SEHSCT_ Court Liaison Officer_ Band 7

Job details

• Branch: Trustwide (SEHSCT)
• Location: ACH, Main Block
• Salary: Band 7 (£47,810 - £54,710)
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Opening Date: 07/05/26
• Closes: Thu, 21 May 2026 @ 5:30 PM
• Interview Dates: RSSC Interview Dates: To be confirmed.

Notes

Important Information If you are submitting a manual application, please post it to: Recruitment Shared Services, Rosewood Villa, Longstone Hospital Site, 73 Loughgall Road, Armagh, BT61 7PR. Applications received after the advertised closing date/time cannot be considered, so please allow enough time for postage. “A waiting list may be created for similar posts that may arise while the waiting list is live, this may include temporary or part-time posts. This will be managed in line with the updated HSC waiting list principles effective from 1 April 2026”. Where a part-time waiting list is required, one part-time waiting list will be created- regardless of any specific hours advertised, this waiting list will cover all future vacancies where part-time posts arise. A part-time post is defined as any post that has less than 37.5 hours per week.” Please remember to save or print a copy of the job description before submitting your application, as it will not be accessible afterwards. Flexible Working We welcome flexible working requests from day one. All HSC organisations offer a range of flexible working options. The options available for this post will depend on the requirements of the role. Find out more about flexible working options on our website.

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE

Court Liaison Officer

BAND

Band 7

DIRECTORATE

INITIAL LOCATION

Children’s Services & Social Work

Trustwide, Initial base Ards Community Hospital

REPORTS TO

Principal Practitioner for Court

ACCOUNTABLE TO

FLEXIBLE WORKING PROVISIONS AVAILABLE

Director of Children’s Services

Some working from home may be available

JOB SUMMARY

To provide a social work service to individual children/young

people/families involved in the court process by carrying out quality

social work assessments. This includes both Private and Public Law across Children’s Services

The post holder will have a mentoring role with Social Workers involved in the court process. He or she will provide liaison between

Social Work staff and the court as necessary. They will provide training, advice and guidance to social workers who are in the court process and ensure the delivery of services in accordance with statutory responsibilities and the Guide to Case Management.

The post holder will work alongside the Principal Practitioner for Court and will be expected to demonstrate enhanced levels of practice, competence and skills in areas including working with children and families, negotiation between Social Services and the Courts, multi-agency working, user and carer involvement, knowledge of organisational systems and processes and wider social policy context.

The post holder will work in collaboration with other professions and agencies to positively contribute to the effective and efficient operation of Children’s Services.

KEY DUTIES / RESPONSIBILITIES

To work independently under the direction of the Principal Practitioner in accordance with the Guide to Case Management.

To work peripatetically across the Trust to provide a service across safeguarding service.

To quality assure and lodge Initial Court Social Work Statements.

To work within both Private and Public law arena across Children’s Services

To receive appropriate referrals for court directed assessments and meet identified need using social work methods and resources.

To have responsibility for court directed assessments, mentoring staff and liaising between the court and Trust staff determined by the Principal Practitioner.

To provide advice and guidance to other Team members.

To discharge statutory responsibilities under current legislation as appropriate.

To liaise with other agencies and professionals providing services for children and young people and their families.

To maintain accurate and appropriate notes of work undertaken.

To participate in case conferences and reviews as requested.

To implement care plans agreed at supervision and with the multi-disciplinary team.

To provide Court Related Training with Principal Practitioner for Court

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The post holder will be required to

Ensure the Organisation’s policy on equality of opportunity is promoted through his/her own actions and those of any staff for whom he/she has responsibility.

Co-operate fully with the implementation of The Organisation's Health and Safety arrangements, reporting any accidents/incidents/equipment defects to his/her manager, and maintaining a clean, uncluttered and safe environment for patients/clients, members of the public and staff.

Adhere at all times to all Trust policies/codes of conduct, including for example

Smoke Free policy

IT Security Policy and Code of Conduct

standards of attendance, appearance and behaviour

Contribute to ensuring the highest standards of environmental cleanliness within your designated area of work.

Co-operate fully with regard to Trust policies and procedures relating to infection prevention and control.

Take responsibility to minimise the Trust’s environmental impact wherever possible. This will include recycling, switching off lights, computers, monitors and equipment when not in use. Helping to reduce paper waste by minimising printing/copying and reducing water usage, reporting faults and heating/cooling concerns promptly and minimising travel.

All employees of the Organisation are legally responsible for all records held, created or used as part of their business within the South Eastern H&SC Trust including patients/clients, corporate and administrative records whether paper-based or electronic and also including emails. All such records are public records and are accessible to the general public, with limited exceptions, under the Freedom of Information act 2000 the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Employees are required to be conversant with the South Eastern H&SC Trust policy and procedures on records management and to seek advice if in doubt.

Take responsibility for his/her own ongoing learning and development, in order to maximise his/her potential and continue to meet the demands of the post.

Represent The Organisation’s commitment to providing the highest possible standard of service to patients/clients and members of the public, by treating all those with whom he/she comes into contact in the course of work, in a pleasant, courteous and respectful manner.

This Job Description will be subject to review in the light of changing circumstances and is not intended to be rigid and inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works. Other duties of a similar nature and appropriate to the grade may be assigned from time to time.

It is a standard condition that all Trust staff may be required to serve at any location within The Organisation's area, as needs of the service demand.

eHealth

The South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust has invested in eHealth to deliver better, faster, safer care to our community and is committed to supporting staff to utilise associated information systems that directly and indirectly inform care. Trust staff are therefore required to commit sufficient time to ensure that they acquire and/or retain core technology skills required to support their role.

Personal and Public Involvement (PPI)

Staff members are expected to involve patients, clients, carers and the wider community were relevant, in developing, planning and delivering our services in a meaningful and effective way, as part of the Trust’s ongoing commitment to Personal and Public Involvement (PPI).

Please use the link below to access the PPI standards leaflet for further information.

http://www.publichealth.hscni.net/sites/default/files/PPI

April 2026

PERSONNEL SPECIFICATION

JOB TITLE Senior Social Work Practitioner

(Court Liaison Officer)

DEPARTMENT / DIRECTORATE Children’s Services & Social Work

SALARY Band 7

HOURS 37.5 per week

Ref No: 55636276

April 2026

Notes to applicants

You must clearly demonstrate on your application form under each question, how you meet the required criteria as failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. You should clearly demonstrate this for both the essential and desirable criteria.

Shortlisting will be carried out on the basis of the essential criteria set out in Section 1 below, using the information provided by you on your application form. Please note The Organisation reserves the right to use any desirable criteria outlined in Section 3 at shortlisting. You must clearly demonstrate on your application form how you meet the desirable criteria.

Proof of qualifications and/or professional registration will be required if an offer of employment is made – if you are unable to provide this, the offer may be withdrawn.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

SECTION 1: The following are ESSENTIAL criteria which will initially be measured at shortlisting stage although may also be further explored during the interview/selection stage. You should therefore make it clear on your application form whether or not you meet these criteria. Failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. The stage in the process when the criteria will be measured is stated below.

Factor

Criteria

Method of Assessment

Experience

3 years post qualifying experience as a Social Worker or above within a statutory Family and Childcare setting, one of which must include Court work experience in both private and public law applications

Shortlisting by Application Form

Qualifications/ Registration

Professional Qualification in social work (Diploma in SW, CQSW, BA SW, MSW)

Registered with Social Care Council

Shortlisting by Application Form

Other

Hold a current full driving licence which is valid for use in the UK and have access to a car on appointment. This criteria will be waived in the case of applicants whose disability prohibits driving but who have access to a form of transport approved by The Organisation which will permit them to carry out the duties of the post.

Shortlisting by Application Form

SECTION 2: The following are ESSENTIAL criteria which will be measured during the interview/ selection stage:

Skills / Abilities

Ability to understand the Court Liaison Role.

Proven ability in assessing need/risk.

Proven extensive experience in the preparation/scribing of court reports and the giving of evidence in court.

Proven extensive experience in carrying out quality social work assessments to assist the court process

Ability to work under pressure and demonstrate ability to make considered judgements in casework.

Ability to accept responsibility and work independently.

Providing training to staff either in group or individual contexts.

Interview / Test

Knowledge

Thorough knowledge of childcare legislation and procedures and current issues in Family and Childcare.

extensive knowledge of research, good practice and the Guide to Case Management

Knowledge and experience of court work including scribing of court reports and evidence giving in court setting.

Knowledge of Private Law

Knowledge of legal judgements and understanding of their implications for practice.

Training in accredited assessment tools eg CASP-R, Graded Care Profile and SOS

Interview / Test

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

SECTION 3: these will ONLY be used where it is necessary to introduce additional job related criteria to ensure files are manageable. You should therefore make it clear on your application form how you meet these criteria. Failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted

Factor

Criteria

Method of Assessment

Experience

Experience of managing and supporting staff either in a mentoring role or as a practice teacher.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Qualifications

Shortlisting by Application Form

.

As part of the Recruitment & Selection process it may be necessary for The Organisation to carry out an Enhanced Disclosure Check through Access NI before any appointment to this post can be confirmed.

To access a copy of the Access NI Code of Practice, please Click here

The South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust has guidance on the Recruitment of People with Criminal Convictions. To access a copy of this guidance, please Click here

Protecting and using your information

To access a copy of the Trust’s Data Protection Policy Statement,

Click here

THE ORGANISATION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER

Successful applicants

may be required to attend for a Health Assessment

can expect to be placed at the minimum point of the pay scale, although a higher starting salary, within the range of the pay band may be available if the person appointed has experience relevant & equivalent to the post. Request for recognition of previous service with non-direct NHS/HSC organisations towards starting salary and incremental credit must be made via the Retained Recruitment team within 3 months from commencement of employment. Requests made after 3 months will not be considered. If the successful candidate is an existing HSC employee moving to a higher band, AfC Pay on Promotion will apply.

are able to request Flexible Working from the 1st day of their employment. A number of flexible working provisions are offered by all HSC Organisations including Full-time working, Fixed working patterns, Part-time working, Flexi-time, Compressed/elongated hours, Average hours working patterns, Term-time working, Job-share or Homeworking for some or all of the working pattern, depending on the role being undertaken. Successful applicants are encouraged to discuss with their manager what Flexible Working provisions may be available in the role they are taking up, prior to commencing employment, to help them achieve a positive Work/Life Balance

All staff are expected to display the HSC Values at all times