Essex County Council
Part Time, Weekend, Emergency Duty Service Out of Hours Advisor
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About The Role
Part Time, Weekend, Emergency Duty Service Out of Hours Advisor
Permanent, Part Time
£25,595 to £28,621 per annum, full time equivalent
Location: Chelmsford
Working Style: Fixed-base worker
Closing Date: Thursday 13th August 2026 at 11.59pm
Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.
Here in Essex, we continue to raise the bar about practice and our investment in our workforce is second to none. It’s an exciting time to join us having received our 2nd Outstanding Ofsted rating in a row.
To read more about our business area, please visit: Children & Families
The Opportunity
Based in Chelmsford, The Weekend Emergency Duty Service Out of Hours Advisor role will be to provide a prompt and efficient response to service users, carers, agencies, medical care and professionals, giving information advice, and, where appropriate an assessment for and the commissioning of a package of care.
The days and hours for this role are 2 x 7-hour shifts per week, one on a Saturday and one on a Sunday on a rota between 7am and Midnight.
£25,959 to £28,621 per annum, full time equivalent – in addition to this basis salary there is a 15% uplift for out of hours working.
Accountabilities
- Using specialist knowledge and judgement on Adult and Carer services available within Social Care, including the application of Fair Access to Care criteria, to give high quality advice.
- Identifying and responding to urgent or critical situations by passing referrals, via agreed fast-track procedures, to the appropriate professional teams.
- To support the development of other team members by participating in learning activities such as one-to-one coaching or work shadowing.
- Taking personal responsibility for providing accurate and up-to-date information and advice to callers on Social Care policies and services, including eligibility criteria, and services provided by other statutory, private, and voluntary agencies.
- Ensuring that all information is recorded accurately and is entered onto the appropriate database.
- Ensuring that all information recorded complies with data recording legislation and guidance, captures all data required for performance indicators, and is in a format or style which allows it to be transcribed on the appropriate system.
- Taking personal responsibility for participating in training to update knowledge on the full range of systems and databases used by SCD.
- Ensuring all assessments and requests for a service are authorised by a professional practitioner before being commissioned.
- Continuously updating own and sharing new information with colleagues on eligibility criteria, and the Social Care Policies, including the range of services provided by Social Care and other Statutory, Private and Voluntary agencies.
- Representing EDS on project and consultation groups where appropriate and to ensure any knowledge and information is shared with colleagues.
- Actively contributing to own personal professional development, and to the developing role of EDS across all specialisms.
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The duties of the post may be changed and/or varied to meet changing circumstances at the discretion of the EDS Manager
The Experience You Will Bring
- Good general level of education, including English and Mathematics at GCSE grade A - C, or demonstrably equivalent abilities.
- Customer Service NVQ or equivalent experience/ability
- Experience of working in a local authority setting and/or Customer Services role.
- Experience of communicating by telephone and electronically recording information.
- Giving information and advice to customers by telephone.
- Knowledge and experience of administrative and clerical processes.
- Detailed knowledge and working experience of IT systems including Office 365 and a customer database.
- Awareness of Health & Safety at work
- Knowledge of Social Care service group functions.
- Experience of working in a Social Care team or similar setting.
- Knowledge of requirements of Caldicott, Data Protection and Freedom of Information.
Please note that the job role requires you to leave the office after midnight and possibly early hours of the morning therefore the post holder will need to have a car for safety reasons.
Why Essex?
As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.
In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.
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Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.
Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.
At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.
Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.
As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service.
Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events, and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community.
If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email daniel.warner@essex.gov.uk.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Further details can be found on our careers page.
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