Enabling Independence Officer - Transition Team - Adult Social Care

About the Borough

The London Borough of Sutton is situated less than 30 minutes by train from Central London, with direct connections to London Victoria and London Bridge. Found in zone 5 with good transport links in and out of London, Sutton boasts award winning parks and open spaces, low crime rates, affordable housing and great schools. As well as high levels of resident engagement and satisfaction, providing quality services and success in addressing our financial challenges, whilst involving residents in key issues and high street changes.

Sutton is continuously investing in the health, wellbeing and education of our residents and the future generation, as set out in the “Ambitious for Sutton” corporate plan. We are home to the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. Together with the development of the London Cancer Hub, Sutton will be the world’s leading life-science district, specialising in cancer research and treatment. Our vision will create around 13,000 jobs while contributing £1.2bn to the UK economy each year, a vibrant community of scientists, doctors and innovative companies intended to deliver real benefits for cancer patients and drive economic growth. With the regeneration of the local areas with new homes and schools, Sutton is passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

The Council is seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment. As we strive to improve our services and spaces for our residents as set out in the ‘Ambitious for Sutton’ corporate plan, Sutton aims to shape the future of the borough and adapt to the needs of its residents to make our Borough a great place to live, work and raise a family.

About the Service and Team

We are seeking Enabling Independence Officers (EIO), formerly known as Assessment Officers, to join our Adult Social Care Service.

Our goal is to empower adults to live as independently as possible in the community. Your duties and responsibilities will be specific to our residents' needs. They will include:

• Conducting assessments of individuals in need of social care services

• Gathering information from various sources to determine the level of support required

• Collaborating with social workers, healthcare providers, and the NHS to ensure that our service users receive the best possible care in accordance with the Care Act.

EIO at Sutton are unqualified social care workers with the skills and knowledge of being trusted assessors, or willing to complete level 3 trusted assessor training.

EIO within the Transition Team are responsible for supporting people in a person-centred way using a prevention and strength based approach, working proactively to identify individuals who may be at risk of developing social care needs in the future. You will be required to work with health partners, community groups, service users and residents to facilitate co-production. You will complete proportionate assessments for equipment and adaptations to prevent, reduce or delay needs.

We aspire for young people to be supported to increase independence in specific areas of their life as identified within their Care Act 2014 assessment, with the aim to enable them to learn the skills to complete tasks without the need to rely on social care support. The EIO will respond in a person-centred way using a prevention and strength based approach, working proactively and creatively with the person, their families, health partners, community groups, education and children's services.

If you are passionate about making a difference, have strong interpersonal skills to build effective relationships and can show empathy and sensitivity towards individuals facing difficult circumstances, we want to hear from you.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will have:

• NVQ level 3 or demonstrate relevant experience of working with vulnerable people/families/carers.
• Prior experience in conducting assessments in a social care setting.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and policies in social care such as Care Act 2014 and Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Level 3 or 4 Trusted Assessor qualification, or willing to complete this training.
• Have experience of working in a multidisciplinary team setting.
• Have sound knowledge and ability to deliver social work support to service users and their families.
• Ability to communicate complex social issues clearly to both patients and professionals.
• Ability to plan and coordinate social care plans and aspects of resident discharge.

Learning and development is supported by a comprehensive training package and mandatory learning . We aim to provide robust supervision and mentoring and encourage reflective practice to identify areas of development. As a Borough, we are committed to building a workforce that is empowered with knowledge to work autonomously and provide the valuable care service to the residents of our community. We want you to be a part of our journey.

Our Offer to You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 26-31 days plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade
• Enhanced Maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
• Two volunteering days per year
• Flexible Working - Smarter Working Scheme (dependent on the role)
• Adjustable and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support

Application Process

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities.
However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Sutton we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our PRIDE values.
Here at Sutton we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

As part of our award winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our interview panels to be as diverse as possible (age, cultural, neurodiverse etc.) to reduce bias where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.

The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.