Advanced Practitioner - Early Resolution and Safeguarding Team

Overview

Are you an Advanced Practitioner with a passion for delivering great services, with expertise and experience in working on complex cases in the community... looking for a new role?

If the answer is ‘Yes’, then look no further, we are recruiting to our fantastic Early Resolution and Safeguarding Team here at Buckinghamshire Council!

This is a great opportunity to experience a different pace and style of work and have responsibility for being a gatekeeper for Adult Social Care. Your input can have a positive impact on enabling people to remain independent for as long as possible in the community.

Now is an exciting time to join our team, as we continue on our journey to strengthen and transform our partnership approach, working collaboratively with our internal and external colleagues and sector partners.

The role would include complex case work, supporting more junior colleagues to build on their strengths and experiences, some aspects of safeguarding work, work within the Court of Protection and a real focus on strength-based work and enabling positive risk taking.

In addition to the salary advertised, you will receive a market premium of £2,525 per annum, you will also receive a ‘Golden Hello’ lump-sum payment of £2,500 paid on successful completion of your probationary period.

About us

Why join us?

You will be joining a collaborative, dedicated and enthusiastic team of Social Work professionals who are very proud of their profession, and whose passion is to work with, support and protect our residents who are most vulnerable in our County, whilst promoting their autonomy at all times in line with Making Safeguarding Personal.

We invest in staff wellbeing

We focus on staff wellbeing to enable our employees to support the most vulnerable communities. To achieve this, we provide regular practice, learning and development opportunities via our team huddles and workshops so as to reflect on and consider ways to creatively support people to retain their autonomy and safety where possible, whilst supporting each other.

We also have monthly team meetings and encourage active participation of employees to ensure your voice is heard. We also organise meditation and “getting active” sessions, hold team building and support volunteering days, and promote open and inclusive communication.

Robust induction

We have an innovative approach to induction whereupon you will be provided with a buddy and presented with a schedule of shadowing opportunities already booked into your calendar to help you settle into your role from the first day on the job.

Staff Benefits

You will receive free parking and an essential car user allowance, we will cover the cost of your annual Social Work England registration.

We value and invest in you

We provide a range of internal and external training courses and free access to RIPFa resources with a council log in. We have a clear career progression pathway to give you opportunities to grow and flourish and you will have a bespoke Personal development plan to support you in exploring your areas of development and interest through your Coaching and Performance Appraisal.

About the role

To ensure the highest standards of service are provided to the residents of Buckinghamshire, Advanced Practitioners will ensure:

• Work in accordance with the Better Lives framework
• Promote and deliver goal-based support people to achieve greater independence
• Promote equality as an integral part of a role and treat everyone with fairness and dignity
• Provide a proactive personalised approach to the delivery of care and practice
• Respond to people’s needs in a timely manner
• Focus on improving people’s well-being
• Give people greater choice and control over the care that they receive
• Take account of people’s risks and safety at all times, identifying mitigations to reduce that risk
• Support people to achieve the outcomes that are most important to them using all available resources and taking responsibility for the public purse
• Supervise staff
• Hold a caseload of complex cases
• Competent in completing safeguarding investigations and court work
• Provide personalised information and advice, safeguarding, assessment, support planning and review to individuals/families and their carers

Mobile:

A ‘mobile’ role gives you the flexibility to schedule your own diary, so you can meet with colleagues and clients in a variety of locations. You’ll access digital folders and resources on your laptop and be able to use the network wherever you are based. Working from home will be common, as well as meeting your team in the office where necessary.

About you

You must be a qualified Social Worker (holding a social work degree or equivalent) and be registered with Social Work England. In addition, a full driving licence with access to a vehicle is an essential requirement for this role.

Naturally, you’ll be a great people person, familiar with working to a strength-based approach. Thinking outside the box, you’ll support your clients and help prevent, reduce or delay the need for care. Bringing your in-depth knowledge of the latest legislation and statutory guidance, you’ll work independently and with colleagues to support adults and their families. Persistence and an adaptable approach are needed in an outcome-focused way with partners such as health services, community sector, housing, care providers and other stakeholders.

Other information

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining us, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

We know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Service Area

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to ensuring that our residents stay as independent as they can, for as long as possible. Everyone has the right to live a fulfilling and nourishing life, and for many people, social care plays a key role in achieving that.

We are looking for dynamic Social Workers who are passionate about enabling clients to fulfil their potential, whilst promoting self-determination, and who are passionate, supportive, motivated, and confident when supporting and communicating with people - either on the telephone or face to face.

Your work will include carrying out needs assessments, creating person-centred and strengths-based care plans, ensuring delivery of services, and reviewing outcomes with the individual, their personal networks, and support providers.

You will work in partnership with other professionals and organisations to support our residents effectively and holistically. Our Social Workers will endorse and act by the principles of personalisation, ensuring that care and support plans are person-centred, and as far as is safely possible, you will put the people with whom you work in control of their lives.

You will also demonstrate emotional resilience and intelligence - which is the ability to maintain focus and to ‘keep going’ despite setbacks and stressful situations, a real desire to enable clients to achieve or maintain their goals of living independently and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment.

So, if you are looking for a new challenge, want to become part of a team that places a premium on listening and learning, and which is determined to make a difference – we want to hear from you!

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.