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About The Job

Salary: £48,226 -£51,356 per annum
Working Pattern: 37 hours per week
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: County Hall North, Horsham

Interview Date: week commencing 24th August 2026

You will need to be able to travel independently around the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport. Pool cars and pool bikes are available.

The Prevention and Assessment Team (PAT) is a collaboration of delivery partners that share a common goal and vision, which is to provide support to people at the point that they need it, avoiding unnecessary delays that may lead to a decline in an individual's wellbeing or a worsening of their circumstances.

The team is not a statutory service but one that complements our statutory partners and delivers essential services that contribute to the requirements of the Care Act and reduces the need for avoidable, more costly interventions by
keeping people safe, well and independent in their own homes.

About the job
The PAT approach means we reduce unnecessary hand-offs between services both internally and externally, making our contact with the individual our priority to achieve accountable outcomes. We provide support that responds to the outcomes that individuals (or their representatives) have identified at the soonest possible time, or support by way of navigating the pathways for individuals whose needs cannot reasonably be met through PAT; skilled staff will
work from a strength-based approach.

The service is responsive and accountable, so those that need help feel listened to and supported, and where an individual's autonomy is respected and can be evidenced as such; we are not a crisis response service. Our model of practice is one that does not seek to over-intervene - we support building capacity and capability within an individual's own environment and with their existing support structures, where this is both reasonable and practical. We proactively seek solutions where grass roots community and voluntary organisations might be better able to support an individual in a more sustainable way, creating greater levels of connectivity that is place based.

The PAT service is not a gatekeeping team for statutory services, or an emergency response service, neither is it a long-term intervention team; its purpose is to offer primary (avoidable) and secondary (early intervention)
prevention that supports Community Led Support. The space which PAT occupies needs to be fully appreciated and understood, as it is often a difficult and complex environment, and relates to our duty within Section 2 of the Care Act which places a duty on local authorities to provide or arrange for services, facilities or resources which will prevent or delay the development of, or reduce the needs for care and support of adults.

What you'll need to succeed
You will have a proven track record of achievement and significant expertise in adult focussed community-based interventions. Working from a strength-based approach, you will be problem-solver with excellent communication and presentation skills. You will have the ability to create succinct, compelling, evidence-based outcomes reports. With an eye for detail, you will absorb and respond to complex data and information, identifying themes and trends that inform the direction of travel for the service. Being flexible, agile and adaptable, you will respond to the challenge of what can be a complex environment, involving multiple disciplines, building and maintaining trust and rapport with a range of stakeholders.

You will oversee the day-to-day effectiveness of the service, and will prioritise managing the direct delivery teams, their wellbeing, resilience, and their practice, knowing that our people are at the heart of being successful at what we do. You will lead by example, model strength-based practice, supervise staff, oversee logistical resources, and drive the highest quality delivery service that in turn improves measurable outcomes for our residents.

You will have responsibility for, ensuring that practice is of the highest quality, maintaining standards that have a strong evidence base and can be measured through robust quality assurance processes, staff training, development, and supervision.

Required experience and skills (These will be used as the shortlisting criteria please refer to how you meet them in your covering letter)

Key Skills:
1. Ability to challenge existing practices, identify and deliver creative and innovative solutions to managing complexity, risk, and vulnerability, and situations that at times will require escalation.
2. Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence the actions of others and communicate information which may be complex. Able to demonstrate higher level thinking skills, work through
issues, make connections between key social and welfare issues and creatively combine solutions to solve multiple problems which draw on the bigger picture.
3. Ability to undertake facilitation of issues or present findings in group settings, gain engagement, buy-in and agreement from others of the need to adopt appropriate policies or courses of action.
4. Ability to develop and maintain credible relationships to secure and develop partnership working.
5. Ability to anticipate problems, plan solutions and make sound pragmatic problem-solving decisions, adapting to changing situations and in a measured, flexible manner adapt the service provided to suit any change in
circumstance whether legislative, structural, partnership related, thematic, etc.
6. Strong leadership and effective people management skills to provide influence, direction and support to individuals, wider teams, and colleagues for whom you may not have management responsibility.

Qualifications and/or experience:
* Educated to post-graduate degree level, or equivalent qualification or extensive experience in relevant field.
* Relevant advanced theoretical, practical and policy knowledge relating to adult health, and social wellbeing in a relevant field.
*For the full list please refer to the attached job description before applying

Rewards and Benefits

The reference number for this role is CPP01383.

DBS Further Information

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Service Manager, Prevention Assessment and Changing Futures Teams, Communities Directorate Edward.armstrong@westsussex.gov.uk For issues or queries regarding your application please contact h.

Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.

How to Apply

Please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to 3 years referencing, DBS check and a health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.