At the Isle of Wight Council, we have a dedicated, passionate and ambitious team of skilled professionals working closely together to provide an Adult Social Work service to be proud of. Here on this beautiful Island, we strive to be the best we can be for our community, with Social Care professionals like you leading the way.
We are a hard-working team, and it doesn’t go unnoticed with our service regularly receiving national acclaim and award nominations for the innovative services we deliver. Each day our team makes positive difference to the lives of people in our Island community, and we’d like you to consider us for your next career move!
"I am so proud of the social work services on the island and each day I hear about the challenges we face and the amazing difference we make to people’s lives every day. However, beyond that is the quality of our pastoral care of social workers supported by the whole council, to help new people settle in to sort out the essentials like schools for children if you are bringing your family with you and an environment that is so diverse and offers something for everyone – we want you to be successful and shine and make the difference to those who may need us for just a moment in time." (Mark Howe, Assistant Director of Social Care and Housing Needs)
These are exciting times on the Isle of Wight within Adult Social Care & Housing Needs, our whole service has supported a redesign that enhances strength-based practice, working directly with the community and our third sector partners.
In the last 4 years the Island has seen our whole service focusing on enabling individuals to live independent lives, with our innovative ‘Care Closer to Home’ strategy, and we are seeing impressive results across our services. You can read up on this scheme here; Care Close to Home Strategy.
We are proud of our commitment to staff, offering rewarding careers with genuine progression, additional training and supportive supervision, ensuring all our staff can fulfil their potential. If you would like to benefit from the work environment we can provide, we currently have the following opportunities for talented and enthusiastic social work professionals to join our teams...
You can discover more and apply to each of the roles below by selecting the vacancy details button, but for more information about our service keep scrolling, we have a lot to tell you!
Social Work Vacancies in Adult Social Care & Housing Needs
Grade 9, (ASYE) £33,110 per annum. Grade 10, £33,563 to £36,307 per annum
£39,623 to £42,431 per annum
For all other roles at the Isle of Wight Council including supporting roles in Adult Social Care & Housing Needs please visit our main jobs page.
Staff Wellbeing
People are at the heart of what we do. Whilst we are an award winning council when it comes to the wellbeing of those we serve (we just won gold at the iESE Transformation awards for Transformation in Health and Care) supporting our own employee health and wellbeing is central to our aim to champion better work and working lives. We recognise that mental, physical, and financial wellbeing can all contribute to our overall health and we offer a range of support services to all staff including; access to an Employee Assistance Programme, counselling services and workplace wellbeing initiatives such as a wellbeing portal, mental health first aiders and occupational health services. To further enable a fulfilling work life balance for our staff we also offer a range of flexible working opportunities across our teams.
Begin your journey to the Isle of Wight by opening our ‘digital doorway’ and meeting our professional family of social workers. We’ve made this easy because we understand that choosing your next role is a complex process. To help decide what area might suit you best, you are invited to contact our specialist teams for a virtual ‘drop in’ session to discover what we are all about, from professionals and managers working in the service.
For a flavour of what it might be like to work in our Adult Social Care & Housing Needs service we encourage you to book a short virtual session with one or more of the Team Managers listed below!
The Isle of Wight Community Mental Health Services serve the local community to provide a comprehensive assessment and range of treatments and services to adults of all ages with mental health problems, some with complex needs. Our role is to provide ongoing community support for adults suffering from severe and enduring mental disorders. We have an aspiration to achieve the best possible outcomes for all users of our service. We provide access to the dedicated AMHP as a part of this service.
Di Pragnell - 01983 821000 – Extension 2369 - Diane.Pragnell@IOW.gov.uk
Kate Smith - 01983 821000 – Extension 6640 - Katherine.Smith@IOW.gov.uk
The 3 localities are co-located with health partners and aligned to GP practices. They work in an integrated system closely with MDT members. They are responsible for reviews, safeguarding and longer term work whilst working with an asset based approach.
Rachel Mccleave - 01983 821000 – Extension 6018 - rachel.mccleave@iow.gov.uk
Living a life that is free from harm and abuse is a fundamental right of every person, all of us need to sign up to this principle and to follow it in acting as good neighbours and citizens. Isle of Wight Adult Safeguarding team is committed to preventing abuse and neglect and putting adults at the centre of our work. The principles that underpin the Care Act are that of promoting the wellbeing of individuals and of making sure that we always recognise that each person’s needs are different and respond accordingly.
Rachael Millmore - 01983 821000 – Extension 5949 - Rachael.Millmore@IOW.gov.uk
DoLS is a provision of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and only applies to people who have been assessed as lacking mental capacity to decide where they should live and may be deprived of their liberty in their accommodation. Our team of very experienced BIA is dedicated to ensuring that the people who cannot consent to their care arrangements in a care home or hospital are protected if those arrangements deprive them of their liberty. Arrangements are assessed to check they are necessary and in the person’s best interests. Representation and the right to challenge a deprivation are other safeguards that are part of DoLS.
Ginny Smith - 01983 821000 - Extension 5946 - Ginny.Smith@iow.gov.uk
HSWT work with all people who have been discharged from hospital with temporary support, they undertake full assessments, deal with safeguarding and arrange ongoing support. They work very closely with health colleagues and other stakeholders including the wider teams.
Julie Green - 01983 821000 – Extension 5977 - Julie.Green@IOW.gov.uk
IASCC Is the front door into ASC, who take all new referrals from the public, a fast paced team who work in a strength based way. They triage, sign post, undertake assessments and arrange support. They also screen adult safeguarding and work with the HMP IOW and other local stakeholders.
Steve Flux - 01983 821000 – Extension 5998 - Steven.flux@iow.gov.uk
The Integrated Learning Disability Team are specialist Island wide team that support adults with a learning disability, autism and young people in transition who need support. We work with individuals and their families to maximise life opportunities to become as independent as possible to lead an enriched and fulfilling life.
Daron Perkins - 01983 821000 – Extension 6582 - Daron.Perkins@IOW.gov.uk
Amanda Howes - 01983 821000 – Extension 6774 - Amanda.Howes@iow.gov.uk
If you are unable to reach one of the listed managers above, please email Rebecca.Phillips@iow.gov.uk and request a call back from the team of your choice.
Life on the Isle of Wight
We don’t try to hide the fact that Social Work is a challenging discipline. We understand the challenges you face daily in this profession, along with our colleagues all around the UK, but here on this beautiful Island we will support you on your professional journey, and if you choose to live and work here, you’ll also have access to the incredible lifestyle and community benefits our unique location offers.
Our beautiful beaches and areas of outstanding natural beauty won’t make your work any less challenging, but they certainly help when you want to switch off with friends and family at the end of each day.
Living and working on the beautiful Isle of Wight offers a unique opportunity to find a work life balance to suit you. Here you are spoilt for choice! If a coastal life is what you desire, from competitive sailing to recreational paddle boarding or walking your dog on the beach at sunset you won’t be disappointed. If you are seeking a thriving rural community, the Island is perfect for those craving active outdoor pursuits and those seeking a calm, relaxed quiet place to call home. This is also a great place to raise a family with plenty to see and do all year round and if you aren’t sure if you can completely convert to a rural / coastal lifestyle, we are only 20 minutes from the mainland for easy access to city life and mainland connections (only 2 hours from London). For a flavour of Island life whilst working at the Isle of Wight Council please view the Recruitment booklet in the job pack section of this page.
Benefits
As well as being a great place to work we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package, including:
Competitive rates of pay and allowances
Annual leave entitlement of 32 days p/a (plus public holidays)
Local Government pension scheme
Relocation package (if eligible) of up to £8,000 and home relocation scheme via Help to Buy.
Travel allowance (if eligible) and discounted Solent ferry travel
Island bus network discount, cycle to work scheme and staff parking permit scheme
Discounted island sports & leisure gym membership
National and local discounts & benefits schemes
Access to private health care packages
Four hours each month protected CPD Time
Living on our beautiful Island is also rewarded by lower housing costs! As of 2022, Rightmove identified that Isle of Wight properties cost 42.7% less than the average house price elsewhere in the South East of England.
They found that the average house price on the Isle of Wight was £297,062 compared to £458,397 across the South East region as a whole!
We are looking forward to meeting with you and receiving your application if you know you have what it takes to make a difference and share our vision and values.
For regular updates on vacancies at the Isle of Wight Council, connect with our LinkedIn page here:
Diversity and Inclusion
The Isle of Wight Council protects its employees from discrimination and this is supported by the Unacceptable Behaviour Policy, Employee Code of Conduct and Behaviours Framework. We actively promote the diversity of our workforce and we provide flexible working options (where appropriate) to support the different needs of our employees.
The Isle of Wight Council is an equal opportunities employer, who is proud to encourage applications from all cultures, backgrounds and abilities to better reflect the diversity within our local community. In addition to this, we are also a Disability Confident Employer. Along with a number of other areas of commitments, this means that providing you meet the basic essential requirements of the advertised role and have declared yourself as disabled, you will be offered an opportunity for an interview within the council.