Administrator - Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Team

About Us

West Sussex County Council is a diverse organisation that provides services to more than 850,000 residents. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Team provides specialist assessments under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 for people in care homes and hospitals who are ordinarily resident in West Sussex.

If you are thinking why join West Sussex there is a supportive culture that is second to none. Employees are genuinely valued, respected and there is an emphasis on work life balance. Hybrid working helps us deliver a great service and our employees enjoy the flexibility this gives to fit around their home lives. For this role, hybrid working currently means a combination of working at home and being based together with the team in the office at Bridge House, Worthing. The office base will change from Worthing to the Civic Centre in Littlehampton from the end of January 2026

About The Job

Salary: £17,126 to £17,399 per annum
Working Pattern: Part time, 24 hours per week
Contract Length: Permanent
Location: Office base Worthing/Littlehampton*

✅Are you passionate about providing quality administrative support?

✅Do you want to #BeTheDifference?

✅Are you a team player?

We are looking for a self-motivated, collaborative Administrator (known internally as DoLS Co-ordinator) to join our friendly and supportive Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Team.

There are 6 members of the administrative team who work together as the first point of contact for enquiries regarding DoLS by telephone or email, and all referrals into the service. Good communications skills are essential for this role as you be in contact with the people who access or need the service, mainly providers, but also on occasion, colleagues, customers, carers, friends and family members.

This is a very busy service with over 300 referrals to the team each month and as a DoLS Co-ordinator you must be able to deliver a high quality, consistent service in line with DoLS processes and relevant legislation. Good communications skills are essential for this role as you be in contact with the people who access or need the service, mainly providers, but also on occasion, colleagues, customers, carers, friends and family members.

To succeed in this role you need to be confident in using IT packages, especially Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook, and confident in using databases. To support successful hybrid working arrangements confidence and experience in using Skype and Microsoft Teams is helpful. This is a role where you'll have the chance to really exercise your strength in administration through tasks such as correspondence via email and letters, updating and maintaining databases (Mosaic), inputting and updating spreadsheets.

If you thrive on a fast-paced administration role with varied competing demands and deadlines, then we would welcome an application from you.

*Please note that the office base will change from Worthing to the Civic Centre in Littlehampton from the end of January 2026

Experience and Skills

Key Skills (these are the short listing criteria so please cover with evidence in your application):

Key Skills:

1. Good communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to be concise and accurate in ways that promote understanding, both verbally and in writing.
2. Ability to work as part of a team completing shared tasks in order to deliver a service to others, responding sensitively and flexibly to diverse groups and customers whilst maintaining confidentiality.
3. Able to organise and manage self in order to meet deadlines, is self-aware and understands the impact of work on self and others, able to respond constructively to situations, balancing competing demands and recognising when to refer upwards and seeking help appropriately.
4. Ability to reflect on own practice and to learn from experience. To take responsibility for own performance and to be proactive in relation to own work and professional development.
5. Good IT skills including Word, Outlook and Excel (or equivalent packages) for word processing, data processing, maintaining basic computer databases etc.
6. Ability to maintain clear, accurate records of all work undertaken and produce case records and correspondence for a variety of audiences.
7. Ability to interpret information received over the telephone in order to process requests.
8. Ability to develop with and respond to the changing needs of the service.
   
   Qualifications and/or experience:
   Educated to GCSE level or equivalent qualification or experience.
   * Educated to A-level or equivalent qualification or experience. Desirable
   * Significant experience of dealing with customers and providing a high level of service.
   * Significant experience of Microsoft Office Programmes.
   * Experience of co-ordinating tasks, staying focused and reliably seeing tasks through to completion within given timescales.
   * Experience of forming effective working relationships within a multi-agency setting.
   * Experience of working in a Social Care environment. Desirable

Further Information

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.

West Sussex County Council is an equal opportunities employer committed to promoting an environment that is inclusive and free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of its people. We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and take every possible step to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged.

For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability or Veteran's Guaranteed Interview Scheme, this can be found on our application help page.

Note for Recruitment Agencies: We prefer to hire people directly, but we do have a supplier list for when we need a helping hand. We'll be in touch directly if we need you!