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Job summary

Main area
Social Work
Grade
Band 7
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Flexible working
  • Compressed hours
37.5 hours per week
Job ref
363-BED7208127-A
Employer
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Grove View
Town
Dunstable
Salary
£46,148 - £52,809 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
24/07/2025 23:59

Employer heading

East London NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior Social Worker

Band 7

ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job overview

ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard Community Mental Health Teams provide compassionate person-centred interventions to people experiencing mental ill-health in the Towns of Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard.

All Social Workers in the mental health teams have access to a host of brand new facilities at the newly opened Grove View Health and care hub!

The new hub strengthens ELFT’s award winning social care presence and ethos.

Main duties of the job

As a Senior Social Worker, you will act as the champion and leader of social care and safeguarding in the Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard Mental Health Teams.

You will be expected to give robust, consistent, and expert social care practice advice in partnership with specialist senior social care and health colleagues. You will promote high quality, recovery-focused and cost-effective social care services to service users and their carers, focused on the principles of choice, control and independence, as well as ensuring safety.

Working for our organisation

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Click on the link below to see our exciting new base for South Bedfordshire Social Workers!

https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/info/18/health_and_social_care/726/grove_view_integrated_health_and_care_hub_and_grove_view_apartments

At the Hub the team Senior Social Worker provides intensive support to ensure that bespoke professional supervision is readily available for all our social workers.

The excellent work of the Social Work Learning and Development Project Lead ensures that continuous learning is at the heart of Social Work in Bedfordshire.

The Trust offers an established ASYE programme for newly qualified social workers. CPD pathways beyond the ASYE include:

AMHP/Leadership/Academy/AMCP/Practice Educator/ASYE Assessor training structures.

Bespoke training opportunities are also available as part of your yearly appraisal.

In short; now is a good time to be working as a social worker for ELFT in South Bedfordshire!

Person specification

essential

Essential criteria
  • • An appropriate social work qualification

essential

Essential criteria
  • • Registration with Social Work England

essential

Essential criteria
  • • Master’s degree or equivalent post-qualifying training

essential

Desirable criteria
  • • Other relevant post-qualification training (e.g .CBT, family therapy, Best Interest Assessor training

essential

Essential criteria
  • • Approved Mental Health Professional training and qualification (or prepared to undertake training within a year of appointment to role)

essential

Essential criteria
  • • Relevant post-qualifying training for social workers

essential

Essential criteria
  • Substantial post-qualification experience with demonstrable evidence of excellent practice at advanced level

essential

Essential criteria
  • Extensive knowledge of legislation, statutory guidance, theory, and policy in relation to adult and children’s social care

essential

Essential criteria
  • Experience of undertaking assessment focused on personalisation, choice and control, and care planning

essential

Essential criteria
  • Understanding of and experience of use of personal budgets and direct payments
  • Experience of supervising and mentoring others
  • Evidence of multidisciplinary and collaborative working
  • Evidence of partnership working with service users and carers, demonstrating dignity and respect, particularly in very challenging situations
  • Excellent ability to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders, including service users and carers, other professionals and colleagues, members of other organisations and locally communities – verbally and in writing
  • Evidence of successful management of challenging meetings
  • Experience of using electronic record systems and ability to produce accurate, appropriate, and timely reports
  • Ability to analyse service user and carer information
  • Experience of undertaking small scale audits and surveys
  • Understanding of basic research methods
  • Demonstrable ability to working sensitively with diverse needs and environments
  • Commitment to anti-discriminatory practice

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Capital Nurse, LondonCommitted to being an Inclusive EmployerApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveHSJ Best places to workArmed Forces Covenant (Silver Award)Mindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerCare quality commission - OutstandingStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Mark Shields
Job title
Social Care Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07435733580
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