Deputy Team Manager- OT (Project)

Southwark Adult Social Care OPPD is comprised of Ageing Well Southwark (Contact), Assessment & Intake, Hospital Discharge, Case Management and Review Teams including Telecare, Sensory and Business Support Teams, plus our Intermediate Care Southwark Service. The Deputy Team Managers with the Team Manager will be responsible for providing leadership for the whole team by providing a supervisory and oversight service to Social Workers, Occupational Therapists and any other clinical or non-professionally qualified colleagues. The post holder will do this through the provision of management, professional expertise, skills and advice to ensure we deliver high quality services within Adult Social Care. The Deputy Team Managers will work with the Team Manager to deliver a safe, strength based service, promoting and improving independence, ensuring comprehensive person-centred assessments, reviews and interventions, supporting court work (where required) and ensuring residents are safeguarded, enabling choice and control regarding their accommodation, care and support needs. You will act as a role model and expert practitioner within the team. You will build on the team’s ethos of reflective practice, learning and development.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES
Responsibilities
1. To be responsible, with the Team Manager, for the provision of a comprehensive and effective social work and occupational therapy service in accordance with current legislation, council policy and best practice.
2. To manage and supervise a cohort of social care practitioners which may include workers from different professional backgrounds, ASYE and student placements. This will include coordinating induction programmes for new staff, setting objectives, completing performance reviews, and supporting significant areas of people management.
3. To act as an expert practitioner within the service, representing their profession effectively by providing oversight, guidance and advice to colleagues to guide appropriate and safe decision making.
4. To be responsible for the revision of staff training and development plans, which may involve staff from outside the areas of profession/specialism and acting as a mentor for less experienced staff.
5. To support members of the team and wider service with decision making and support clinical reasoning.
6. To undertake timely allocation of work to the right person and effectively manage waiting lists and risk. To undertake weekly performance monitoring to ensure that our statutory responsibilities are met.
7. To put individuals at the heart of all activity and to promote a strength based approach to assessment and enabling positive risk taking in support planning within statutory frameworks and timeframes.
8. To ensure that service provision provides value for money and meets the individual and at times complex needs of service users and their carers based upon a strength based approach to assessment.
9. To promote, develop and sustain cohesive working relationships with other professionals, partner organisations and external agencies.
10. To oversee and quality assess the completion of high risk or high profile assessments and development of support plans which ensure people have choice and control of their support.
11. To use judgement and take action, when required, to engage with individuals, families, carers and communities in supporting workers within the team to promote independence, provide support and prevent harm, neglect and abuse.
12. To ensure that safeguarding is a key priority and that effective systems and processes are in place for the investigation of all allegations and incidents of reported abuse.
13. To ensure that registered and non -registered professionals are aware of and work in accordance with evidence based and best practice.
14. To ensure that provision of assistive technology, telecare, disability equipment and housing adaptations is a key priority and that effective systems are in place to ensure that preventative solutions are considered as a first response to people’s needs.
15. Any other tasks, duties or projects that may arise from time-to-time and that are commensurate with the general level of the role.
JOB CONTEXT
The post holder will be responsible to the Team Manager; they will seek advice where referrals involve policy decisions, or where they require support with complex problems. Southwark Council is committed to supporting vulnerable adults to achieve independence and social inclusion via reablement, support planning and the provision of suitable placements. The post holder is expected to provide a proactive approach that encompasses these goals and sets out to achieve these aims. The post holder also needs to comply with and promote the Council’s Equal opportunities policy.