Somerset Council
Advanced Practitioner - Social Worker - Health Interface Service (Yeovil) (Adults)
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Advanced Practitioner Social Work – Hospital Interface Service (HIS)
Closing date: 8 July 2026
Transform lives, champion rights & support adults to achieve their full potential.
Location: Yeovil Salary: £41,771 (rising to £46,142) Hours: Full time (37 hours per week) Entitlement: 30 days annual leave
Ideal opportunity for an experienced practitioner looking for their next step in advanced practice, leadership, and service development.
About the Role
As an Advanced Practitioner Social Worker within the Hospital Interface Service (HIS), you will:
- Provide high-quality professional leadership in a fast-paced hospital environment, ensuring exceptional, strengths-focused social work practice across Adult Social Care.
- Champion a Home First and hopeful social work approach by supporting adults with complex needs through admission, hospital stay, and discharge.
- Collaborate closely with health partners to facilitate safe, person-centred discharge planning, reduce avoidable hospital stays, and promote independence.
- This role is perfect for seasoned, confident social workers seeking to advance into advanced practice, leadership, and strategic service improvement.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and deliver advanced practice within the Hospital Interface Service.
- Oversee complex casework, offering expert advice, joint decision-making, and strategic direction where necessary.
- Champion safe and timely discharge, minimise avoidable hospital admissions, and ensure strengths-based support for adults.
- Lead safeguarding practice, including complex risk assessment and mental capacity decision-making.
- Provide high-quality reflective supervision and professional guidance to social workers.
- Collaborate with multi-disciplinary healthcare teams across hospitals, intermediate care, and community services.
- Contribute to service development, performance monitoring, and ensuring adherence to practice standards.
- Serve as an expert source on legislation, policy, and best practice, such as the Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Act 2005, and safeguarding frameworks.
What We’re Looking For – Essential Skills & Experience
- Current qualified social worker with valid registration from Social Work England.
- Extensive post-qualification Adult Social Care experience, preferably including hospital-based work.
- Deep knowledge of hospital discharge guidance, Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Act 2005, safeguarding legislation, and related frameworks.
- Proven ability to manage complexity, mitigate risk, and make ethical decisions in high-pressure environments.
- Experience in supporting and supervising practitioners, fostering reflective, strengths-based practice.
- Strong communication, leadership, and partnership skills.
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(Person specification details are fully outlined below)
About the Team/Service
The Hospital Interface Service (HIS) is a critical component of Somerset’s integrated health and social care system. Based in acute hospitals, HIS focuses on:
- Supporting people to return home safely.
- Avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions.
- Helping patients regain independence post-hospitalisation.
Guided by hopeful social work principles, HIS practitioners:
- Work with health colleagues to challenge pessimism, promote possibility, and keep people connected to their communities.
- Play a key role in admission avoidance, discharge planning, intermediate care pathways, and hospital-based safeguarding.
Joining HIS means being part of a motivated, skilled, values-driven team with a clear impact daily.
Additional Information
Visa Sponsorship
Somerset County Council may consider Skilled Worker visa sponsorship for qualified overseas social workers already residing in the UK. Eligibility requires:
- A recognised social work qualification.
- Registration with Social Work England.
- Assessment as part of the recruitment process. ⚠ Note: Sponsorship applies only to candidates already living in the UK. Resettlement support is not provided.
Travel Requirement
Due to the rural nature of Somerset and public transport limitations, applicants must have:
- Full access to a personal vehicle for work purposes.
- Flexibility to travel across multiple locations.
Applicants with disabilities requiring reasonable adjustments to this requirement are welcomed—please discuss needs early with the recruitment team.
Contact
For further enquiries, email: Helen Readdy – Recruitment & Engagement Officer helen.readdy@somerset.gov.uk
⚠ Note: Applications may prompt early closure if sufficient candidates are received—apply promptly!
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Person Specification
Essential Criteria
(Marked ✓)
- Social Work qualification
- Valid registration with Social Work England
- Evidence of Continued Professional Development
- Post-Qualifying Professional Standard (holding or working towards)
- Extensive knowledge of social work practice with adults, including risk management for those with:
- Physical, sensory or learning disabilities.
- Dementia.
- Long-term conditions.
- Experience in handling complex cases, including:
- Chairing relevant meetings.
- Following agreed procedures.
- Developing robust action plans with clear timelines.
- Mastery of relevant social care legislation.
- System thinking to reduce demand/costs.
- Budgetary awareness and its impact on demand management.
- Ability to:
- Apply professional ethics and human rights frameworks.
- Reflect critically on personal and professional values’ influence on practice.
- Provide confident leadership, ethical guidance, and professional development opportunities.
- Uphold autonomy and self-determination.
- Offer evidence-based decisions in complex scenarios.
- Provide professional social work opinions with clear rationale.
- Know legislation, case law, and policy and guide practice therewith.
- Apply knowledge of human growth/development throughout lifespan.
- Ability to:
- Work independently and in teams.
- Innovate new approaches to benefit service users.
- Recognise systemic influences on practice.
- Make risk-informed decisions, including positive risks.
- Critically evaluate theories/models of intervention.
- Awareness of changing practices across local, national, and organisational levels.
- Ability to:
- Promote and articulate social work identity.
- Encourage collaboration and team support.
- Start contributing to change management.
- Demonstrate resilience, confidence, and learning culture.
- Competence to:
- Critically reflect on knowledge gaps and limitations.
- Engage in regular supervision for growth.
- Commitment to fostering:
- A learning culture.
- Feedback loops (constructive, two-way).
- Personnel accountability for errors and collective, evidence-based learning.
(No desirable criteria listed in the raw text, hence excluded.)
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