About the Role
Senior Best Interests Assessor – DoLS
Contract: 12 months; Location: Home based and Hereford once a week; Hours: 37; Salary: £40,777-£45,091; Closing date: 02.06.26.
A Vibrant Senior Best Interests Assessor Opportunity at Herefordshire Community Wellbeing! Ready to make an extraordinary impact? Herefordshire Community Wellbeing is seeking a passionate Senior Best Interests Assessor (BIA) to support operational leadership of the DoLS service, including quality assurance, supervision and practice scrutiny.
You will be supporting the AMHP, DoLS & EDT services Manager with a robust authorisation process for DoLS, including scrutinising completed DoLS assessments submitted by Drs and Best Interests Assessors, ensuring these are legally robust, defensible and ready for authorisation. You will be supporting with provision of professional supervision and practice guidance to BIAs, and supporting effective workflow, allocation, and prioritisation of cases as well as acting as a senior source of advice on the Mental Capacity Act, DoLS and relevant case law; providing expert guidance and support to staff in managing complex assessments.
This isn’t just another job; it’s a chance to immerse yourself in an incredibly rewarding environment with a passionate, values‑driven team. Our DoLS service plays a central role in safeguarding some of the most vulnerable people in our community and we support practitioners to make thoughtful, legally sound decisions in complex situations. This is a team where your professional judgement and values really matter.
The Role
Herefordshire DoLS team is a small, friendly, experienced and highly supportive team that values collaboration, reflective practice and shared learning. This role is flexible, home based, with one day a week spent in the office in Hereford. You will be supporting the AMHP, DoLS & EDT services Manager with quality assurance, practice scrutiny, staff supervisions, allocations and DoLS Forums. You will act as a senior source of advice on the Mental Capacity Act, DoLS, and relevant case law and contribute to service development, policy updates, and procedural guidance as well as deputising for the service manager as required.
We invest in continuous professional development with specialist training and opportunities to develop leadership within the service.
About You
We are looking for someone with the right people skills, values and commitment to upholding the human rights of those we work with.
- You will need to be a qualified Best Interests Assessor with at least 2 years of BIA practice and experience of assessing a range of client groups
- You will need to have a strong commitment to protecting the human rights of those we work with and strong knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act, The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, The Care Act and Safeguarding.
We Offer
A competitive salary, holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme.
- Salary range of £40,777-£45,091
- Enrolment in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
- Career progression: clear pathways to progress
- Annual Leave: 31 days’ annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum during the request period
- Flexible working: including the potential for job‑sharing, part‑time hours and agile working.
- Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
- Payment of professional membership fees (based on role requirements)
- Pick your perks – our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.
Commitments, Covenants and Statutory Obligations
The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:
- Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme.
- Those who indicate in their application that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant.
- Those who indicate in their application that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.
We take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check.
Reasonable Adjustments
Our recruitment process runs in partnership with Hoople Resourcing. If you require any reasonable adjustments or alternative methods for the online application process, please contact the resourcing team by email: enquiries@hoopleresourcing.co.uk.
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