Triage Officer

The Role

Social Work England are the specialist regulator for social work in England, focused on enabling positive change in social work. Every day, social workers support millions of people to improve their chances in life. We are taking a new approach to regulating social workers in their vital roles. We believe in the power of collaboration and share a common goal with those we regulate – to protect the public, enable positive change and ultimately improve people’s lives.

We are now recruiting for several triage officers to join us and act as first and primary point of contact for Social Work England, providing consistent and high-quality customer service. The purpose of the role is to make independent decisions about when to escalate issues of public protection, what is a matter of concern, apply a risk level, make decisions if an interim order is required by taking ownership of enquiries and applying sound judgement.

You will assist with the effective and timely recording and progressing of concerns relating to social workers. By ensuring that fitness to practise concerns are appropriately identified and cases progressed in a timely manner, you will be contributing to our key duty of protecting the public. The triage officer role manages around 80 to 100 cases at any one time.

What you will do

• Manage a high volume and varied caseload, delivering quality assessments and identifying risk, through effective planning, prioritisation, and independent case management
• Analyse and assess information to ensure we adequately determine the appropriate level of risk associated with a case, ensuring that those identified as high risk are prioritised
• Analyse and assess related documents, draft case summaries and make decisions and recommendations in accordance with guidance and in line with the statutory frameworks.
• Be the first point of contact for members of the public and organisations with fitness to practise related queries and responding to those queries and responding to those queries effectively.
• Identify, request and obtain information relevant to assessment of triage cases. This may include contacting health professionals, police, employers, and other regulators.
• Ensure timely assessment and progression of cases by prioritising work independently, managing your own workload and using initiative and problem-solving skills to manage competing demands.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders by providing consistent and quality customer service and tailoring the approach to take account of individual needs.
• Develop and utilise a wide range of knowledge and specialist understanding of fitness to practise and the triage process, particularly in the context of social work to progress cases.
• Support the team’s administrative functions and other wider duties as per operational requirements.
• Manage large quantities of personal and sensitive information in accordance with data protection legislation and our data management policies and procedures. Ensuring you maintain accurate records and case information using the case management system. Create electronic bundles of documentation and evidence as necessary.
• Assist the information governance team with responses to subject access requests and freedom of information requests made to the triage team.

Your skills, knowledge and experience

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, ability to draft clear and comprehensive correspondence and to present information on complex issues clearly in telephone discussions or written correspondence.
• Strong personal resilience with the ability to work well in a team with a proactive, collaborative and reliable approach.
• Ability to work under pressure in a busy, demanding, environment using prioritisation and organisational skills when managing competing deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to manage difficult and challenging communication where people are potentially in need.
• Ability to work within a statutory framework, and familiar with social worker regulations.
• Experience of working in a customer/client-based environment, with the ability to communicate and seek out information effectively and confidently with a range of stakeholders, tailoring response as necessary.
• Experience of managing a caseload, using a case management system and maintaining accurate records.
• Experience of managing sensitive and confidential information, with the ability to troubleshoot and resolve problems.
• Experience of working in a team and supporting others.
• Analytical and research skills with an attention to detail.
• Strong IT skills, including a good working knowledge of Microsoft office products.
• A demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Details