Principal Social Worker – Adult Services

Job details

Salary - Grade
GBP £68,661 to £69,840 68661 - PO11
Contract Type
Permanent
Contracted Hours
Full Time - 36 hours per week
DBS Required
Yes
Department
Adults, Health & Integration
Service
Adult Services
Closing date
23/02/2025

In Hackney Adult Social Care, we are continually innovating and transforming to better support people who have care and support needs to build on their strengths and make connections. We have an ambitious 3 year plan that details what our vision is for Hackney residents and how we will work collaboratively to get there.

“We want you to achieve what matters to you, in partnership with our communities in Hackney. Where you need support, together we can find a solution that keeps you safe, well and independent.”

Right now, transformation has never been more important. The challenges facing the adult social care sector are significant. We believe that with the right staff, leadership and vision, we can meet these challenges and work with residents and partners to come up with creative solutions – always keeping residents at the centre of their care.

The transformation service is made up of a number of teams; Transformation, Performance & Insight, Business Support, Practice Innovation and Workforce Capability, and Welcome Hackney (Refugee, Migrant and Asylum Seeker Support). We are committed to ensuring residents achieve the best outcomes. We use data and insight to continually improve and transform services, and ensure the workforce is supported to deliver excellence. It’s a dynamic, highly skilled and supportive service.

The Principal Social Worker is a key leadership role, within the Transformation Service but equally across the whole of the Adult Social Care department.

The Principal Social Worker will develop, lead, promote and assure high standard, strengths-based social work practice across Adult Social Care in Hackney. This will enable the provision of quality support to residents, and ensure that the borough is the employer of choice for social work candidates.

Working closely with the Director of Adult Social Care Operations, The Principal Social Worker will lead the Authority’s preparations for the Care Quality Commission Assurance Framework, ensuring the process can be a positive learning experience for staff that supports our continuous improvement journey. This should be seen as part of the Department’s wider quality assurance framework, of which the post holder is responsible for implementing and continually developing, alongside embedding the Practice Framework.

This role manages the Practice Innovation and Workforce Capabilities team, and is responsible for demonstrating excellent management and leadership, ensuring the team has a clear vision and direction, and are performing to a high standard. This will include ultimate responsibility for delivering the Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy, that sets a number of priorities that the team will deliver, in partnership with others.

The Principal Social Worker will provide practice leadership for the development of further integration of health and care services in Hackney, and will build effective working relationships with all partners.

We are looking for a collaborative leader who is passionate about social care and the positive impact of strengths-based practice that truly promotes independence for residents. The post holder will have the skills and experience to translate this passion into tangible improvements to resident experience and outcomes.

This role requires a relentless focus on supporting and improving the performance of the workforce, and an understanding of effective methodologies, approaches and frameworks that enable this.

Requirements of the role:

– Must hold a professional social work qualification, or eqivalent (Degree, DipSW, CQSW or CSS as relevant).

– Must have a current registration as a Social Worker with Social Work England.

– Evidence of significant post-qualifying development and extensive evidence of CPD. – Training as an Approved Mental Health Professional and/or Best Interest Assessor is helpful but not essential.

-Extensive post-qualifying experience and at least two years experience in management.

Understanding of the key current policy directives for adult social care and health, including detailed knowledge of relevant legislation and experience of applying it in complex settings.

– Track record of strong and effective leadership within Adult Social Care and proven ability to provide vision and direction to individuals and teams so as to gain ownership and commitment to service improvement

– Experience of developing robust systems that influence practice, and of implementing and using insight from a range of sources to inform and embed improvements coherent and cohesive way.

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.

If you want to work in a place where you can represent our values so we achieve the best for our residents, please click on the apply button below.

We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CV’s.

To proceed with your application, you will need to create an account and submit your application.

As part of the application process, you will need to complete a number of competency based questions. These questions allow you to demonstrate your suitability for the role and provide examples of your skills, knowledge and experience outlined in the job description.

rWe understand the benefits of using AI in the workplace. However, if you are thinking of using this tool to submit your application, we ask you to think about what value it will add. AI tools tend to lack the personal touch and authenticity we value in candidates. We encourage you to showcase your unique knowledge and skills using your own voice.

Closing date for applications: 23 February 2025 (22.59)

Interview and assessment date: 06 & 07 March 2025

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud; a place that celebrates diversity and where everyone can feel valued, included and involved. In order to achieve this, we look for people who are: Proud; Ambitious; Pioneering; Open; Proactive; Inclusive.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: hackneyworks@hackney.gov.uk