Wellbeing and Independence Practitioner - ASC Centralised Safeguarding Team

You will be required to attend the office located at County Hall, Chelmsford every Wednesday with the remaining time spent working remotely.

The Centralised Safeguarding Team provides supportive, coordinated, and preventative support to the locality teams and undertakes targeted prevention in relation to safeguarding. For this vacancy, it is desirable to have a minimum of 6 months experience working within safeguarding.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Adult Social Care

The Opportunity

ECC Adult Social Care (ASC), through effective practice, is moving towards a transformational shift from a focus on long-term care support, to a model with four key principles: prevention; early intervention; enablement and safeguarding. This will enable people, their families, and carers to access information and tools, live healthily and independently and for ASC, an opportunity to respond pro-actively to growing service demand in a sustainable way.

Working with adults 18 and over - including older adults, people with learning and physical disabilities and other conditions - you will undertake statutory responsibilities and focus on prevention, strengths and reducing risks. You will provide advice, working alongside people and their networks to support them to maximise their independence and wellbeing.

In collaboration with colleagues and practitioners across the health and voluntary sector, you will support effective integration between health and social care, ensuring systems are joined up and accessible.

Accountabilities

• Under the guidance of a supervisor, carry out statutory responsibilities in screening and triaging safeguarding adult concerns
• Use knowledge and skills to evaluate the functional ability of people and their networks with an emphasis on prevention, personalisation, recovery, progression and independence.
• Manage a caseload effectively, to meet timescales set for interventions, maintain appropriate recording systems and support information reporting.
• Appropriately identify eligibility and statutory compliance in line with current safeguarding legislative policy and advise people, their networks and carers of their rights, the options available to them and how they can live meaningful and independent lives.
• Work in partnership with internal and external partners across the health, private and voluntary sector, to support effective integration between health and social care and collaboration to ensure that systems are joined up and accessible
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Educated to NVQ level 4 in Care or Health or equivalent knowledge by experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development aligned to any relevant Professional Competency/Capability frameworks or Knowledge and Skills Statements.
• Experience of working with people with complex disabilities or age-related conditions
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to negotiate and seek solutions to challenging and complex situations.
• A knowledge of person-centred safeguarding to maximise independence and wellbeing.
• Good self-organisation skills.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency.  Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service.  The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate.  This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained.  For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email daniel.warner@essex.gov.uk

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