Social Worker - Working Age Mental Health Services
| Posting date: | 06 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £39,862 to £42,839 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 20 March 2026 |
| Location: | Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1AB |
| Company: | West Sussex County Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | CAFHE06193_1772808839 |
Summary
About Us
Working for us at West Sussex County Council is all about making a positive difference to the people of West Sussex. The Working Age Mental Health Services (WAMHS) team has a vacancy for a full time Mental Health Social Worker.
We're embracing a strengths-based approach and working within a community-led support model that builds on the assets and strengths of both people and their local communities. Together, we'll focus on prevention, enablement, reablement and safety, to promote wellbeing and independence. We'll ensure that residents, families, and communities have the right support in place, and at the right time.
We provide a working environment that values professional supervision and offers the right balance between challenge and support. This provides our workforce with what they need to deliver the best possible outcomes for our residents. We work to ensure that innovation and evidence-based practice underpins what we do and that we maintain an environment within which our Mental Health Social Workers can develop and progress in their careers. If you have the talent and ambition to achieve the best for the people we serve, then we will support you to progress and develop throughout your social work career.
About The Job
Salary: £39,862 to £42,839 per annum
Working Pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: Horsham
Interview Date: 30th & 31st March
We are seeking a dedicated and compassionate Social Worker to join our specialist Mental Health Social Work Team. This is a challenging yet deeply rewarding role where you will deliver statutory social work services to adults aged 18-65, with occasional involvement in transition work with young people under 18.
Working within a supportive, multi-disciplinary environment, you'll play a key part in improving wellbeing, promoting independence, and ensuring the safe and effective delivery of services to people with complex mental health needs.
What You'll Be Doing
- Acting as the allocated social worker for individuals accessing specialist mental health services.
- Completing strengths-based assessments, care planning, implementation, and review.
- Leading on specialist areas of service delivery (e.g. perinatal mental health, early intervention, transitions, homelessness).
- Managing a varied caseload and working collaboratively with individuals, families, carers, and partner agencies.
- Developing personalised support plans aimed at improving outcomes and ensuring eligible needs are met.
- Applying your professional skills within a managed and supportive framework, with regular professional supervision.
- Contributing to service development and supporting the implementation of business change.
- Providing informal supervision, mentoring, and coaching to students, apprentices, and unregistered practitioners.
- Leading on or contributing to safeguarding enquiries and responding to complex situations involving risk.
What We Offer
- Supportive management and reflective professional supervision.
- A manageable caseload appropriate to your level of experience.
- Opportunities for ongoing CPD and specialist training.
- A collaborative environment where your contributions help shape service delivery and outcomes for people with complex mental health needs.
Experience and Skills
Key Skills (these will be used as short listing criteria so please cover with examples in your application):
- Experience of working proactively as a member of the team to make an accurate strengths-based assessment of needs and negotiate and implement effective plans and outcomes (in line with relevant legislation), working in partnership with carers, colleagues and a variety of external agencies to meet people's outcomes.
- Experience of applying a risk enablement approach and using evidence-based practice.
- Experience of analysis and interpretation of people related information and data to prioritise needs and formulate plans for intervention and service provision.
- Experience of contributing to or undertaking safeguarding enquiries.
- Ability to provide informal supervision and develop the capabilities of less experienced social care practitioners, and to mentor and coach students and apprentices.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to interact effectively with a range of stakeholders to provide clear advice and guidance and interventions.
- Ability to recognise the limits of own accountability and responsibility, know when to seek appropriate support, advice and supervision, and to prioritise and organise work and meet agreed performance expectations.
- Sound and accurate IT skills to ensure effective record keeping, compliant with data protection and respecting confidentiality.
Qualifications and/or experience:
* Degree in Social Work or a recognised equivalent Social Work qualification e.g., Diploma in Social Work.
* Registered with Social Work England
* Approved Mental Health Practitioner (it is a requirement to have AMHP qualification or to be working towards the qualification to be complete within 2 years of appointment and to maintain level of knowledge).
* Experience of undertaking assessments and social work intervention planning, implementation and review by means of creative and pragmatic solutions.
* Experience of working in partnership with those who access the service and maintaining a focus on the needs and strengths of the people, and the outcomes they want to achieve, whilst handling conflict and disagreement
* Experience of managing risk within a risk enablement approach
* Good, up-to-date working knowledge of relevant legislation e.g. Care Act (2014), Mental Capacity Act (2005) etc.
* Valid, full driving licence. Desirable
Further Information
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to Social Work England registration, an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.
West Sussex County Council is an equal opportunities employer committed to promoting an environment that is inclusive and free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of its people. We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and take every possible step to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged.