Job Description

The starting salary for this role is \xc2\xa344,614 per annum, working 36 hours per week.

We are excited to be hiring a new Best Interest Assessor to join our fantastic Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Team. The team is a County-wide team based at Quadrant Court; however, there is an opportunity to work flexibly, including from your own home and at other Surrey County Council offices. The team consists of administrative staff and Best Interest Assessors who work collaboratively together, and there is an ethos of supporting each other and team working to ensure that the objectives of the team are achieved.

This role offers a fantastic opportunity to further develop your understanding and experience of the Mental Capacity Act and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, and you will be helping to support MCA practice across adult social care in Surrey. Furthermore, you will receive regular supervision, reflective practice sessions and annual BIA legal update training as part of your role.

What we can offer you:

• 26 days Annual Leave (rising to 28 after 2 years and 30 after 5 years of continuous local government service) - with the opportunity to buy up to 10 days additional annual leave
• Agile working opportunities - your work/life balance is important to us!
• Training and Development - Superb opportunities for development including a Readiness Programme, Preceptorship, Structured Induction Programme
• A supportive, 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Car lease scheme and many more discounted life-style benefits, please visit

for Surrey County Council staff for more information.

What we need from you:

• A Best Interest Assessor qualification and relevant post qualifying experience
• The ability to prioritise your workload and make decisions concerning people\'s liberty
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate in a clear and concise manner
• The ability to use IT systems with confidence and to be able to produce reports of a high standard that will bear legal scrutiny
• Excellent working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and other related legislation

About the role

Primarily, you will be undertaking Best Interest Assessments in care homes and hospitals where people are being deprived of their liberty; often these will be the more \'complex\' requests and will require you to have detailed understanding and knowledge of the application of DOLS and the Mental Capacity Act. On a weekly basis, you will also contribute to the team\'s busy duty system, including triaging incoming DOLS authorisation requests, quality assuring assessments completed by other assessors, responding to email and telephone queries, and providing support and advice to both external agencies and other adult social care teams. You will also support the development and training of trainee Best Interest Assessors.

At Surrey we work together openly and honestly to provide our residents with an excellent service that is inclusive and respectful of all. We offer a wide range of benefits that allow you to develop within your career without having to sacrifice your work/life balance.

You can read more about our benefits, vision and values on our website by clicking apply.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 30/08/2023.

Interviews will take place week commencing 11/09/2023

An enhanced DBS \'Disclosure and Barring Service\' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children\'s and Adults\' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Contact Details

For an informal discussion please contact Rachel Croft or Liz Lawson on 01483 517644.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Benefits

From flexible working to job sharing we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit for Surrey County Council staff.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups. We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Apply Now

Surrey County Council