Chief Social Worker for Adults
| Posting date: | 29 April 2024 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £120,000 to £130,000 per year |
| Additional salary information: | External candidates should expect their salary upon appointment to be circa £120,000 - £130,000. Existing Civil Servants on promotion will be appointed in line with the Civil Service pay rules in place on the date of their appointment. |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 20 May 2024 |
| Location: | London |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Temporary |
| Job reference: | 347119/2 |
Summary
It's a big task with many challenges, but together we can make so much difference to the people we serve. If you have the ability to influence at senior levels in government and across the sector through the power of your expertise and relationships, we would love to hear from you.
As the Chief Social Worker for Adults (CSW) you will be the head of profession, the public face of adult social work in England and a senior leader within the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
You will represent the profession at events, sponsor relevant guidance relating to social work and leads the network of Principal Social Workers. Reporting to the Director General for Adult Social Care you will sit within the Social Care Group in DHSC.
As an expert in social work, you will work closely with other Directors in the Social Care Group and the Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, along with a range of officials across DHSC, including the Director and teams leading on Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism.
You will be supported by a small administrative team but will not have any direct reports.
As CSW you will provide expert advice to Ministers and civil servants on all matters relating to social workers and social care practice. Topics where advice may be needed include social work’s role in relation to mental capacity; mental health; safeguarding and discharge from hospital (where social workers are key to assessment decisions regarding care needed after discharge); improvement of social care assessment processes; and the recruitment and retention of social workers, as a crucial component of the adult social care workforce. You will also have a formal role relating to the escalation of safeguarding issues.
You will offer expertise on local government and adult social care more generally, offering a frontline perspective on issues to inform policymaking, and will have strong links with the adult social care sector including with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services; Social Work England; British Association of Social Workers; the Principal Social Worker Network; the Principal Occupational Therapists network; adults using services; and employers of social workers in the local authority, NHS, private and voluntary sectors.
As the CSW you will generate ideas and opportunities for improvements in adult social care, being cognisant of wider issues including the political and fiscal context and will also maximise opportunities for join-up with the Department for Education and the Chief Social Worker for children’s social care on matters relating to social work and social care practice.
If successful you will bring inspiring, confident and empowering professional leadership to adult social workers across the social care sector. With the experience of operational leadership and delivery of high-quality adult social work and social care, you will have the ability to motivate and inspire the workforce and have experience of effective partnership working at all levels to achieve successful outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
Advice on policy and practice:
- Provide expert advice to Ministers and senior officials across Whitehall on all matters relating to social work practice, adult social workers as well as wider issues on social care in particular workforce capacity, wellbeing, and resilience.
- Facilitate and advise on formal escalation of Safeguarding issues via the National Escalation Protocol for Issues from Safeguarding Adult Boards (SABs).
- Generate ideas and opportunities for improvements in adult social care, not limited to social work, taking account of the political and fiscal context.
- Support effective partnership working at all levels to ensure maintenance of high-quality adult social work practice and promote its role in delivering high-quality, personalised and compassionate care.
- Work with the Department for Education to improve the training available to social workers and collaborating with children’s social workers.
- Ensure relevant research is commissioned and used alongside a detailed personal understanding of current best practice, to generate new ideas and opportunities for improvements in adult social care.
Professional leadership:
- Provide visible, professional leadership to the adult social work workforce, including through maintaining relations with the regulator (Social Work England).
- Engage with key strategic regional and national policy makers, professional bodies and the public to ensure an understanding of social work is reflected in the development of future policies and strategies.
- Provide leadership and guidance to Principal Social Workers and work with the Principal Social Worker Network to stay informed of current issues in the profession and ensure the needs and views of the workforce are understood to inform future policy.
- Lead on raising the profile and reputation of adult social workers with key stakeholders, to attract more people to work in the sector ensuring that social work practice continues to develop through co-production with practitioners and people who draw on social work services.
- Maintain a good knowledge of practice, research and policy within the UK, globally, and within and outside the health and care economy in order to help consider any other appropriate options to help shape programmes of work.