Role Profile
1 Purpose of Your Job
To develop and implement an approach to adult social care that prevents reduces and delays health and care needs and enables adults to enjoy the best possible health and wellbeing. When required to provide services as part of an integrated system that enables York residents to exercise choice and control over how their needs are met.
2 Dimensions
Revenue income -£30,338,000
Revenue expenditure £81,768,000
5 yr Capital expenditure £6,329,000
Direct reports 6
Indirect reports 300
3 Principal Accountabilities
· Deliver the councils statutory requirements for Adult Social Care.
· Develop a community led support approach to adult social care (including the transition to adulthood) , that intervenes early, delivers high quality information advice and guidance and uses strength based practice to help people access the assets of their communities, build resilience and remain as independent as possible.
· Deliver the councils duties to protect adults with care and support needs from abuse, neglect and from becoming drawn into terrorist activity, through providing leadership to the multi-agency safeguarding system,
· Be accountable for the standards, development and quality assurance of social work through the management of the Principal Social Worker (Adults).
· Ensure the provision of 24 hour services to those with serious mental health issues requiring the use of the Mental Health Act (1983) through the Approved Mental Health Professional Service.
· Deliver services through the use of the Mental Capacity Act 2015 to support and protect those lacking mental capacity including ensuring safeguards are in place where people may be deprived of their liberty.
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· Deliver and transform in-house social care provision including older people’s residential care, domiciliary care, accommodation with support, day time support and supported employment services, ensuring they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.
· Deliver the national and local integration programmes through providing strategic leadership into the health and care system, forging relationships and structures that deliver integrated pathways and provision between adult social, other council services, the NHS and the community, voluntary sector and independent sectors.
· Act as the Caldicott Guardian for Adult Social Care
4 Job Context
The operating environment for the job is one of increasing need and expectation. We have an ageing population developing more complex conditions and more younger people with care needs living into adulthood. This is in the context of a financially challenging time for the council and NHS partners.
This leadership role is about delivering excellent social care within these constraints through developing a community led model of support alongside commissioners who are using asset based community development and outcomes based, collaborative commissioning to the same end.
The role works both internally supporting and developing strategy and operational delivery models and across a partnership of statutory, voluntary organisations and agencies in order to re-design the health and social care system. This requires a major shift to a more community led and self-management approach and a shift of resources currently tied into institutional, bed based services into the community.
The role works closely with the NHS, other local authorities, the community and voluntary and independent sector in partnerships and their substructures. These include the Integrated Care Partnership, Health Care and Resilience Board, Mental Health Crisis Concordat, Safeguarding Systems Leaders Board, Community Safety Partnership and The Heath and Wellbeing Board.
The role is responsible for delivering a number of statutory duties and outcomes under primary legislation and statutory guidance. These include Wellbeing and Safeguarding outcomes under the Care Act 2014, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 including deprivation of liberty safeguards and responsibilities under the Mental Health Act 1983 (amended 2007)
The job holder sets the objectives for the range of services under their remit and is accountable for their delivery. They have the authority to make decisions within the Council’s delegations. They can also make decisions without further reference for example on complex and technical issues relating to service delivery.
The job holder proposes strategy and policy for appropriate sign off through council decision making routes. This requires regular contact with council members through working with the executive member, presenting recommendations and reporting progress and results to various council committees.
The role is part of the Directorate management team and the job holder contributes to the strategic and operational management to ensure achievement of both directorate and corporate aims and objectives.
This role is part of the emergency panning rota and the job holder is on call for out of hours emergencies.
This role is an Information Asset Owner and must carry out the responsibilities of an Owner as required and set out in the council’s ‘Information Governance/Data Protection Roles and Responsibilities Rules’.
The job holder deputises for Corporate Director as required.
5 Impact & Influence
The delivery of an effective adult social care department has a significant impact on the most vulnerable residents of York. The department’s services are responsible for preventing reducing and delaying the care needs of individual customers and where eligible how their wellbeing outcomes under the Care Act 2014 are met. The role has a major impact on delivering better integrated, good quality and value for money services.
Providing an effective service means that people with support needs and their carers can continue to live fulfilling independent lives, exercising choice and control over their daily life.
The role has a significant impact in developing the relationship between residents, the council and other statutory agencies. The role supports a shift towards enabling self-care and self-management and away from intuitional responses to health and care needs. The job exerts influence to support the neighbourhoods and communities of York to develop the resilience and capacity to support this model
The role has significant impact in making York a place where vulnerable people are protected from abuse and neglect. The role through contributes to the safety of York through its ‘prevent’ counter terrorism remit. Additionally it and protects rights of some of the most vulnerable people in the community. This includes particular safeguarding arrangements for those in care home or hospital settings lacking the mental capacity to make decisions on their care, treatment and residence.
Through developing a strategic approach to integration around the individual and support delivered through self-care and community approaches, the role has a significant impact on other organisations such as hospital trusts, primary care, the voluntary and independent sectors and NHS commissioners.
The job holder has a key influencing role on the whole social care and health system through the partnerships they develop with the independent and voluntary care sector, national, regional and local NHS organisations, citizen, customer and carer groups. Examples of this can be seen through the NHS reconfiguring its out of hospital services to integrate with local authority and the independent sector through a ‘one team’ approach.
6 Organisation
Provider Services & Dementia – This head of services leads the transformation of in-house social care provision including older people’s residential care, domiciliary care, accommodation with support, day time support, equipment and telecare services and supported employment services. They act as the ‘nominated individual’ to ensure that council social care provision complies with CQC regulation and is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. They also lead on the strategic approach to dementia for the council.
Adult Social Care –This Head of service is responsible for the adult social care front door, providing information and advice guidance and early intervention. They are responsible for the integrated approach to intensive support and reablement services and the strength based approach to assessment of need through social work and occupational therapy. They lead on areas of integration of social work and OT teams with NHS, community sector and other providers and areas of joint working such as CHC.
Safeguarding and Mental Health, DoLs & LD – This head of service is responsible for our approach to making safeguarding personal, the delivery of the safeguarding adults service, the Prevent function, support to the Safeguarding Adults Board. They are also responsible for delivery the mental health social work service and duties under the Mental Health Act. They lead our approach to the Mental Capacity Act and ensure that we fulfil our duties under deprivation of liberty safeguards. They are responsible for the delivery of social work service for people with learning disability.
Principle Social Worker Adults – the PSW leads, oversees, supports and develops excellence in social work practice. They are responsible for developing effective supervision and decision making, quality assurance and practice improvement.
Pathways Manager. This temporary post plays a leadership role collaborating with the NHS and community and voluntary sectors to transform pathways in the York health and care system, enabling more people to live as independently for as long as possible at home. They work to develop pathways that; prevent the escalation of care needs that may lead to inpatient and residential admissions, respond to crisis in a way that enable people to retain their independence and enable people to leave hospital at the right time with the right support.
Transformation Programme Manager- This temporary post leads the transformation programme for Adult Social Care in York which is shifting the approach from a traditional deficit based model to an integrated strengths and placed based approach, delivering better outcomes for citizens, staff and the council.
7
Complexity of the
Job
The most challenging aspect of the job is to change the culture and practice of both adult social care and the wider health and care system from the current ‘deficit’ to a ‘community led support’ approach. This requires complete change in thinking and expectation from both citizens, people using services staff, and organisations.
A challenge for the job holder is to change and enhance the priority of the care sector in York. This is challenging nationally but is exacerbated further in York by the competition for staff at the care pay levels and the need to create alignment between economic and health & care strategies in the city.
Maximising and developing better collaborative working between the partners is challenging, it requires a large investment in relationship building along with the ability to commit and sustain persuasive proposition over the long term, seeking opportunities to create strategic alignment and see these through to the point they create real change for communities.
The area of work in itself is sensitive and emotive. It is a target for public attention and criticism. Serious financial and reputational risks are constantly present due to the demand led and complex nature of the services. The job holder must be robust and able to work within such a very visible and scrutinised environment.
8 Knowledge Skills & Experience
Significant experience of senior leadership and management of adult social care in local government is required along with thorough knowledge and understanding of the legislative frameworks and key practice developments relating to adult assessment, adult safeguarding and adult social care provision.
A professional social work qualification and educated to masters level or equivalent.
The job holder needs a blend of creativity and clear values to think beyond the current arrangements for health and social care and to articulate to the wider system a vision for a more sustainable strengths based community led model,
The job holder needs the ability to develop and deliver strategies to meet organisation objectives in a complex multi-functional organisation. They must be able to interpret complex information to develop plans, set priorities and problem solve. This requires the ability to analyse, draw conclusions, make decisions and manage risk.
The job holder must be experienced and highly skilled in the management of resources, large and highly complex budgets. Beyond the ability to identify efficiencies and deliver value for money, the budget holder needs to work with system partners on transformation that creates both sustainability and high quality outcomes.
The ability to lead and motivate a large department is critical to ensure delivery of results. Outstanding interpersonal skills are needed both for this and also to influence, negotiate and persuade all other key partners both internal and external.
Experience of negotiating significant contracts, commissioning services and monitoring provision of these is required.
9 Additional Information
None.