Best Interest Assessor

We are excited to be hiring a new Best Interest Assessor 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.

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

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.

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
• Annual leave allowance (for bank) or remove for term time
• 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