Best Interest Assessor

We are excited to be hiring a new Best Interest Assessor to join our fantastic Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Team. The team is a county wide function, based at Quadrant Court; however, there is an opportunity to work flexibly, including from your own home and at other Surrey County Council offices
*Option for 2 year fixed term contract too
About the Team
The team consists of administrative staff and Best Interest Assessors who work collaboratively together, and there is an ethos of supporting each other and team working to ensure that the objectives of the team are achieved.
You will be helping to support Mental Capacity Act practice across adult social care in Surrey. Furthermore, you will receive regular supervision, reflective practice sessions and annual BIA legal update training as part of your role.
About the Role
Primarily, you will be undertaking Best Interest Assessments in care homes and hospitals where
people are being deprived of their liberty; often these will be the more ‘complex’ requests and will require you to have detailed understanding and knowledge of the application of DOLS and the Mental Capacity Act.
On a weekly basis, you will also contribute to the team’s busy duty system, including triaging incoming DOLS authorisation requests, quality assuring assessments completed by other assessors, responding to email and telephone queries, and providing support and advice to both external agencies and other adult social care teams.
Shortlisting Criteria
To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:
Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
Best Interest Assessor qualification and relevant post qualifying experience.
Ability to prioritise workload and to make decisions concerning people’s liberty.
Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate in a clear and concise manner.
Ability to use IT systems with confidence and capable of producing reports of a high standard that will bear legal scrutiny.
Excellent working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and other related legislation.
Rewards and Benefits
26 days’ holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years’ service
Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
Up to 5 days of carer’s leave per year
Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
A generous local government salary related pension
Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
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