Advanced Practitioner Practice Development - Learning Disabilities (Adults)

Salary: £43,149 rising annually, currently up to £47,665

Contract: Permanent

Location: Countywide, with opportunities to be based in Yeovil, Taunton, Bridgwater or Mendip

Hours: Full-time, 37-hours per week

Closing date: 09/11/2026

Shape great practice. Develop others. Help people across Somerset live the lives they choose.

Are you an experienced Social Worker who gets just as much satisfaction from developing others as you do from great practice yourself?

This is an opportunity to take that next step. As an Advanced Practitioner – Practice Development, you’ll use your experience, professional curiosity and passion for learning to help Social Workers, students and Newly Qualified Social Workers grow in confidence and deliver high-quality, strengths-based practice.

At Somerset Council, our vision is“A fairer, better future”, putting people at the heart of what we do and helping people to thrive, stay connected and live well.

For Adult Social Care, that means supporting healthy, independent lives through timely, high-quality care, early intervention and strong connections with communities and partners.

About the Role

As our Advanced Practitioner – Practice Development, you'll play a leading role in strengthening high-quality, evidence-informed social work practice across Adult Social Care.

Working within the framework of the Care Act 2014, you'll champion strengths-based, person-centred practice and help colleagues translate legislation, professional standards, theory and evidence into excellent everyday social work. But this role is about more than being an expert practitioner. You’ll develop the people around you.

You'll provide supervision, coaching and professional support to Social Workers, students and Newly Qualified Social Workers, helping create a culture where colleagues feel confident to reflect, ask questions, challenge constructively and keep learning. You'll also contribute to practice improvement, quality assurance and new approaches that strengthen practice across the service.

The role can include supervision of up to three qualified Social Workers and supervision and assessment of up to four learners, alongside close working with our Principal Social Worker and Learning and Development colleagues

How You'll Make a Difference

• Develop great practitioners: provide high-quality supervision, coaching, mentoring and professional support to Social Workers, students and NQSWs, creating meaningful learning opportunities that build confidence, capability and professional judgement.
• Champion excellent social work: model strengths-based, person-centred and evidence-informed practice, providing advanced professional advice, critical reflection and decision-making in complex situations.
• Create a culture of learning: help colleagues reflect, challenge, explore new ideas and learn from practice, supporting an environment where people feel safe to ask questions and continue developing. This closely reflects our ambition to build belonging across the Council.
• Drive practice improvement: lead and contribute to quality assurance, service development and improvement activity, using research and evidence to develop better approaches, systems and ways of working.
• Work as one team: collaborate with Service Managers, the Principal Social Worker, Learning and Development colleagues, partner organisations and community resources to support consistent, joined-up and high-quality practice.

Our values of Work as one team, Strive for excellence and Build belonging are particularly relevant to this role. We're looking for someone who shares knowledge generously, values different perspectives, supports the development of others and isn't afraid to ask, “How could we do this better?”

What You'll Bring

You'll be an experienced, reflective Social Worker who combines strong professional knowledge with a genuine enthusiasm for developing others.

You'll bring:

• A Social Work qualification such as a Degree, DipSW or CQSW and current registration with Social Work England.
• At least two years' post-qualifying experience in social work.
• A Practice Education Professional Standards (PEPS) qualification, or be working towards one.
• Experience of supervision, mentoring and supporting the development of learners, including students and/or Newly Qualified Social Workers.
• Excellent knowledge of the theories, models, legislation, professional standards and evidence that underpin high-quality adult social work practice.
• Confidence in providing constructive challenge, critical reflection and evidence-informed professional advice, including in complex situations.
• Strong communication, analytical, influencing and organisational skills, with the ability to build positive relationships across professional and organisational boundaries.

Above all, you'll be someone who believes that great practice grows when people are supported to learn, reflect and develop together.

Why Join Us?

At Somerset Council, we're a progressive organisation committed to improving lives and shaping better services for our communities. We want our people to feel valued, supported and empowered to make a difference, with development, wellbeing and belonging at the heart of our approach.

• 30 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to purchase additional leave.
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), providing a secure pension with employer contributions and tax relief.
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements to support work-life balance, where service needs allow.
• Access to learning, development, coaching and career opportunities.
• Health and wellbeing support through our Working Well programme and workplace wellbeing network.
• Paid volunteering opportunities to help you make a difference beyond your day-to-day role.

This role really connects with our ambition for a fairer, better future, particularly our mission to help people and communities stay connected and support adults to live healthy, independent lives

Find out more about working at Somerset Council: https://www.somerset.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/working-at-somerset-counci…

Further Information

• This is a countywide role, with travel across Somerset required.
• Somerset Council's Dynamic Working Strategy applies to the position.
• Due to the geographical nature of the service and limitations around public transport in some rural areas, applicants will need to be able to travel independently across Somerset and have access to a vehicle that can be used for work purposes. We welcome a conversation about reasonable adjustments for disabled applicants.
• If you currently work for Somerset Council, please apply via the internal SuccessFactors careers page.
• This role requires a criminal record check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. We are only able to proceed with candidates who already have the right to work in the UK without the need for VISA sponsorship.

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Helen Readdy, Recruitment & Engagement Lead for Adult Services via email: Helen.Readdy@somerset.gov.uk

We believe diversity makes us stronger and are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences, whose unique perspectives help us better serve the people of Somerset.

You can find a copy of the job description here: Advanced Practitioner - Practice Development - Job Description - AG1277.pdf

Req:1381 /FG