Best Interest Assessor

**About The Role**:
Job Title: Best Interests Assessor

Contract: Permanent
Location: Hybrid
Hours: 2 posts available. 1 FT and 1x 18.5hrs

**Salary**: HC08 £35,235-£39,513 pro rata
Closing date: Sunday 16th March 2025

Interview:TBC

The role

We are seeking 2 qualified Best Interest Assessors (BIAs) to join our Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Team. This is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact on the lives of individuals who lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves within a well-established and supportive team. You will be working across care homes and hospitals to assess mental capacity, provide independent scrutiny of the care plans in place for those deprived of their liberty and ensure they have the legal safeguards in place.

The role involves being allocated typically 3-4 assessments a week (for full-time) including urgent and complex cases, completing in person high-quality assessments and making well-informed, best interest decisions within the framework of the DoLS Scheme, with recommendations about the authorisation of care arrangements amounting to a deprivation of liberty. You will also be providing advice to service users and their families, professionals and partner agencies about the Mental Capacity Act and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

You will be mainly working from home but available to travel across Herefordshire and will have opportunity to work from the office whenever needed. You will have access to both informal support throughout the week and monthly supervision, monthly in person team meetings and bi-monthly DoLS forums. You will also receive BIA update training and other training relevant to the role.

About You

You need to be a Qualified social worker, occupational therapist, psychologist or nurse and a qualified Best Interest Assessor with recent experience of carrying out Best Interest Assessments. However we will also consider newly qualified BIAs.

You will need to have maintained update training since qualifying.

You will need to have in depth knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and relevant case law.

You will need to have confidence in assessment and decision-making skills including experience of completing mental capacity assessments and the ability to produce high quality reports to meet deadlines.

You will need to have good verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate clearly with a clear focus on the rights of individuals under assessment and ability to communicate with a range of professionals and care providers.

Access to/use of a vehicle is an essential requirement for this role.

We Offer
- A competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:

- **Starting Salary**of £37,035
- **Relocation Payment**Relocation package of up to £5,000 available
- **Pension**Scheme Enrolment in the Local Government (LGPS)
- **Career progression**:clear pathways to progress
- **Annual Leave**: 31 days’ annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum with line manager approval.
- **Flexible working**:flexi-time, job-share, part-time hours and, in some instances, home working
- **Employee Assistance Programme**: 24/7 access to support and counselling
- Payment of **professional membership fees**:

- **Pick your perks**- our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.

Why Choose Us?

You will probably have heard a lot about how beautiful it is in terms of countryside and open spaces (and it is) but there is so much more going on here, including world-class cultural assets like the Mappa Mundi, vibrant theatres and a thriving food and drink sector.

One of Herefordshire’s biggest assets is the strong and diverse communities. Our Talk Community approach brings that together supporting people to help themselves, encouraging them to help their communities and identifying how communities can help individuals. Our ambitious transformation programme aims to further build on this to offer an all-age approach. We’re excited about the potential of what we can achieve for the benefit of all residents of Herefordshire, stronger together and building brighter futures.

Don’t meet all parts of the job description?

Reasonable Adjustments

Creating an inclusive workplace

Employee Network Groups play an important role in strengthening the voices of employees at Herefordshire Council. Embedded in the Council's values is a commitment to listen to people's views and needs.

Employee Network Groups are a collective of colleagues who often share identities, life experiences or cultures and who come together to initiate positive change in their work place. Our groups include: Black and Asian Staff Networking Group, LGBTQ+, Parents & Carers, Climate and Nature Emergency, Diff