Specialist Practitioner Social Worker – Health (x3 Posts)

2 x Specialist Community Forensic Team (FIRST)
1 x Rehabilitation Pathways Team (RPT)

Fixed Term (12 months)

Grade D – £45,091 - £53,460

Consultation grade - subject to formal evaluation under the Equal Pay Programme

Working 36.5 hours per week

About the Roles
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join Birmingham City Council in three Specialist Practitioner Social Worker roles across two dynamic services:

2 posts within the Specialist Community Forensic Team (FIRST)
1 post within the Rehabilitation Pathways Team (RPT)

These roles focus on supporting recovery‑focused discharge planning for Birmingham citizens placed within inpatient settings, including secure care and rehabilitation services locally, across the West Midlands, and out‑of‑area placements across England and Wales.

Specialist Community Forensic Team (FIRST)
Working within a dedicated multidisciplinary team, you will support individuals with complex needs, including those within secure care settings, to achieve safe and sustainable discharge into the community.

You will:

Undertake key Local Authority assessments including Care Act, Mental Capacity, safeguarding, housing and social care assessments
Develop and implement robust, recovery‑focused discharge plans
Work collaboratively with secure care providers, mental health services, housing, and criminal justice partners
Contribute to risk management and public protection processes
Support innovative and collaborative approaches across the mental health and social care interface

Rehabilitation Pathways Team (RPT)
As part of a specialist rehabilitation service, you will support discharge planning for individuals in inpatient rehabilitation settings, promoting independence and recovery.

You will:

Undertake key Local Authority assessments including Care Act, Mental Capacity, safeguarding, housing and social care assessments
Support timely, safe discharges aligned with the team’s Home First approach
Work in partnership with inpatient providers, community teams and partner agencies
Promote least restrictive practice and positive patient outcomes
Contribute to a flexible, hybrid model of working

As a Specialist Practitioner, you will:

Provide expert social work input within a specialist health setting
Manage and support complex casework, ensuring high standards of practice
Work both autonomously and collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams
Act as a specialist advisor to colleagues and partner agencies
Contribute to the development of services, identifying needs and innovative approaches to delivery

You will have:

A recognised Social Work qualification and registration with Social Work England
Significant experience working with complex adult cases, ideally within mental health, forensic, or rehabilitation settings
Strong skills in assessment, risk management and multi‑agency working
A commitment to person‑centred, recovery‑focused practice

What We Offer

A supportive, high‑quality practice environment
Opportunities to develop specialist skills in forensic and rehabilitation pathways
Regular supervision and access to professional development
Flexible and hybrid working arrangements (where applicable).

Please upload an up-to-date CV and Supporting Statement via the attachments part of your application. The Supporting Statement should outline how you meet the criteria for the role through your personal qualities, skills and experience and include your motivation for applying to the post. Note the Personal Statement should be no more than 1500 words.

Unfortunately, we cannot consider any applications without a CV and Personal Statement attached

Birmingham City Council is an accredited Disability Confident Leader employer, and we are committed to employing, retaining and developing all of our people.

We want to ensure your recruitment journey with us is a positive and equitable one, so please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments, additional support, accessibility needs, or if there is any way in which we can support you through your application.

For any informal enquires please contact: Resourcing@birmingham.gov.uk

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be undertaken.

Proof of Right to work in the UK will be required for all applicants in accordance with UK Home Office requirements, before any employment offer can be confirmed.

Job Description and Person Specification

Birmingham City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our citizens and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. You can view our Corporate Safeguarding Policy | Birmingham City Council here.