legal remedy or safeguarding investigation may be required
• Chair complex individual and/or whole service safeguarding adult meetings; overseeing operational activity relating to safeguarding enquiries as well as developing this practice capability in others.About YouYou will have excellent knowledge of social care and safeguarding duties, and will be registered with Social Work England as a Social Worker or with the Health and Care Professions Council as an Occupational Therapist, holding the required qualification and having completed the requirements of post-qualifying learning (for example the assessed and supported year in employment or preceptorship).
You will evidence your experience gained from your previous professional roles and their relevance to this post. Significant post qualifying experience of Social Work, Occupational Therapy is required, across different roles or working in different teams.
You will have:• Excellent leadership skills to enable the Local Authority to meet its responsibilities in relation to Adult Safeguarding• Effective communication skills as you work in partnership with a variety of health and social care professionals including partner agencies• Commitment to involving service users and carers in the delivery of a high quality and equitable service• You will need to demonstrate that you possess these core competences to underpin achieving excellent practice and performance.What We Can Offer to YouWe will support you to be the best leader you can be. We provide induction into the new role; a development programme tailored to your individual needs; and effective supervision to support your performance and development.
You will also have the benefit of working alongside managers and colleagues across the health and care system as we seek to further embed and develop integrated services.We are keen to retain our most talented staff. While we will be encouraging you to progress and develop, we will also encourage you to achieve a healthy work-life balance in this fantastic part of the country. Amongst other things, we offer 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) rising to 30 days after 5 years, flexible working and a generous pension. If you need to move to Devon in order to take up the role, relocation support will be available.If you would like to discuss this opportunity further please contact Chris Alford, Centre Manager, on email: chris.alford@devon.gov.uk or tel: 01392 380000. A visit to the team is available by arrangement, if you would like to learn more about the service/role.
Job Description
Please note Devon County Council is not currently offering VISA sponsorship for this role. We will only consider applicants with valid Right to Work in the UK.