Job Description

Best Interest Assessor

Employer

Kingston Council

Location(s)

Kingston

Contract Type

Permanent

Working Hours

Full Time

Grade

I

Hours Per Week

36

Salary Range

\xc2\xa341,793 - \xc2\xa346,857

Salary Basis

Per annum

Leave Entitlement

30 days

Application Deadline

31/07/2023, 23:55

Anticipated Interview Date(s)

07/08/23

About the Borough

This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned.

Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston\'s riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.

Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London - with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.

Kingston\'s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.

We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston\'s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.

Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.

About the Role

We are seeking to appoint a qualified Best Interest Assessor (BIA) to our Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) team.

The post holder will be responsible for carrying out assessments and reviews under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards 2007 (Amendment to Mental Capacity Act 2005). On completion of the assessment they will make recommendations and conditions, if applicable, for the authorisation to the relevant Supervisory Body in order to promote the least restrictive practice and maximise peoples\' independence and rights to liberty.

DOLS team members work mainly from home, and are in contact with each other electronically to support with any arising issues. As a BIA in our DOLS team you will have a high degree of autonomy and flexibility over the way you manage your workload and receive monthly supervision from the Team\'s manager. There is also a DOLS forum to receive regular updates on case law and an opportunity to discuss cases.

About Us

Our DOLS team consists of 3 BIAs who are supported by Business Support colleagues. The team is overseen by a team manager and has direct input from Head of Service, who is a signatory for assessments. The DOLS team works to cover the boroughs responsibilities with regard to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, undertaking Best Interest Assessments, in response to urgent and standard requests for authorisation received.

The team works to ensure that all the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) assessments are completed appropriately and
to a high standard and to ensure that the Local Authority is operating a DoLS service across Health and Social Care and within the legislative requirements placed upon the authority.

About You

If you are a qualified Best Interest Assessor, who is self motivated and enjoys a high degree of autonomy and professional responsibility - then we would like to hear from you. A keen interest in the law, especially the Mental Capacity Act, and relevant case law would also be an advantage. You will need excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

A Best Interests Assessor must have understanding and respect for individuals\' qualities, abilities and diverse backgrounds and applies this to their practice. They must have the ability to act independently, and to establish effective relationships with service users, people lacking capacity and carers, as well as providers.

Essential requirements are:

• qualified to practice as a Best Interest Assessor and have at least 1 years\' experience as a practising Best Interest Assessor.
• relevant currently professional registration (with Social Work England if a social worker).
• Two years post qualifying experience within the specialist field of:
• Learning Disability
• Mental Health
• Physical Sensory Impairment
• Brain Injury

Our Offer To You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we\'re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We\'re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. The COVID-19 pandemic has required us to be even more flexible in how we work and manage staff workloads, ensuring they have the correct equipment and resources to be able to maximise their talents and looking after their wellbeing.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Three volunteering days per year
• Flexible and agile working arrangements
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Application Process

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Additional Information

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, tolerant and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.

We are proud to be recognised as a Disability Confident employer, and are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government\'s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the for right to work guidance.

Important Information - Criminal Records

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory result to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames