Job Description

Full Time, Fixed Term - 12 months

We are offering a fixed-term opportunity for an experienced practitioner to step into a senior leadership role within the Hospital Discharge Team. This role is well suited to someone looking to develop their management experience, support others in their professional growth, and contribute to a high-performing, solution-focused hospital service.



You will be part of a team supporting safe and timely discharge from both the Bristol Royal Infirmary and Southmead Hospital, with an expectation of working flexibly across the two sites. The team works closely with ward staff, therapy teams, discharge coordinators, community services and health partners, alongside individuals and their families, to ensure that people leave hospital with the right level of support, at the right time, in a way that promotes dignity, independence and wellbeing.

In this role, you will support the team in applying the Care Act and Mental Capacity Act in complex situations, where risk, autonomy and safeguarding concerns often intersect. You will provide day-to-day advice and guidance to social workers and coordinators, helping them to navigate difficult conversations, best interest decisions and the balance between choice and safety.

You will maintain oversight of complex casework, offer reflective support, and help the team maintain consistency and professional calm in a fast-paced environment.



You will have oversight of the team's work in relation to Care Act assessments, Section 42 enquiries, discharge planning, Mental Capacity assessments and Best Interests decisions, ensuring these are carried out proportionately and in line with the person's strengths, outcomes and support networks. You will support staff to work effectively with individuals and families where there may be carer strain, concern about home circumstances or disagreements around risk, while promoting independence, dignity and wellbeing. A good working knowledge of hospital discharge pathways, brokerage processes and community resources is essential in guiding the team's decision-making.



The team is made up of a Team Manager, Senior Practitioners, Social Workers, Occupational Therapists and Coordinators. You will provide supervision, practice guidance and operational support, working collaboratively across health and social care settings to enable safe discharge. You will receive both formal and informal support from the Team Manager, and will help to promote a positive, reflective and supportive team culture.

This secondment offers a supportive space to develop leadership confidence, decision-making authority and experience of service coordination across two acute hospital sites. This role would suit someone who is confident in managing complexity, values relationship-based practice, and is able to hold risk while promoting independence and choice.

Please note that this role is subject to an Enhanced DBS Check.

Why Bristol City Council?

At Bristol City Council, we go that extra mile for our people; we offer a work environment which is fast moving and supportive, giving you the chance to use your skills and develop new ones within a high-profile organisation. For the majority of our roles hybrid working arrangements are available, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice - mixing both home and office working.

Join us and you'll receive an excellent rewards package including flexible working and flexitime, membership of the Local Government Pension scheme, and a generous annual leave allowance. In addition, you'll be working in a supportive environment where you'll have the chance to make Bristol a better place and contribute to its future.

How do I apply?

If you share our values and are ready to be part of our exciting journey please select the apply button below.

To be shortlisted for interview you'll need to demonstrate how you meet each of the essential criteria in the Person Specification within the Further Information section of your application. On occasion we will receive high numbers of applications, we may then shortlist against the desirable criteria along with the essential criteria, so if you can, please demonstrate how you meet this in your application.



It is Bristol City Council's practice to request references for candidates that have been offered a job. However, if you are applying for a job that requires a Disclosure and Barring Service check then we will request your references once you have been invited to an interview.

For permanent Bristol City Council employees, this post will be a secondment.

For employees who are currently on a fixed term contract with Bristol City Council, the secondment must not extend beyond the end of the fixed term period to ensure there is a substantive post to return to.

If you are currently a casual worker or a member of an employment agency (currently working with Bristol City Council) this post will be a fixed term contract.

We're a Disability Confident employer which means we value recruiting and retaining disabled people. Any job applicants who consider themselves to be disabled and meet the essential criteria in the Person Specification are guaranteed an interview. We'll make reasonable adjustments throughout the interview process and provide continued workplace support throughout your career.

For further information, please refer to the and Person Specification or alternatively, please contact Charlotte Holloway

charlotte.holloway@bristol.gov.uk

At Bristol City Council, we value having a workforce as diverse as the city we serve. We therefore welcome, develop and promote people from all sections of the community. Appointments will be made on merit.

The personal information section (including your name) you'll complete as part of the application form will not be visible to hiring managers, but is used confidentially to make sure that everyone is treated fairly.