Somerset Council
Social Worker - Mental Health Team (Taunton) (Adults)
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Closing date: 12 August 2026
Transform lives, champion rights & support adults to achieve their full potential.
Location: Taunton
Starting salary £37,280 rising annually, currently up to £41,777
Full time, 37 hours per week
Ideal opportunity for an experienced practitioner looking for their next step
30 days annual leave entitlement
Role Purpose
You will undertake assessments of risk and care needs in relation to service users and carers, ensuring that appropriate action is taken, monitored and reviewed effectively within relevant legislation.
Our ethos is to support Somerset residents to develop gloriously ordinary lives throughout our practice. This means encouraging people to be independent, helping them grow their confidence and make the most of the support available to suit their individual needs.
You will work with people and families to identify what they are worried about, what they want to achieve, what support they already have and what they may need. You will develop strong knowledge of your local area, work in partnership with local agencies and provide creative, strengths-based solutions.
This is an opportunity to be a critical part of developing our adult social care service, supporting people to live well and achieve positive outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
- You will be responsible for making ongoing assessments of allocated cases to reflect individual circumstances, including assessment of risk, enabling independence and ensuring that service users are protected from significant harm.
- You will manage a caseload of varying complexity, receiving and responding to referrals from various sources, assessing client needs in consultation with them and with other professionals, and agreeing appropriate levels of support.
- The role will involve statutory reviews and compliance with appropriate legislation, policies and procedures. You will prepare and present reports as required, maintain client records to a high standard, and provide written assessments, reports and statements to support other professionals, managers and agencies in making decisions related to care.
- You will support people presenting in crisis who may need a quick resolution, using relevant legislation and resources, and will engage sensitively with people who may be refusing a service but are at risk to themselves or others.
- You will develop, facilitate and maintain effective joint working relationships with primary care, housing, police and other agencies as appropriate, contributing to multi-agency team working and participating in team meetings.
- You will also contribute to the development of knowledge, practice, policy and service improvement, building on existing knowledge through research, training and regular professional development.
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What We’re Looking For – Essential Skills/Experience
We are looking for a qualified Social Worker with a recognised Social Work qualification and registration with Social Work England (SWE). We will also be open to accepting applications from newly qualified social workers.
You will need knowledge and understanding of social care practice, as defined by Social Work England guidelines, alongside appropriate legislation and issues relevant to the client group.
You will bring relevant multi-disciplinary social care experience and evidence of partnership working with other agencies including Social Care Services, Health Services, Voluntary Agencies and/or Education.
You will be able to prioritise your workload, work with competing deadlines and organise your time effectively. You will also need to be self-reliant and resilient, able to respond positively to difficult situations and demonstrate empathy, sensitivity, self-awareness and acceptance of others.
About the Team/Service
Join our dynamic Mental Health Social Care Service, where social workers and adult social care practitioners work together to support people across Somerset.
Our Mental Health inpatient team supports people across NHS psychiatric hospitals in Somerset, ensuring individuals receive the care and support they need before discharge.
Our community Mental Health Social Care Teams are spread throughout the county, supporting people in their localities. Each team is made up of dedicated social workers, adult social care practitioners and advanced practitioners, all working together to make a difference.
The service also benefits from a dedicated Practice Development Advanced Practitioner, who supports learning, provides training, updates Adult Social Care practice and shares the latest developments across the service.
Working within the Mental Health Social Care Service is fast paced, but you are guaranteed fun and laughter along the way due to the positive and supportive nature of the team.
Additional Information
Please Note: We may consider offering Skilled Worker visa sponsorship to suitably qualified overseas social workers who are already residing in the UK. To be eligible, applicants must hold a recognised social work qualification and be registered with Social Work England. Sponsorship will be assessed as part of the recruitment process. This is only available to candidates currently living in the UK, as unfortunately we are unable to provide resettlement support.
Due to the nature of the role and the geographical area of the service across Somerset, which is a largely rural county, with limitations around public transport the ability to be able to travel to any location is essential. Therefore, applicants must have full access to a vehicle that can be used for work purposes.
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We recognise and welcome applications from disabled individuals who may require reasonable adjustments to meet this requirement, and we’re happy to discuss this from the first point of contact with the recruitment team.
For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Helen Readdy, Recruitment and Engagement Officer Adults helen.readdy@somerset.gov.uk
Please note we reserve the right to close this advert early if we have received a sufficient number of applications, so don’t delay, apply today! (If you are an internal applicant, please apply on the internal careers site)
A full job description can be found here: Adults Social Worker - Job Description - RP258
Person Specification
Knowledge / Experience / Qualifications / Skills
| Essential | Desirable |
|---|---|
| Knowledge | |
| Knowledge and understanding of Social Care practice as defined by Social Work England Guidelines, appropriate legislation and issues relevant to client group. | X |
| Understanding of social care resources and provision available beyond statutory agencies. | |
| Awareness of government guidance and legislative changes across broad range of Social Service issues. | |
| Experience | |
| Relevant multi-disciplinary Social Care experience within multidisciplinary team - relevant to needs of post. | X |
| Evidence of partnership working with other agencies including Social Care Services, Health Services, Voluntary Agencies and/or Education. | X |
| A variety of experiences working with relevant client group including Learning Disabilities. | |
| Supervisory experience. | |
| Previous experience of working with health professionals. | |
| Qualifications / Registrations / Certifications | |
| Possession of recognised Social Work Qualification – Degree in Social Work (BA), a master’s degree in social work, or equivalent. | X |
| Registration with Social Work England. | X |
| Skills | |
| Ability to speak fluent English as stated in Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016). | X |
| Demonstrates empathy, sensitivity, self-awareness and acceptance of others. | X |
| Able to prioritise workload, work with competing deadlines and organise time effectively. | X |
| Self-reliant and resilient – able to respond positively to difficult situations. | X |
| Willingness to embrace organisational change. | X |
| Access to / use of a vehicle is an essential requirement. | X |
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