Head Of Practice / Principal Social Worker

Job summary As part of the new Senior Management structure across Health and Adult Services, we are excited to be able to offer the role of Head of Practice/Principal Social Worker.This role is a statutory role and will be responsible for the assurance of the delivery of our statutory duties under The Care Act as well as other key Legislative functions.
The Head of Practice/Principal Social Worker will need to be able to combine the skills of driving excellent adult social care practice and legal literacy alongside the delivery of transformation, budget savings and the assurance framework.
The post holder will need to be passionate, driven, and able to respond delivering change in an ever-changing landscape.Working closely with the Chief Social Care Practitioner, you will be responsible for the oversight of the 7 Key Improvement Areas, Co-Chair of the Confident and Consistent Practice Board and the lead for the largest CQC Domain of Working with People.
You will also work closely with the Principal Nurse and Principal Occupational Therapist and the Director of Adult Social Care to ensure statutory duties are robustly executed.
Main duties of the job This is a highly visible role, your pursuit of strengthening practice with permeate across Health and Social care settings.
You will work beyond setting the practice framework; you will personally and resolutely ensure the embedding and constant develop of practice ensuring that the desired outcomes are realised.You will lead transformation, targeted practice development and improvement programmes.
You will be well networked internally and externally, enhancing the reputation and influence of social care as our principal social worker.This is a career advancing opportunity, owing to our scale, complexity and strength this career opportunity is not afford elsewhere.
This Head of Service role, adds to what is a more typical principal social worker role and elevating the strength of practice in everything we do.
About us North Yorkshire is home to over 615,000 people.
Nearly 80 percent of us are adults and 25 percent of us are over 65.
Life expectancy is at, or above, the England average, although there is a 20-year gap in healthy years lived between different parts of the county.Our ambition is that every adult has a longer, healthier and independent life.
We want people to be able to live their best lives and for our communities to flourish.
Living our best lives includes being more proactive about talking about and promoting greater diversity and inclusion - across North Yorkshire and within our own services.We believe that prevention is better than cure and that is why we have invested for many years in universal and targeted prevention programmes and in extra care housing.We are striving to ensure that our practice starts with the strengths that each and every one of us have as human beings and that we make commissioning and investment decisions that, wherever possible, build upon the strengths within our towns and villages and countryside.
As part of these aims, we want to work more sustainably to make our contribution to addressing climate change.We want our care provider colleagues, in the independent and voluntary sectors, and in the council, to provide high-quality care and support and diversify their services to meet the choices and requirements that people will have in the future.
Job description Job responsibilities Operational Management:Work closely with the Head of Prevention/Principal Occupational Therapist and other professional leads across North Yorkshire to develop strategic leadership and effective and efficient delivery of services that use effective engagement and coproduction approaches, ensuring the necessary focus on equality, diversity and inclusion.Provide senior professional leadership for statutory social work services, including those which are delegated, in preparation for successful inspection and review, achieving improved effectiveness in all aspects of practice and service delivery.Lead strategic practice and service area development and major organisational change across a range of Council and system wide functions with a focus on co production and community engagement.Work across the system with key colleagues to develop services to respond and contribute to improved outcomes for people, implementing standards that ensure a cohesive and high performing workforce, that embraces cultural change, improving strengths based, and social work practice.
Ensure that the practice and rationale for system- wide social work is defined and guided by the wellbeing and prevention principles of the Care Act 2014 and other relevant legislative frameworks.Apply a social work lens to services to assist with service planning, development, and strategy by advising on professional aspects.
This includes interpreting national guidance/policy and analysing a range of options to ensure robust advice to managers and professionals regarding the best course of action.Plan a wide range of professional activity which will impact across health and social care partner agencies.
Network and collaborate at a local, regional and national level to ensure engagement with relevant work streams, ensuring the publicising and take up of opportunities.Support the pipeline of social workers in social care.
This includes strategically embedding learning and development throughout the social work workforce, including leading or contributing to workforce development projects and promoting professional development opportunities both internally and externally.
Alongside this, the post holder will advise on CPD, staff development and matters of competency and discipline in line with Social Work England and professional body requirements, and develop and ensure delivery of an effective social work structure, supervision process, culture, and expectations against national benchmarks.Lead on embracing positive risk at an organisational and individual level within practice, enhancing risk management frameworks and ensuring effective empowering strategies are embedded at all levels of the organisation.
Within this, actively promote strengths-based approaches that enable people to access local facilities and communities, and promote integration into work, education, training, and recreation using a personalised approach.Lead to embed best practice in safeguarding, ensuring measures are used proportionally and staff can discharge statutory duties effectively.
Lead in disseminating learning and associated change projects from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) to both managers and practitioners.
Advise the DASS on complex safeguarding cases, ensuring statutory responsibilities are discharged effectively.Lead on specific change and development projects as identified by the Adult Social Care Leadership Team and support the overall effective delivery of Adult Social CareModel a commitment to a learning and performance culture in which all staff at all levels are expected and enabled to develop their experience, knowledge and skills, and fully accept accountability for the quality and impact of their practiceWork strategically with statutory agencies, key partners, and voluntary and community groups to achieve the shared aims of improving the lived experience and outcomes for adults.Responsible for professional leadership of social work staff in Adult Social Care.Act at all times in a way that enhances the reputation of the Service and the Council.Build the resilience and morale of staff through good communications, engagement and involvement in key decisions and proposed changes.Deputise for the Assistant Director when requiredThe post holder will have responsibility for practice for service areas with a significant budget and will support with ensuring that the services are financially stable, within budget and where possible achieving significant income and efficiencies for the Local Authority.To support the strategic development and delivery of social care model with the NHS, ICB and other Council and public services ensuring that the Councils statutory duties are met and delivered within financial, quality and performance standards.The role will be responsible for oversight of the assurance processes around all adult social care operational services in line with CQC and Policy and Procedure.To promote independence, wellbeing and a community assets based approach to social care practice at all stages in the customer pathway.The postholder will ensure the safety of vulnerable adults in line with the North Yorkshire Multi Agency Safeguarding Adults Procedures and Health and Adults Services operational guidance.To lead specific countywide programmes as part of the Councils change and transformation programmesThe post holder will ensure Adult Social Care Services have an appropriate practice framework, and will monitor performance levelsThe post holder will govern and implement appropriate policies and procedures to maintain governance and compliance.As part of the post the post holder will be expected to join the Adult Social Care Leadership Team on-call rota.To promote prevention, independence, wellbeing and a community assets based approach to health and social care practice at all stages in the customer pathway and across the health and care system.Resource management:Manage an effective team to deliver on the key objectives of the Adult Social Care modelFulfil the role of project sponsor in the management of resources where required.Identify the resource requirements that would be affected by legislative change across the directorate.Identify and implement changes in practice that lead to service efficiency working.The post holder will be responsible as a staff budget holder within the Councils Scheme of Delegation of financial performance of the post holders unit, ensuring a balanced staff budget and meeting any efficiency targets agreed.The post holder will provide leadership, motivation and regular supervision, appraisal and development to those staff for whom they are responsible in line with Directorates Supervision and Appraisal procedures.The post holder will be responsible for ensuring the effective performance of all members of their team.The post holder will ensure their behaviours and those of their managers comply with the expectations of the Managers Pocket book and that their managers and staff all comply with the Councils Behaviour and Skills FrameworkEnsure that projects have clear action plans, management approval and governance systems in place.Partnerships:The post holder will deputise for the Assistant Director as required and represent the Directorate at policy, organisational, co-ordination and consultation forums with external agencies, other Council Directorates within the Service Area or wider Directorate.The post holder is required to work effectively with senior managers and colleagues within Health and Adult Services and across the wider council.Identify and work effectively with all relevant stakeholders within each transformation project.Work with a focus on co-production and co-design with residents of North YorkshireTo take a Leadership role within Programme Boards within your relevant portfolio areas.Develop and maintain relationships with key regional and national organisations including Department of Health, County Councils Network, ADASS and representing the Directorate as required.Strategic management:In conjunction with the Assistant Director:Effectively implement national legislation, policies and guidance and Council policiesModernise and develop the workforce alongside the transformation agenda.Improve and modernise business processes.Evaluate transformation which has taken place to ensure lessons are learnt and used to improve further transformation.Co-Lead and advise the directorate on the key areas of change, risk in relation to social care, to ensure continuously improving outcomes for people who use support and their carers.Ensure that key stakeholders including people who use care and support, carers, partners, staff and Elected Members will be informed of, and engaged in the social care arrangements.Provide on-going quality assurance to the projects within the programmes or works, providing constructive challenge to sponsors and project managers to ensure delivery and that opportunities for efficiencies and service improvement are maximised.Establish and maintain effective working relationships with strategic partners of Health and Adult Services.Ensure that HAS policies, guidance and procedures are compliant with the requirements of the Care Act and are reviewed against integrated working arrangements as necessary.Provide leadership at a management level and contribute to the strategic direction of HAS and contribute to the annual Service Performance Plan Person Specification Experience Essential Knowledge and Experience Extensive knowledge of either social care or NHS policy environment at local, regional and national level Significant knowledge of social care or NHS quality and regulatory issues and requirements; including CQC registration, CQUIN, NHSLA and HCPC Extensive knowledge and understanding of all adult social care services.
Extensive knowledge of current good practice standards both at local and national level.
Extensive knowledge and expertise in business planning, performance, financial and human resources management Extensive knowledge of engagement with people with lived experience (including carers) and with communities.
Extensive knowledge of statutory requirements.
Extensive knowledge and understanding of how Equality and Diversity, Dignity and Respect and Human Rights will apply to this role.
Extensive leadership and managerial experience and the ability to be responsible for the motivation and performance of a group of managers Extensive demonstrable experience of adult social care operations, policy development and management in a local authority, major independent service organisation or equivalent Extensive experience of health/social care needs assessment and service provision Proven and effective extensive demonstrable experience of the management of specific resources in a changing organisational environment, including human and financial resources Significant demonstrable experience of developing and implementing organisational change strategies.
Significant experience of delivering results through successful partnership and multi-agency working and practice Experience of managing competing partner demands across a complex county-wide environment Significant experience of highly complex performance, financial and human resources issues within a health/ social care setting Managerial / supervisory experience and the ability to be responsible for the performance of a group of senior managers Experience of developing and embedding a positive culture Experience of project/matrix management Occupational Skills Demonstrable leadership skills within a challenging/ demanding environment; and ability to promote organisational policy and objectives Ability to use effective negotiating, persuasive, motivational and empathetic skills to influence others, resolve conflict, and address barriers to gaining agreement, acceptance or understanding through collaboration and strong relationships with partners Strong political and organisational awareness; to work effectively across a range of partner organisations Ability to matrix lead and manage across statutory and non-statutory organisations Ability to encourage others to develop themselves and the service through improvement, innovation and continuous development Excellent communication (written and verbal) and presentation skills Ability to analyse of complex data and information to inform transformational decision making Ability to manage diverse operational functions to deliver strategic objectives Ability to develop and maintain effective partnerships both within and outside the Service and to undertake strategic interagency work Ability to make effective decisions and sound professional judgements and to be accountable for those decisions and judgements.
Ability to balance operational responsibilities of the post with the responsibility to lead strategic service development, and contribute corporate agendas of the wider organisations Ability to develop and implement service-wide work plans and to set and monitor quality and service standards to facilitate continuous improvement Planning and Project Management skills Budget management skills IT skills Desirable Working knowledge and application of project management principles/methodology Qualifications Essential Social Work qualification and registered with Social Work England.
Willingness to undertake a management qualification