About the Borough This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned. Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer. Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink. Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other. We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand. Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK. About the Role We have a great opportunity for a social worker to join our Mental Health Social Care Team (MHSCT). The MHSC Team work to meet the statutory duties of the local authority under relevant legislation, for people whose primary care need is related to their mental health. We also work with adults with autism (without an associated learning difficulty), and young people transitioning into adulthood. We also have Care Act responsibility for people with drug and alcohol problems. As a Mental Health Social Worker, your responsibilities will include: Undertaking statutory duties related to the care of adults and of their carers as defined in the Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Mental Health Act 1983 Managing a caseload of complex cases for assessment, safeguarding, and review under the above legislation Undertaking regular duty on the team's duty rota Undertaking mental capacity assessments Liaising closely with key partners in Health, other teams within the local authority, and others as relevant. For more information on the role please refer to the job description. If you wish to have an informal chat about the role, please contact Karin Slack, Team Manager on [email protected] About Us The Mental Health Social Care Team (MHSCT) forms part of Adult Social Care within the Royal Borough of Kingston (RBK). We are one of the two specialist teams within RBK, the other being the Learning Disabilities Team. We are an enthusiastic group of professionals dealing with the following responsibilities: 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. Our responsibilities also include working with people with autism who do not have a learning disability, and young people transitioning from children's to adults’ services, and who do not have a learning disability. We also have Care Act responsibility for people with Drug and Alcohol issues. The team incorporates the Royal Borough's AMHP service, and it is expected that those not qualified as AMHPs upon joining the service will be offered the opportunity to undertake AMHP training in due course. 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, composed of 20 people, including a manager and a deputy manager, and ably supported by business support colleagues. About You To be successful in this role, other essential skills and qualifications include: Be a qualified social worker, registered with Social Work England. Knowledge of relevant legislation, especially the Care Act and the Mental Capacity Act. Experience of applying this legislation working for a local authority in a similar role is desirable. Qualification as a Safeguarding Adults Manager (SAM) is desirable, but training for this is available. If you are an enthusiastic social worker who thrives on challenge and wants to make a difference to the lives of people with mental health problems, then we want to hear from you.