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Best Interests Assessor (DoLS)

An exciting opportunity has become available to work within the MCA/DoLS Team in the Adults Safeguarding service. The position is for 1.0 FTE (37 hours) per week over a Monday - Friday working pattern.

About you

You will be a qualified Social Worker and Best Interests Assessor with experience of working within Adult Social Care and a strong commitment to promoting the rights, wellbeing and independence of vulnerable adults. You will have experience of undertaking complex assessments, managing risk, and working within the framework of the Mental Capacity Act, safeguarding legislation and relevant social care policy. You will be confident making evidence-based decisions, managing competing priorities and delivering high-quality, person-centred interventions.

You will possess excellent communication, negotiation and relationship-building skills, enabling you to work effectively with individuals, families, health colleagues and partner agencies. Strong organisational skills, professional resilience and the ability to maintain accurate records and manage a varied workload are essential. You will be a collaborative team player who is committed to supporting colleagues, contributing to service development and embracing opportunities for learning and improvement.

Importantly, you will share Cheshire East Council's values of Flexibility, Innovation, Responsibility, Service and Teamwork. You will be adaptable, solution-focused and committed to delivering excellent outcomes for adults and their carers, while working with integrity, respect and compassion in everything you do.

The successful candidate will have:

A recognised Social Work qualification and registration with Social Work England, with experience working within a statutory Adult Social Care setting.

Strong knowledge and practical experience of the Mental Capacity Act, safeguarding adults and person-centred assessment and care planning.

Experience of working with adults with a wide range of needs, including mental health, physical disability, dementia, learning disability, substance misuse and complex social circumstances.

Excellent assessment, analytical and decision-making skills, with the ability to manage risk and make sound professional judgements.

Effective communication, negotiation and partnership-working skills, enabling positive relationships with individuals, families and multi-agency professionals.

The ability to manage a varied workload, maintain accurate records and work effectively within a performance-focused environment.

A commitment to Cheshire East Council's values of Flexibility, Innovation, Responsibility, Service and Teamwork, with a passion for improving outcomes for vulnerable adults.

To find out more about the essential and desirable criteria for the role please view the attached job description specification document.

In return we are able to offer:

Enhanced annual leave - Start with an impressive 34 days of annual leave (including bank holidays) from day one, and watch it grow to 39 days after just five years of service

Purchase of annual leave – Want more time off? You can purchase up to 10 extra days of annual leave each year, giving you the flexibility to balance work and life just the way you want (Pro-rata for part-time staff)

Flexible working pattern - Enjoy a 37-hour standard full-time work week with the added perks of flexi-time and hybrid/remote working arrangements where possible. Your work-life balance just got a whole lot better

Salary sacrifice green car scheme - Drive green and save green! Lease a brand-new electric or hybrid car through our salary sacrifice scheme. There’s no credit checks, no deposits, just significant savings and exclusive offers on a three-year lease

White goods salary sacrifice scheme - Upgrade your home with ease. Purchase home and electronic items through our salary sacrifice scheme, spreading the cost of big-ticket purchases like appliances, computers, and tech gadgets directly from your salary

Enhanced public pension - Secure your future with our career average pension, where contributions are built at a rate of 1/49th of your yearly pensionable pay

Cycle to work scheme - Save up to 25-39% on the retail price of bikes and safety equipment through Income Tax and National Insurance savings. Get fit and save money!

Employee assistance programme - Access a completely free and confidential assistance service to help manage, reduce, and overcome life’s challenges, both at work and in your personal life

Discounted gym membership - Stay active and healthy with corporate membership prices for Everybody Leisure, including:

Gym, Swim and Group Fitness at all 16 facilities

Off-Peak Racket Sports

Athletics Tracks

Sauna/Steam/Spa

Join us and experience a workplace that truly values and supports you!

Cheshire East is an amazing place to live and work. As one of the largest employers in the borough, we are able to offer you a wide range of challenging and rewarding career opportunities.

We are working for a brighter future – together and our commitment to you is that our workplace culture will provide a shared purpose, a well-led organisation with valued people succeeding together as one team and one council to deliver the best service for our customers and communities.

If you want to be part of our award-winning council and contribute to our ongoing success, have the flexibility and drive to enable us to innovate, are committed to working as part of a team and striving to deliver exceptional service wherever you can, we would especially like to hear from you.

As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and want our workforce to reflect the diversity of our local communities so that we can all work for a brighter future - together.

Applicants should ensure all sections of the application form are completed as failure to do so will result in their application being rejected. Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact hiring manager Tom Cox on 07790 564631 or at [email protected].

Cheshire East Council is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults across the Borough. As such, any cautions, convictions, reprimands or final warnings that are ‘not protected’ as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) order 1975 (as amended in 2013) relating to the non-disclosure of spent convictions do not apply to this job. You must therefore, disclose whether you have any previous convictions where prompted to do so within the application process.

Attachments

JAJF4131 - Best Interests Assessor, Social Worker (Progressed) Job Description and Specification.pdf