The Role

An opportunity has arisen for a Professional Standards Officer to join our Adults Social Care Academy.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils have a shared working arrangement meaning the scope of the Professional Standards Officer role spans across the two boroughs.

In this role you will aim to drive up practice standards through innovation and continuous improvement. This role is pivotal to the service to ensure improved performance and to ensure quality assurance frameworks provide a robust mechanism by which the councils can evaluate whether systems are working effectively to improve practice standards.

The suitable candidate will have a Social Work qualification and will be experienced in working within a qualified Adults Social Care role preferably within a similar setting. It is not essential that the applicant has previous experience of quality assurance, as we will help to train you to perform in meeting the requirements of the role.

The Professional Standards Officer will report to the Principal Social Worker who reports to the Head of Professional Standards and Safeguarding. You will be responsible for:

1. Producing regular audit reports at two monthly intervals on specific areas of practice including: mental capacity assessment, safeguarding and case file audits. The audit reports will formulate action plans to develop and improve service delivery.

2. Scrutinising data on Social Work and Social Care performance and identify, in collaboration with other managers, areas of shortfall and excellence in service delivery and professional practice.

3. Taking the lead in distributing key findings and identifying necessary changes in policy and practice, promoting continuous improvement in quality outcomes for service users as well as meeting national and local agendas, standards and targets.

4. Identifying and operating ongoing methods for the involvement of service users and carers in providing feedback on the quality of practice and ensuring that service users and carers can participate in the development and review of practice, audit and quality assurance.

For an informal discussion please contact Bambie Maxwell, Principal Social Worker, on Bambie.Maxwell@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk or on 0208 871 5138.

At Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, we care more about how you work and what you achieve, rather than where you work on any given day. The difference you can make to our local communities is what really matters most to us, service delivery must always come first. We have carefully considered agile ways of working to provide the best experience for residents, stakeholders and our staff. Our agile working strategy actively supports and encourages a dynamic work environment and daily working experience. Agile working helps put the needs of our staff at the centre of everything we do, so if specific flexible working arrangements helps you with this, feel free to let us know.

Your wellbeing and the flexible way in which you can work is and will remain a key priority for Richmond and Wandsworth Councils. We want you to thrive and feel empowered in your work!

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if there is an option you’d like to explore. We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 39 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities.

In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline

Closing Date:  23 October 2022

Shortlisting Date: w/c 24 October 2022

Interview Date: w/c 31 October 2022

Useful Information:

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the advertised dates for interviews may change due to the current Covid-19 situation. If they do, we will let you know as soon as possible.

Your health and wellbeing is our top priority. Should you become unwell due to Covid-19 during the recruitment process we would very much appreciate receiving an update from you as soon as possible.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important Information:

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils