Social Worker - Age Mental Health Services

About Us

Working for us at West Sussex County Council is all about making a positive difference to the people of West Sussex. The Working Age Mental Health Services (WAMHS) team has a vacancy for a full time Mental Health Social Worker.

We're embracing a strengths-based approach and working within a community-led support model that builds on the assets and strengths of both people and their local communities. Together, we'll focus on prevention, enablement, reablement and safety, to promote wellbeing and independence. We'll ensure that residents, families, and communities have the right support in place, and at the right time.

We provide a working environment that values professional supervision and offers the right balance between challenge and support. This provides our workforce with what they need to deliver the best possible outcomes for our residents. We work to ensure that innovation and evidence-based practice underpins what we do and that we maintain an environment within which our Mental Health Social Workers can develop and progress in their careers.

If you have the talent and ambition to achieve the best for the people we serve, then we will support you to progress and develop throughout your social work career.

Salary: £39,862 to £42,839 per annum
Working Pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: Horsham
Interview Date: 30th & 31st March

We are seeking a dedicated and compassionate Social Worker to join our specialist Mental Health Social Work Team. This is a challenging yet deeply rewarding role where you will deliver statutory social work services to adults aged 18-65, with occasional involvement in transition work with young people under 18.

Working within a supportive, multi-disciplinary environment, you'll play a key part in improving wellbeing, promoting independence, and ensuring the safe and effective delivery of services to people with complex mental health needs.

• Acting as the allocated social worker for individuals accessing specialist mental health services.
• Completing strengths-based assessments, care planning, implementation, and review.
• Leading on specialist areas of service delivery (e.g. perinatal mental health, early intervention, transitions, homelessness).
• Managing a varied caseload and working collaboratively with individuals, families, carers, and partner agencies.
• Developing personalised support plans aimed at improving outcomes and ensuring eligible needs are met.
• Applying your professional skills within a managed and supportive framework, with regular professional supervision.
• Contributing to service development and supporting the implementation of business change.
• Providing informal supervision, mentoring, and coaching to students, apprentices, and unregistered practitioners.
• Leading on or contributing to safeguarding enquiries and responding to complex situations involving risk.

• Supportive management and reflective professional supervision.
• A manageable caseload appropriate to your level of experience.
• Opportunities for ongoing CPD and specialist training.
• A collaborative environment where your contributions help shape service delivery and outcomes for people with complex mental health needs.

Key Skills (these will be used as short listing criteria so please cover with examples in your application):

• Degree in Social Work or a recognised equivalent Social Work qualification e.g., Diploma in Social Work.
• Registered with Social Work England
• Approved Mental Health Practitioner (it is a requirement to have AMHP qualification or to be working towards the qualification to be complete within 2 years of…