Job summary Bedford CMHT provides compassionate person-centred interventions to people experiencing mental ill-health inBedford. The team is a multi-disciplinary team, with a strong social care presence and ethos. You will be given expert support and advice from the teams Senior Social Workers ensuring that bespoke professional supervision is readily available for all our social workers. ELFT has a dedicated Social Care Lead locally in Bedford. The Social Care Lead offers regular reflective practice sessions, bespoke advice and CPD opportunities. The excellent work of the Social Work Learning and Development Project Lead ensures that continuous learning is at the heart of Social Work in Bedfordshire. The Trust offers an established ASYE programme for newly qualified social workers. CPD pathways beyond the ASYE include AMHP/Leadership Academy/AMCP/Practice Educator/ASYE Assessor training structures. Bespoke training opportunities are available as part of your yearly appraisal. In short; now is a good time to be working as a social worker for ELFT in Central Bedfordshire! Main duties of the job We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Social Worker to work as part of our team. You will be registered with Social Work England and ideally have one year of post qualifying experience in a relevant health or social care setting; however with our new ASYE programme we would be happy to work with a newly qualified social worker who is able to demonstrate how their pre-qualifying experience and value base would benefitour team. As a Social Worker, you will work as a member of the multi-disciplinary team, providing high quality social care services to adults experiencing mental ill-health. The core functions of the role will be to provide assessment, care planning and coordination of care from a social perspective to adults accessing the service. You will hold a caseload of adults experiencing a wide range of mental health and social care needs. You will ensure that you maintain constant reflection and development of your practice and will ensure your continuing professional development in line with the standards set out by the professional regulator, Social Work England. About us We have Social Workers who are also Practice Educators and ASYE assessors and are currently promoting this training. ELFT are currently part of a pilot programme for ASYE training of newly qualified social workers. ELFT and Bedford Council offer training opportunities to support Social Workers to maintain their professional registration with Social Work England. We believe the natural progression for a Social Worker within Mental Health Services is to strive towards completing their Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) training and this is something that we will expect and you will be supported to do. We are proud to work with the diverse communities of Bedfordshire and want our workforce to reflect this diversity, which we believe is beneficial for our employees, the organisation and the communities we serve. It is an exciting time to be joining Mental Health Services as a Social Worker in ELFT and the Social Care Management team are committed to supporting your continued development Details Date posted 01 August 2025 Pay scheme Agenda for change Band Band 6 Salary £37,338 to £44,962 a year Per annum pro rata Contract Permanent Working pattern Full-time Reference number 363-BED7322372 Job locations Florence Ball House Kimbolton Road Bedford MK40 2NT Job description Job responsibilities In the role, you will liaise with acute inpatient units, the Crisis Team, Primary Care services, the Voluntary and Private Sector and contribute to providing a recovery focused model of care. You will play an active role in the discharge of our service users from hospital and will commission health and social care services as required.Partnership working is a key component of this post and you will need to be innovative in ensuring that there is a range of appropriate services locally to support individual recovery journeys. Job description Job responsibilities In the role, you will liaise with acute inpatient units, the Crisis Team, Primary Care services, the Voluntary and Private Sector and contribute to providing a recovery focused model of care. You will play an active role in the discharge of our service users from hospital and will commission health and social care services as required.Partnership working is a key component of this post and you will need to be innovative in ensuring that there is a range of appropriate services locally to support individual recovery journeys. Person Specification Education/Qualification/Training Essential An appropriate social work qualification Registration with Social Work England Education to degree level Master's degree or equivalent post-qualifying training Approved Mental Health Professional training and qualification (or prepared to undertake training within a year of appointment to role) Desirable Relevant post-qualifying training for social workers Other relevant post-qualification training (e.g. CBT, family therapy) Best Interest Assessor training Experience Essential oExtensive knowledge of legislation, statutory guidance, theory, and policy in relation to adult and children's social care oExperience of undertaking assessment focused on personalisation, choice and control, and care planning oUnderstanding of and experience of use of personal budgets and direct payments oEvidence of multidisciplinary and collaborative working oEvidence of partnership working with service users and carers, demonstrating dignity and respect, particularly in very challenging situations Knowledge and Skills Essential oExcellent ability to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders, including service users and carers, other professionals and colleagues, members of other organisations and locally communities - verbally and in writing oEvidence of successful management of challenging meetings oExperience of using electronic record systems and ability to produce accurate, appropriate, and timely reports oExperience of undertaking small scale audits and surveys oUnderstanding of basic research methods oDemonstrable ability to working sensitively with diverse needs and environments oCommitment to anti-discriminatory practice Desirable oAbility to manage highly sensitive information Other Essential oAbility to visit and attend meetings at a variety of locations and environments oExperience of using a computer (PC literate to ECDL standard) oCar driver (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 which prevents you from driving) oAbility to meet deadlines and respond to crises as appropriate oFlexibility and ability to respond to a variety of tasks and to prioritise own workload oAbility to manage others and convey information which may be contentious sensitively so that it achieves required improvements and outcomes oAbility to deal with distressing and sometimes aggressive behaviour of service users and carers. oExperience of working in an integrated health and social care environment Person Specification Education/Qualification/Training Essential An appropriate social work qualification Registration with Social Work England Education to degree level Master's degree or equivalent post-qualifying training Approved Mental Health Professional training and qualification (or prepared to undertake training within a year of appointment to role) Desirable Relevant post-qualifying training for social workers Other relevant post-qualification training (e.g. CBT, family therapy) Best Interest Assessor training Experience Essential oExtensive knowledge of legislation, statutory guidance, theory, and policy in relation to adult and children's social care oExperience of undertaking assessment focused on personalisation, choice and control, and care planning oUnderstanding of and experience of use of personal budgets and direct payments oEvidence of multidisciplinary and collaborative working oEvidence of partnership working with service users and carers, demonstrating dignity and respect, particularly in very challenging situations Knowledge and Skills Essential oExcellent ability to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders, including service users and carers, other professionals and colleagues, members of other organisations and locally communities - verbally and in writing oEvidence of successful management of challenging meetings oExperience of using electronic record systems and ability to produce accurate, appropriate, and timely reports oExperience of undertaking small scale audits and surveys oUnderstanding of basic research methods oDemonstrable ability to working sensitively with diverse needs and environments oCommitment to anti-discriminatory practice Desirable oAbility to manage highly sensitive information Other Essential oAbility to visit and attend meetings at a variety of locations and environments oExperience of using a computer (PC literate to ECDL standard) oCar driver (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 which prevents you from driving) oAbility to meet deadlines and respond to crises as appropriate oFlexibility and ability to respond to a variety of tasks and to prioritise own workload oAbility to manage others and convey information which may be contentious sensitively so that it achieves required improvements and outcomes oAbility to deal with distressing and sometimes aggressive behaviour of service users and carers. oExperience of working in an integrated health and social care environment Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) . From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) . UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Additional information Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) . From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) . UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Employer details Employer name East London NHS Foundation Trust Address Florence Ball House Kimbolton Road Bedford MK40 2NT Employer's website https://www.elft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab) Employer details Employer name East London NHS Foundation Trust Address Florence Ball House Kimbolton Road Bedford MK40 2NT Employer's website https://www.elft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab). Location : Florence Ball House, Kimbolton Road, MK40 2NT Bedford, United Kingdom