Senior Practitioner, Pullar House, Perth

Main Purpose of the Role

Working within Perth & Kinross Council is more than a job, it's about being part of an organisation that puts people at the heart of all we do and provides opportunities to make a real difference by enhancing every life we touch.

We currently have the following opportunity:

Senior Practitioner - PKC12502
£47,864 - £51,562
Pullar House, Perth

The Senior Practitioner will provide support and supervision to the Wellbeing Support Team, in a co-ordination and line management role.

The Wellbeing Support Team delivers short term, recovery focused support for people with low/moderate mental health needs, encouraging the development of self-management skills to support service users to move on from, or live better with, the symptoms of mental ill health. Support can be delivered on an individual or small group basis.

The Senior Practitioner will have responsibility for the provision of supervision and professional development for the Mental Health Practitioners/Social Workers and Community Care Assistants within the Wellbeing Support Team and for workload management, including screening referrals in line with current referral criteria, and allocating work to the team.

As a member of the Wellbeing Support Team you will participate in strategic development work as required. You will also be required to undertake specific tasks and deputise for the Team Leader as required.

Skills & Experience Required

You will be skilled in developing and maintaining effective working relationships with individuals, carers, and other agencies, and be able to sustain positive inter-agency working relationships.

You must be able to demonstrate initiative and independence, to be able to work within defined policy guidelines and be able to deal personally with predictable, and unforeseen, challenges as they arise.

You should hold a degree in Social Work, or equivalent, and be a professionally registered practitioner, as per SSSC requirements.  A post qualifying qualification in Adult Protection, Mental Health Officer, or Practice Education is desirable, but is not essential.

Experience of Social Work practice, supervision and line management of staff is essential. Experience of Adult Support and Protection work would be desirable.

You should have the ability to effectively manage a busy caseload, work to timescales and manage competing demands.

You will have excellent written, IT and verbal communication skills and demonstrate skills and experience in assessment, and preparation of reports.

You will be highly motivated, innovative and flexible in your approach, as well as being clear and concise in both your written and verbal communication.

You must have a genuine interest in working with people in a recovery focussed manner to improve their mental health and wellbeing.

You will be expected to travel efficiently between various work locations.  Due to the rural nature of Perth and Kinross, this is normally undertaken by car/pool car. Therefore you must have a valid UK driving licence as this post requires you to travel to a variety of locations across Perth and Kinross.

Working at Perth & Kinross Council

Our values and behaviours influence our work and support us in the delivery of our key priorities.  In your application, and should you be invited to interview, you will be asked to describe situations that support the criteria required in the role and which also demonstrate our values and behaviours.  Find out more about Perth & Kinross Council and you could soon be joining our team!

Here's what we can offer you:

• A generous annual leave package
• 7 public holidays
• Eligibility to join our pension scheme
• Family friendly and positive work/life balance policies such as Flexible Working, Maternity, Paternity & Adoption leave, time off for volunteering and our Wellbeing Framework
• Flexi time
• Access to a range of benefits

We recognise there can be benefits to flexible working and where individual jobs allow, we seek to support this.  You are encouraged to discuss potential options with the recruiting manager, if this is of interest to you.  A healthy work life balance is important to us and we provide supportive management and, where possible, flexible working arrangements to help you achieve that balance.  You will have access to training and support for continued professional development.

For purposes of connection and collaboration with colleagues and with the community we serve, our full-time employees work on site for a minimum of 2 days per week with the arrangements for part time employees being agreed on a basis which will ensure that they benefit to an equivalent degree.

Our FAQs on hybrid working can be found here Hybrid working FAQs.

We are committed to being a more inclusive employer - to ensure we can consider any reasonable adjustments, please either contact the recruiting manager to discuss any individual circumstances, discuss at interview or, if you prefer, after any conditional offer is made.

This role requires you to be registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)

Next Steps

We would love to hear from you and would encourage you to get in touch with Pamela Ritchie, Team Leader on 01738 475492 to find out more.

Click “APPLY NOW”

External candidates are required to provide contact details for 2 referees, including email addresses.  One of these must be your current or most recent employer.

We welcome applications from everyone and as a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview applicants who declare a disability and meet the essential requirements of the post.  Please contact the hiring manager above or the Recruitment Team on (01738) 475555 or recruitment@pkc.gov.uk to discuss any reasonable adjustments.  Appointments are based on evidence supplied during the selection process.

Diversity is important to us and although some of our jobs may be perceived to be traditionally gender specific, we welcome applications from everyone and would encourage you to apply if you meet the job requirements.  That includes welcoming applications from former armed forces personnel/reservists.  Many of the skills picked up during your military career could be transferred directly into a role with local government.

Working with children and/or protected adults is regulated work and under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 you will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update check.

If you have lived overseas for a period of 12 months or more (continuous or total) within the last 10 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required. You will be required to provide this check.

A confirmed offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of the above mentioned mandatory pre-employment checks (including references) and will also include eligibility to work in the UK, qualifications and fitness to undertake the post.