Social Worker - Adult Social Care

Why come to Hackney?

Hackney Council is an organisation that is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Anti-Racism framework, which was formally adopted in February 2024. See plans, policies and strategies – Anti-racism framework.

Hackney has a strong strengths-based and person-centred approach in

which we prioritise maintaining and promoting people’s independence, and we are very proud that as a result, 85% of the people who use our services live in the community. 78.8% of our residents live independently after receiving reablement support and 89.4% of older residents live at home 91 days after a hospital discharge, outcomes which are higher than the London average.

We’re serious about collaboration and co-production and we work in better and more innovative ways because of this. For example, we’ve built strong connections with our Hackney Council colleagues in Housing and in Benefits and Homeless Prevention (for example in the Health, Housing, and Homelessness Panel and in multidisciplinary team approaches that are ensuring adults facing multiple vulnerabilities receive holistic support).

We believe accessible learning opportunities are crucial to our performance and our staff’s wellbeing and have a dedicated Practice Innovation and Workforce Capability team who work closely with the Principal Social Worker to develop our Continuous Professional Development offer.

About the Role

Newly Qualified Social Workers who will progress with their ASYE - PO1

Hackney’s Adult Social Care Social Worker role provides an opportunity for newly qualified social workers to undertake their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) within adult social care which is committed to providing high quality support, assessment and intervention with the residents, carers and families we work with.

About Us:

Hackney provides wide-ranging and excellent training and development opportunities; we will help you to develop excellent social work practice, leading to career advancement at your own pace with support.

Newly qualified social workers will enter at grade PO1 and will undertake all work with support, close supervision and guidance and will have a reduced caseload.

Upon successful completion of the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) programme, Social Workers will automatically move to PO2 payscale.

Experienced Qualified Social Workers - PO2-PO3

If you are an experienced qualified social work professional who is keen to deliver, support and develop exceptional practice in a supportive and creative environment then we want to hear from you.

As a social worker you will:

- Connect with people meaningfully and be supported to make legally literate decisions.
- Be part of a team but with autonomy and belief in your professional judgement.
- Be able to undertake assessments with people, balancing those fine lines around risk and proportionality, but working together through a health and social care neighbourhood approach to do the right thing with residents
- Use your social work principles and values to guide what you do, working in a trauma informed and strengths based way and applying anti-racist practice.

Hackney has an adult social care practice framework which will support you to adapt your interventions to each individual you work with. So you’ll need to be a proactive person, with a creative approach to working with service users and their families.

We’re looking for compassionate and ambitious Social Workers who have experience working with adults, including those with physical and mental health needs, learning disabilities, and older people. You should have a good understanding of the relevant legislation and policy that guides our work and be able to work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies to deliver effective services.

We are looking for Social Workers in our Integrated Discharge Service, Access & Duty, Case Management and Safeguarding Teams

Case Management

Case management is split into two teams who cover 8 neighbourhood areas, which is part of the way we are organised in Hackney as we together meet the health and social care needs of individuals with our partners. The team completes initial assessments for people first coming into adult social care, as well as reviews and re-assessments for those with more complex needs. With a strong focus on practice and legal literacy, the team seeks to enable people to be as independent as possible with the breadth of assets and community opportunities available in Hackney.

Safeguarding Adults and DoLS Service

With a focus on keeping people safe, and promoting recovery and resilience from abuse, the Safeguarding Adults and DoLS Service focuses on the outcomes for an individual. Making safeguarding personal is the ethos of what we strive to achieve. The team is the first point of contact for the majority of concerns, as well as holding some cases. Human rights is central to practice and the service includes the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and management of this statutory area.

Integrated Discharge Service

The Integrated Discharge Service assesses Hackney residents, whilst in hospital across all London Hospitals and beyond, for the most appropriate and safe discharge destination and care and support plan. We focus on safe discharges that respect the legal rights and expressed wishes of all individuals. The team works in partnership with the multi-disciplinary teams within hospitals and attends multi-disciplinary meetings on their aligned wards. The service is inclusive to those in acute settings who are assessed as having a learning disability, mental health diagnosis, or dementia. It also supports residents with no recourse to public funds who have eligible care and support needs. The service operates seven days a week, and staff are invited to contribute to weekend working if they so wish. Community Reviews are completed collaboratively with the resident, family members, carers, and other involved professionals, to ensure that their long-term care and support needs are assessed and that any newly arising concerns or needs are addressed.

We are a team of Social workers, Senior Social workers, Senior OT and occupational therapists and Review Officers.

Access & Duty

The Access and Duty Team serves as the initial point of contact for adults in Hackney who require intervention, advice and signposting from Adult Social Care. Our primary responsibilities include screening all incoming referrals and correspondence. We also respond to critical needs, risks, and emergencies for open cases, including unplanned reviews. The social workers and review officers undertake Care Act assessments for new referrals that have been screened and identified as requiring a Care Act assessment. The assessments are undertaken in the community with the resident and their respective carers.

We are a team of Senior Social workers, Social workers, Review officers and Information officers.

What do we offer?

Hackney Adult Social Care (ASC) has been through a significant transformation over the last few years and has improved the way it works with its residents and supports its staff. A new Practice Framework for ASC has been created, supporting staff to deliver strengths based, anti-racist and trauma informed services to all our residents. Hackney ASC’s three year plan 2023-26 sets out our four guiding principles that guide us as we work towards our vision for Adult Social Care. These principles include being easy to access, preventative, personal to you and good quality and safe. Hackney ASC is proud of its commitment to promoting independence, tackling inequality and continually improving.

Staff can access a range of benefits please see link :What we offer – Find Yourself in Hackney

As a Social Worker for Hackney Adult Social Care, you will be able to access an outstanding range of local support services, supporting you to make a real difference for the residents, carers and families you work with. You will be working at the forefront of best practice in a social work unit led by a Senior Practitioner and with support from the newly created Practice Innovation and Workforce Capability Team who will be supporting your training and development needs. We will help you to develop your skills within social work practice, leading to career advancement at your own pace.

An enhanced DBS check is required

Candidates must hold a Social Work England recognised social work qualification or equivalent, be Social Work England registered and have evidence of continuing professional development.

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.

If you want to work in a place where you can represent our values so we achieve the best for our residents, please click on the apply button below.

We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CV’s.

To proceed with your application, you will need to create an account and submit your application.

As part of the application process, you will need to complete a number of competency based questions. These questions allow you to demonstrate your suitability for the role and provide examples of your skills, knowledge and experience outlined in the job description.

We understand the benefits of using AI in the workplace. However, if you are thinking of using this tool to submit your application, we ask you to think about what value it will add. AI tools tend to lack the personal touch and authenticity we value in candidates. We encourage you to showcase your unique knowledge and skills using your own voice.

Closing date for applications: 18 August 2025 (22.59)

Interview and assessment date: W/C 01 September 2025

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud; a place that celebrates diversity and where everyone can feel valued, included and involved. In order to achieve this, we look for people who are: Proud; Ambitious; Pioneering; Open; Proactive; Inclusive.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: hackneyworks@hackney.gov.uk