Senior Practitioner – Learning Disabilities and Transitions Service

Our client based in Derby is seeking an experienced Senior Practitioner to join their Learning Disabilities and Transitions Service. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly skilled Social Work professional to provide leadership, oversight, and practice support within a busy service supporting adults with learning disabilities and young people transitioning into Adult Social Care.

The successful candidate will play a key role in supporting high-quality social work practice, ensuring individuals receive person-centred support that promotes independence, wellbeing, choice, and positive outcomes. Alongside managing complex casework, you will provide supervision, operational support, and professional guidance to practitioners across the service whilst contributing to service development and continuous improvement.

This role requires an experienced practitioner with strong leadership skills, sound knowledge of Adult Social Care legislation, and the ability to support teams in managing complex cases, safeguarding concerns, and transition planning.

What will your responsibilities be? 

• Supporting the operational management of the Learning Disabilities and Transitions Service on a day-to-day basis.
• Undertaking duty manager responsibilities, ensuring timely responses to referrals, safeguarding concerns, and service demands.
• Providing supervision, professional support, coaching, and guidance to Social Workers and Adult Social Care practitioners.
• Supporting workload management, case allocation, prioritisation, and progression of complex cases.
• Providing oversight and professional guidance on complex assessments, reviews, safeguarding enquiries, and support planning.
• Managing a reduced caseload of complex cases involving adults with learning disabilities and young people transitioning into Adult Social Care.
• Undertaking Care Act 2014 assessments, reviews, and support planning where appropriate.
• Supporting transition planning for young people moving from Children's Services into Adult Social Care.
• Completing Mental Capacity Assessments and overseeing Best Interest decision-making processes in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Providing oversight of safeguarding concerns and supporting practitioners with complex safeguarding enquiries.
• Chairing multidisciplinary team meetings, strategy meetings, Best Interest meetings, and other professional forums as required.
• Representing the service at internal and external meetings with partner organisations and stakeholders.
• Working collaboratively with health professionals, education providers, Children's Services, housing teams, carers, providers, and partner agencies.
• Contributing to quality assurance activity, practice development, service improvement, and continuous professional development initiatives.
• Maintaining accurate, timely, and legally compliant records, reports, and professional documentation. 

Qualifications and Experience: 

To be successful in this role you must have;  

• Professional Qualification: MA, BA, BSc in Social Work, Diploma in Social Work, CQSW, CSS, or equivalent recognised Social Work qualification.
• Registration: Must be registered with Social Work England.
• Experience: Significant post-qualified experience within Adult Social Care services.
• Learning Disabilities Experience: Extensive experience supporting adults with learning disabilities and complex care and support needs.
• Transitions Experience: Experience supporting young people through transition into Adult Social Care is highly desirable.
• Leadership Experience: Experience supervising, mentoring, supporting, and developing practitioners within a statutory social work setting.
• Legislation Knowledge: Strong understanding of the Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Act 2005, Adult Safeguarding legislation, and associated statutory guidance.
• Assessment Skills: Proven ability to undertake and oversee complex assessments, reviews, support planning, and risk management interventions.
• Safeguarding Experience: Experience supporting and managing safeguarding enquiries and complex risk situations.
• Multi-Agency Working: Strong experience working collaboratively with health services, Children's Services, education providers, housing services, carers, providers, and partner agencies.
• Communication Skills: Excellent leadership, communication, report-writing, analytical, negotiation, and decision-making skills.
• Professional Practice: Commitment to strengths-based, person-centred practice, continuous professional development, and improving outcomes for adults and young people. 

Why Liquid Personnel? 

• Free DBS and compliance service
• Twice weekly payroll and ‘Faster Pay’ service, getting you paid more quickly
• Access to exclusive roles that aren’t available from other agencies 
• Free access to Liquid’s exclusive social work training and CPD portal 
• Your own dedicated consultant with extensive social work knowledge 
• Access to a wide selection of social work positions across the UK 
• “Refer a Friend” bonus – get £500 for each social worker you refer who we successfully place* 
• “Find your own job” bonus – get £250 for bringing your own position to us * 

Liquid Personnel is an equal opportunities employer. Liquid Personnel Ltd is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy. * Terms and conditions apply to our bonus schemes. 

Reasonable Adjustments: 

If you consider yourself to have a disability or require any reasonable adjustment during the recruitment process or within the workplace, please highlight this at the earliest opportunity by contacting our team. With this information, we will provide appropriate support to you throughout the process and into your work placement. 
We are unable to support or accept applications from candidates who are residents within the Red or Amber list of the Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England, based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) Workforce Support and Safeguard List. 
 

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