Associate Director of Social Work | Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
| Posting date: | 23 January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | £76,965 - £88,682 per annum |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 22 February 2026 |
| Location: | Preston, PR5 6AW |
| Company: | Lancashire Care Foundation Trust |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 7758703/351-PEN1050-LG-A |
Summary
Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) is the major health and wellbeing provider for a population of 1.7 million people across Lancashire and South Cumbria. We are proud to provide a wide range of mental health and learning disability services as well as physical health services in the community, including community nursing, health visiting and a range of therapy services. We employ over 7,000 members of staff operating in more than 400 sites with an annual budget of over £350 million. Our core values represent what we as an organisation, and the individuals who make up that organisation, are about. It is our aim that everything we do fits in with, and reinforces, these values: we are always learning, we are respectful, we are kind, and we are a team.
This is an exciting opportunity to work in an innovative Trust and be at the forefront of mental health and community innovation.
Two posts available, post holders will be accountable to the Network Director of Nursing and Director of Social Work.
This role will provide:
• Expert Social Work advice and consultation to service leads, management, and partners across their respective Networks.
• Lead on the development of person-centred and evidence-based approaches to practice, and setting, maintaining, and developing professional standards for Social Work within the two Networks.
• Drive forward the Social Work agenda, contributing to the development of educational and research programmes to support practice across the Networks and the Trust.
• Work strategically in partnership with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of best practice and ensuring a joined-up, seamless approach to service user care across both Network boundaries.
• Support Network Directors of Nursing in areas they feel require social work support/input.
Form part of the on-call rota as set out in the on-call procedure. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and welcome applications from underrepresented groups. In recruiting to our Trust, we are committed to equality of opportunity for all. We believe that the best organisations are those that reflect the communities they serve. We especially welcome applications from candidates from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic heritage, LGBTQ+ communities, and from people with lived experience of disability.
LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.
Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.
We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.
LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.
Please see attached the Job Description and Person Specification for more information about this role.
This advert closes on Thursday 5 Feb 2026