Liaison Officer

**About Us**
West Sussex County Council is a diverse organisation that provides services to more than 850,000 residents every day. As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

Our friendly and supportive Adults’ Services Systems and Information Team (ASSIT) drives continual business improvement. As a team we sustain and maintain all systems by advising, supporting and challenging to ensure good business practice. We continually look to optimise Adults’ Services business through consultation and engagement with our diverse stakeholders in line with our Adults’ Services Business Plan, national guidance and the Equality Act 2010.

The team acts in an advisory, support and challenge capacity on all aspects of systems, participation, information and advice across the Service and the wider organisation. We work closely with the practice and quality teams to incorporate practice quality, with performance teams to report on and improve quality and efficiency of our service, and with the IT support teams to ensure our systems deliver the best support to our customers and staffing groups.

Adults’ Services aim is to improve social care outcomes by ensuring that people are appropriately supported to have choice and control over their social care and are engaged with the community. Health and social care work as a whole system to ensure that information and services are co-ordinated so that people who need advice, guidance or support receive it quickly and in the best way
**About The Job** Salary**:£42,708 to £45,718 per annum
**Working Pattern**:Full time
**Contract Length**:Permanent
**Location: Chichester -**there will be some flexibility for home working
**Interview Date**: 13 March 2025 (in person)

This is a varied, interesting, and flexible role in which you will support the County Council in meeting its legislative duties under the Care Act 2014. The post will contribute to the implementation of the Council Plan 2021-25, the Adults and Health Directorate Business Plan and the Adults’ Services Strategy, working across other teams and directorates as relevant.

You will be instrumental in ensuring the planning and coordination of engagement activities and collaborative involvement, including co-production, with customers, carers, residents and other stakeholders. We are passionate about co-production and you would need to be too to succeed in this role. The Liaison Officer, Policy & Involvement needs to have excellent communication skills to send regular communications to Adults’ Services staff.

You will provide advice as to the potential impact of business change and the actions required to ensure we meet both legislative and best practice requirements. This role requires the ability to travel independently across West Sussex as needed.

1. Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence the actions of others and communicate information which may be highly complex and contentious. To negotiate solutions across wide areas of the business and successfully convince others of the need to take a specific course of action.
2. Able to quickly establish, develop and maintain good working relationships with external and internal partners and communities, and to provide professional advice to a range of staff and organisations. Able to facilitate discussion in group settings and gain consensus from others to adopt a particular course of action.
3. Well-developed observational and recording skills necessary for collating information during partnership working and community engagement activities.
4. Ability to undertake research, analyse and interrogate information, and plan over the short
- and long-term to support recommendations for the development and design of services - working within budgets, balancing professional standards and the needs of the community and engaging with
stakeholders as necessary.
5. Ability to diagnose and anticipate complex problems, and make sound pragmatic problem-solving decisions which will have a significant impact for a service or the organisation, particularly in relation to information, advice and engagement and partnership building.
6. Ability to think laterally and to adapt to changing situations in a measured and flexible manner in order to adjust the advice and guidance provided to suit any change in circumstance whether legislative, structural or partnership related.
- Please refer to the job description for information on the required qualifications and experience for this role.

**Rewards and Benefits**

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our **Rewards and Benefits** page.
**Further Information**
The reference number for this role is **CAFHE05570**.

Note for Recruitment Ag