Senior Practitioner/AMHP Qualified

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

Our Mental Health Social Care Team (MHSCT) is part of Adult Social Care within the Royal Borough of Kingston (RBK). Our main functions are under the Care Act 2014 and Safeguarding. We work with adults whose primary need is their mental health. We work closely with our colleagues in the NHS mental health teams, and on mental health wards, as well as partners in primary care, and Your Health Care.

Other areas of responsibility include working with people with autism, and those with drug/alcohol issues under the Care Act, and Safeguarding. We also have responsibility for young people transitioning into adulthood, and thereby transitioning from children's to adults services, and who do not have a learning disability. Many of these have autism.

The team incorporates the Royal Borough's AMHP service, with 3 full time designated AMHPs. Senior practitioner/AMHPs, who also carry a caseload, undertake a set number of days on AMHP duty on the monthly rota.

The team is currently situated on the site of Tolworth Hospital. Post covid we are operating a hybrid working model composed of working from home, and working in the office.

We are a large, friendly team, including a manager and a deputy manager, and ably supported by business support colleagues.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will undertake the role of Senior Practitioner in the Mental Health Social Care Team. Senior Practitioners take the lead in specific areas of work, such as the team's duty management, and in management and supervision of specific complex cases. If the successful candidate is a qualified AMHP, they will also undertake regular duties as part of the monthly AMHP rota.

You will provide case management of complex cases under the Care Act 2014, and safeguarding, including taking cases to Court of Protection where required.

You will provide management cover as duty manager on the team's rota and to deputise for the team manager and deputy team manager where required.

You will provide supervision of social workers in the team, and practice education/ASYE supervision where required.

Our ideal Candidate

The successful candidate must have excellent knowledge of the Care Act 2014, as well as the Mental Capacity Act and other relevant legislation, and experience of applying this legislation.

If qualified as an AMHP they will have detailed knowledge of the Mental Health Act, and currently of recent warranted by a Local Authority.

They will be able to manage the team's duty function on days where they are rota'd as duty manager according to the team's rota. Ideally, they will have experience of supervising colleagues, and giving direction in complex cases.

They must have excellent verbal and written communication skills, including report writing skills. Good IT skills will be an advantage. Knowledge and experience of working with people with mental health problems, autism, and drug and alcohol problems in a statutory setting are also desirable.

Recent experience of working in a similar role in a local authority would be desirable.

The team is a large and enthusiastic group of professionals dealing with a wide portfolio of responsibilities. Interest in the work and enthusiasm are among the qualities we would value in the successful applicant.

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.