Permanent contract | £32,909 to £37,261 per annum (Scale I-J) | 37 hours per week | County Hall, Norwich
Level 1: £32,909 to £34,723 per annum (Scale I)
Level 2: £35,411 to £37,261 per annum (Scale J)
We offer a £2000 welcome payment for qualified and experienced Social Workers/Occupational Therapists (grade J and above), Practice Consultants and Team Managers new to Norfolk County Council.
For experienced Social Workers new to Norfolk County Council we promise to try and match or better your existing salary, providing its in the spectrum of the grade advertised.
Who Cares? We do.
It’s an exciting time to join the Social Care Community Engagement Team (SCCE). We have some bold changes happening in Norfolk and we want to find the very best social care staff to be part of our future. Whether you about to qualify, newly qualified or experienced and looking for career progression, we are looking for Occupational Therapists who are passionate about delivering high-quality OT interventions.
Our Occupational Therapists (OTs) work collaboratively with our Social Care staff and we are looking to grow our OT team to support new approaches as the front door service for Adult Social Care in Norfolk.
You will be responsible for holding your own caseload and working with individuals to help them maintain their independence and live at home for as long as possible. It is key that you have a passion and determination to embrace and grow the independence of our service users, aiming to prevent, reduce and delay the need for formal commissioned services. There is a strong focus on a preventative approach to your work, for equipment provision and for assessing low level moving and handling needs of our service users.
The successful candidate will be keen to work innovatively, strive for improvements, and contribute to our change agenda, particularly in shaping the ‘front door’ services for the future.
If you are a newly qualified OT or new to working in Social Care you may be eligible for our Occupational Therapy Preceptorship programme which is a dedicated programme in place to help to support you to learn and develop your skills as an OT in Social Care in a supported and protected environment. The preceptorship programme is an 18 month-long programme of support, development and assessment where you will be assigned an Occupational Therapy mentor who is a qualified, registered and experienced Occupational Therapist to support and monitor your progress.
In return we offer flexible working, supportive career pathways, up to 38 days annual leave, including bank holidays, a relocation package up to £8k plus a range of other benefits. Our technology platform and equipment are first class enabling you to connect and collaborate remotely. All we ask is that you have in place good Broadband connectivity. The post is a hybrid of remote working along with working at least one day a week from County Hall in Norwich
Who are we?
Occupational Therapists are a comparatively small proportion of professionals working in Adult Social Care, and work in teams across many areas and services, making a major contribution to the service overall.
Our team doesn’t ask the people we work with, ‘what’s the matter with you?’ instead we ask, ‘what matters to you?’ We actively listen to people to find out what will motivate them to enhance and maximise their independence. We focus on what a person can do and the strengths they have either personally or with support from family or community resources.
As well as working alongside social work and assistant practitioners in locality teams and in our Reablement Service, we also work collaboratively with colleagues in the NHS and in the housing and voluntary sector to achieve best outcomes for people.
The unique contribution that OTs make has really made a difference to our Reablement Service, Norfolk First Response. Occupational Therapists are now core members of the team, working alongside Reablement Practitioners to help people recover and recuperate from long-term illness and injury.
We are committed to working in an integrated manner and link with therapy colleagues in the community and acute hospital teams. Norfolk has 7 co-located Integrated Housing Adaptation Teams (IHATs). These teams bring together housing and social care to form district-based teams. Social Care Occupational Therapists carry out assessments of mobility and function for adults and some children who may be eligible for a Disabled Facilities Grant to determine if an adaptation to their home is necessary and appropriate.
Norfolk County Council has a Principal Occupational Therapist, committed to raising the profile, quality and consistency of OT practice in Norfolk. Faye works hard to raise awareness and recognition of the value of Occupational Therapists and to develop the service. Norfolk has launched a new Adult Social Care Occupational Therapy Preceptorship Programme , especially for newly qualified, new to social care or returning to practice OTs. In the past year we have also started to offer Occupational Therapy apprenticeships and anticipate that there will be further OT apprentice opportunities in the future.
Faye Gower-Smith, Principal Occupational Therapist says: “I am enthusiastic about promoting the role of Occupational therapy within social care and the impact we can make on the lives of Norfolk Citizens.
We have a fantastic preceptorship programme for newly qualified occupational therapists, or those looking for a change in specialism, which is supported by the Norfolk Institute of Practice Excellence (NIPE) team. We are committed to working with our partners to create rotational opportunities and actively engage in having student Occupational Therapists on placement and working with our local university to create academic links.”
If you are interested in joining us in social care in Norfolk we would love to hear from you.”
What we offer
At Norfolk County Council we are committed to our employees’ learning and development. We offer all Social Workers and Occupational Therapists a protected half day per month for continuing professional development and training.
We want our people to be inspired and motivated to work well together, make the most of our workspaces, enjoy a healthy work-life balance, and deliver excellent services to Norfolk and its people. Flexibility is built into the way we work, with hybrid working a key feature for many roles. Our technology platform and equipment are first class, enabling you to connect and collaborate remotely. We ask that you have in place good Broadband connectivity.
We operate a talent pool scheme whereby candidates who are not successful on this occasion may be considered for a period of up to 3 months for equal positions.
You can also find out about the rewards and benefits we offer as well as our other terms and conditions.
Norwich is the county capital of Norfolk, 120 miles from London and 60 miles from Cambridge. It’s on the edge of the Broads National Park, and a 40-minute drive to the seaside. Norwich is a superb city. It effortlessly mixes outstanding heritage through the ages with modern shopping centres, excellent restaurants, hundreds of cafés and pubs, a superb arts and theatre scene with huge parks and green spaces, canoeing, rowing and sailing.
By train, Norwich to London takes 90 minutes and Cambridge less than an hour. There are also direct train links to the Midlands. Norwich International Airport has regular flights to Schiphol, Amsterdam and from there on to the rest of the world, plus daily internal flights to Scotland, Manchester, Exeter and Dublin.
Your application
Please ensure you include a statement in your application to demonstrate why you feel you meet the person specification and job description for this post. CVs submitted without a supporting statement about this post will not be accepted. You need to be registered with HCPC and a practicing Occupational Therapist.
To discuss this opportunity or have an informal chat call Cathy Murdoch on 01603 638416.
These are some benefits you can enjoy by working for Norfolk County Council:
- Competitive salary
- Generous holiday entitlement with the ability to buy and sell leave
- Health and Wellbeing services including fast-track physiotherapy and a free counselling service
- Flexible working opportunities including flexi-time, part time, remote and hybrid working – dependant on your job role and business need.
- Financial benefits such as:
- ‘ Norfolk Rewards’ our employee discounts programme which helps you save money on almost anything, from everyday groceries and clothes, to holidays, new technology, gym membership, trips to the cinema and days out.
- A Blue Light card for Fire Service and Social Care Workers
- Relocation expenses paid upfront (where applicable)
- An advance of your expenses if you travel for work
- Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution, life assurance, death in service payments and dependants’ pensions.
- A payment if you refer someone you know to a hard to fill job.
- Tax efficient ways of getting extra pension, new bikes and electric cars.
Before you apply, we recommend reading the full Job Description and Person Specification to help you demonstrate you meet the criteria. You can also find information on our Terms and Conditions here.
Closing date: 7 April 2023 at 23:59