Senior Social Worker

The salary range for this role is £49,464 - £52,864 per annum, working 36 hours per week.

We are recruiting Senior Social Workers to join our Connect to Community (C2C) Mental Health and Learning Disability and Autism team. This is a key progression opportunity for confident practitioners who want to work with greater autonomy, take a leadership role in complex decision making, and help shape the quality of practice at the first point of contact for adults in Surrey.

This role will be based either in Woking or Guildford. Hybrid working is available, so you won't need to be based out of an office all 5 days of the working week but you will be expected to be out and about in the community as needed.

Our Offer to You

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About Connect to Community

Connect to Community is Surrey's single front door for adult social care, supporting residents through timely, strengths-based responses following initial triage. C2C brings together professionals from different disciplines to ensure residents receive the right support, at the right time, with fewer handovers.

Senior Social Workers in C2C play a critical role in:

• Managing complex, high risk and urgent situations
• Leading professional decision‑making
• Supporting consistent, high-quality practice across the team
• Working closely with partners across health, housing, reablement, TEC and the voluntary sector

Daily multi‑disciplinary meetings provide a strong forum for shared learning, professional challenge and collaborative risk management.

About the Role

As a Senior Social Worker in Connect to Community, you will provide expert social work practice within a fast-paced, front door environment. You will work autonomously, applying professional judgement to complex situations while balancing support, risk and safeguarding responsibilities.

In this role, you will undertake complex assessments, reviews and interventions in line with the Care Act, taking a leading role in high-risk safeguarding work, including Section 42 enquiries. You will apply advanced professional judgement to manage risk, uncertainty and competing demands, while also supporting urgent responses such as Mental Capacity Act assessments and best interest decision-making. You will be responsible for developing strengths-based support plans that promote independence, wellbeing and prevention, ensuring individuals receive the right support at the right time.

Alongside your direct practice, you will provide professional guidance, mentoring and reflective supervision to less experienced social workers, contributing to a positive learning culture. This includes supporting ASYE development and practice education where required. As a visible source of professional leadership within Connect to Community, you will help ensure consistent decision-making and maintain high standards of social work practice across the team.

You will receive regular professional supervision, opportunities to contribute to service development, and the chance to build advanced front‑door expertise within a supportive multi‑disciplinary setting.

Shortlisting Criteria

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

• Hold a recognised Social Work qualification and are registered with Social Work England
• Have significant post-qualification experience in adult social care‑qualification experience and experience of working with people with Mental ill-Health or Learning Disabilities and Autism
• Demonstrate confident application of the Care Act, Mental Capacity Act and safeguarding legislation
• Can evidence expert practice in managing complexity, risk and uncertainty
• Have experience of supporting or supervising other practitioners
• Communicate clearly and professionally with residents, carers and partner agencies
• Experience in front door, duty or urgent response work is particularly relevant to this role.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 28/06/2026 with interviews to follow.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents!

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we're committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.