Opportunities at head office

Practice Specialist (experienced Social Worker)

• Permanent full time (37.5 hours per week) but part time working considered.
• £44-50k dependent on location and experience.
• Commencing ASAP dependent on notice period.
• Location: We welcome applications from across England. The successful applicant will be primarily home based but the role will involve some travel to various parts of the country for unit visits.
• Application deadline: Monday 27th September 2021.
• Interviews:  5th and 6th October 2021 .

About the role

We are looking for an inspirational and experienced Social Worker ideally from a mental health social work background, to join our Programme Team as a Practice Specialist.

Working with our host organisations across England, you will lead on ensuring effective local delivery of our pioneering approach to practice education in mental health social work and support the development of advanced practice skills and a range of social interventions.

You will work alongside academics and senior stakeholders in the mental health and social work sector and support a range of ongoing processes working closely with our academic provider Middlesex University.  You will directly coach and mentor the Consultant Social Workers, who provide practice education to our programme participants, in units of four to six.

You will also work closely with Local Authorities and Mental Health Trusts and be responsible for a range of quality assurance areas.  At the end of year one, participants obtain their PG Diploma in Social Work and you will support them through the second year of the programme as they become newly qualified social workers, undertake their Social Work Masters and their ASYE.

About Think Ahead

At Think Ahead, we want to see a society where everyone with mental health problems can flourish. That won’t happen unless people can improve their social circumstances – because issues like relationships, living arrangements, and employment have profound effects on mental wellbeing. This is why we created the Think Ahead programme; a new route into mental health social work for talented graduates and career-changers.

Valuing diversity and inclusion is a core principle for Think Ahead, and we are actively seeking candidates from a wide range of backgrounds – including as part of our anti-racism plan. As part of our commitment to flexible working we will consider a range of options for the successful applicant to fill the post. All options can be discussed at interview stage.

If you would like to discuss this role informally before applying, you can arrange a call with our Lead Practice Specialist, Jacqui Bell. You can contact Jess Gray at hr@thinkahead.org to schedule a phone call.

To find out more, please download the information pack..

To apply for the role you will need to send your completed application form and equal opportunities monitoring form by email to hr@thinkahead.org. Please do not send CVs.

The deadline for receipt of completed applications and equal opportunities forms is 9am on Monday 27th September 2021.  Interviews will be held on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th October 2021.