Adults Best Interest Assessor

The starting salary for this role is £44,614 per annum based on a 36-hour working week.

We are excited to be hiring three new Best Interest Assessors to join our fantastic Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Team. The team is a County-wide team based at Quadrant Court; however, there is an opportunity to work flexibly, including from your own home and at other Surrey County Council offices.

We have two permanent opportunities available and one 24-month fixed term contract/ secondment opportunity.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About the Team

The team consists of administrative staff and Best Interest Assessors who work collaboratively together, and there is an ethos of supporting each other and team working to ensure that the objectives of the team are achieved. This role offers a fantastic opportunity to further develop your understanding and experience of the Mental Capacity Act and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, and you will be helping to support MCA practice across adult social care in Surrey. Furthermore, you will receive regular supervision, reflective practice sessions and annual BIA legal update training as part of your role.

About the role?

Primarily, you will be undertaking Best Interest Assessments in care homes and hospitals where people are being deprived of their liberty; often these will be the more 'complex' requests and will require you to have detailed understanding and knowledge of the application of DOLS and the Mental Capacity Act. On a weekly basis, you will also contribute to the team's busy duty system, including triaging incoming DOLS authorisation requests, quality assuring assessments completed by other assessors, responding to email and telephone queries, and providing support and advice to both external agencies and other adult social care teams. You will also support the development and training of trainee Best Interest Assessors.

To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application should clearly evidence the following:

• Best Interest Assessor qualification and relevant post qualifying experience.
• Ability to prioritise workload and to make decisions concerning people's liberty.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate in a clear and concise manner.
• Ability to use IT systems with confidence and capable of producing reports of a high standard that will bear legal scrutiny.
• Excellent working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and other related legislation.

The ability to travel as needed is a key requirement for this role allowing you and us to deliver an effective service. We are dedicated to inclusivity and will consider reasonable adjustments to ensure all candidates can fulfil this requirement. In applying you will have an opportunity to share how you meet this requirement and/or outline any reasonable adjustments you might require supporting you.

Contact Details

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment.

For an informal discussion please contact Rachel Croft or Liz Lawson on .

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 7th April 2024 with interviews to follow.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.