Senior Social Worker (focused reviews project)

About the Borough

Found in zone 6 with good transport links in and out of London, Kingston is a vibrant and diverse university town which creates the rich sense of community shared across the borough and its Residents. Kingston boasts an idyllic riverside location, good shopping and great restaurants, as well as a mix of modern and historic town centre. Kingston has lots of open parklands and cycle routes that help connect the district town centres into an enjoyable place to live and work.

We are 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.

About the Service and Team

In Adult Social Care, we are committed to promoting independence, strength-based practice, and delivering high-quality, outcome-focused support for our residents. We are launching dedicated projects designed to support complex care individuals, promote system equity, and ensure financial sustainability across the borough. You will be joining and working across a supportive, ambitious, and collaborative Adult Social Care service culture that deeply values professional expertise, creative problem-solving, and continuous learning.

Our service prioritises professional growth, sustainable working practices, and meaningful practice leadership. Beyond direct casework, this team plays a pivotal role in shaping our wider departmental culture. In the final stage of the project, you will directly influence how we work by delivering Action Learning Sets, upskilling operational teams, and updating core assessment and review tools to embed lasting best practices across the organisation.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

We are recruiting two Senior Social Workers who will each focus on a specific project to support transformation delivery. This is an exciting opportunity to lead on either:

• Continuing Healthcare (CHC) and Section 22 Care Act reviews, challenging health partners to take responsibility for needs that fall outside the Adult Social Care remit and securing equitable joint-funding arrangements.

• Mental Health (MH) and Learning Disability (LD) step-down projects, safely reassessing high-cost placements and transitioning residents into rightsized, independent community settings.

Final role allocation will be based on candidates’ skills, experience and organisational priorities.

Purpose of the job / What you’ll be doing

Drive strength-based reviews, challenge funding boundaries, and step down complex care packages to maximise independence and support service sustainability.

In these project-focused roles, you will focus on targeted, high-impact casework. A typical week might involve:

• Auditing and identifying target cases: Reviewing high-cost residential or supported living packages to spot opportunities for rightsizing, joint-funding, or progressing CHc/s22 challenges.

• Conducting robust Care Act reassessments and reviews: Leading complex, strength-based reassessments and reviews that promote least-restrictive outcomes and maintaining legally compliant practice.

• Navigating multi-agency boundaries: Assertively challenging ICB decision-making through CHC processes and Section 22 determinations to ensure health partners meet their statutory responsibilities.

• Negotiating provider variations: Collaborating with commissioning colleagues to adjust care contracts as required and safely transition residents into supported living step-downs.

• Embedding sustainable practice: Delivering Action Learning Sets and updating assessment tools in your final months to share learning and upskill the wider service.

About you
We are looking for an experienced, confident, and autonomous social worker who thrives on problem-solving, complex case analysis, and high-level negotiation. You will step into a high-profile, project-based role where you can bring deep knowledge of social care law, apply advanced professional judgment, constructively challenge decisions, and leave a lasting legacy on practice.

Key requirements:

• Professional Registration: Social Work England registration with significant post-qualification experience in Adult Social Care.

• Legal Expertise: Mastery of the Care Act 2014, s117 Mental Health Act, Section 22 boundaries, the Mental Capacity Act, and the NHS National Framework for Continuing Healthcare.

• Complex Casework & Negotiation: Proven track record in managing complex Mental Health, Learning Disability, or high-cost care reviews, alongside strong negotiation skills with health partners and care providers.

• Outcome-Focused Practice: A genuine commitment to strength-based social work that safely promotes independence and rightsizes support packages.

Desirable requirements:

• Experience designing and delivering training or sharing learning in a structured manner, Action Learning Sets, or practice guidance for colleagues.

• Prior experience in CHC disputes, joint-funding negotiations, or stepping down residential placements into supported living.

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 25-32 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
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
• Hybrid working (dependent on the role)
• Flexible 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
• Electric vehicle leasing 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 Kingston 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 STAR values.
Here at Kingston 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.