Job summary
- Main area
- Social Work Assistant
- Grade
- Band 4
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 350-CC7894218
- Employer
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Croxteth Family Health Clinic
- Town
- Liverpool
- Salary
- £28,392 - £31,157 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 26/04/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Social Work Assistant
Band 4
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Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.
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Job overview
Principles:
Prevent reliance on commissioned services, formal interventions, and delaying the need for long-term care
Reducing and delaying the need for hospital admission, reduce readmission
Reduce length of stay, or duration in receipt of Trust care/services
Identifying opportunities to regain or achieve maximum independence and quality of life in their communities
Prevent deterioration
Timely access to resources and support
Proactive approaches, responding to social determinants
Recovery focused, personalised care, maintaining independence
Redirect and divert to appropriate pathways through gatekeeping
Main duties of the job
Delivering improved patient outcomes:
Person-centred, strengths asset based
Driven by choice, dignity and respect
Involved in planning care and support
Enable improved choice and control over how care and support needs are met
Increase understanding of and links with community and local organisations
Support better use of facilities across a range of statutory and independent services and so greater choice
Support increased independence.
Enable a faster and better quality service with continuity
Working for our organisation
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Social Work Enhanced Case Coordination approach (Strengths-Based/Brokerage): Working in partnership with people who access care and support, their carers and family, to advise and share with them how they might best meet their wellbeing need, more choice and control over their life, supporting people to maximise their own strengths and assets. A collaborative consistent approach to working at the interface of social care, health and VCSFE. Requiring specific skills and knowledge held by social work to carry out these functions:
Building Relationships and Communication
Assessing Needs and Developing Plans
Connecting with Resources and Serviced
Collaboration and Multi Agency/Disciplinary Work
Advocacy and Empowerment
Reviewing/Monitoring Needs
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- A recognised qualification in health & social care at level 3
- Currently working towards a relevant qualification at level 4 or have equivalent experience
Knowledge/ Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of working in a social care setting or equivalent demonstrable experience gained in a health setting
- Experience of working as part of a multi – disciplinary team
- Non judgemental attitude / approach
- Understanding of the role and function of Social Work
- Basic knowledge of the main care and protection legislation pertaining to adults
- Knowledge of relevant Social Work legislation
- Knowledge of social care, health promotion and physical / psychological health care needs of service users
- Knowledge of developing meaningful activities in a care setting
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in urgent care or to a hospital avoidance model
- Evidence of knowledge and skills will be gathered from Application form, Interview, References
Values
Essential criteria
- Continuous Improvement
- Accountability
- Respectfulness
- Enthusiasm
- Support
- High professional standards
- Responsive to service users
- Engaging leadership style
- Strong customer service belief
- Transparency and honesty
- Discreet
- Change oriented
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to maintain confidentiality
- Ability to work on own initiative and assist qualified practitioners
- Ability to work as a member of the team
- Postholder will be confident, articulate and have an enthusiastic and positive outlook
- They will be well motivated with a commitment to Social Work Services Committed to work as part of a team and with other teams, disciplines or services
- Committed to personal learning and development
- Essential to promote anti-discriminatory practice and social work values in all activities
- Ability to use own initiative appropriately and demonstrate innovative thinking
- Resilience and ability to manage competing demands
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Rachael O'Keefe
- Job title
- Senior Practitioner
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07920183993
- Additional information
New Service
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