Families Together Practitioner (Edge of Care and Reunification)

About the role

We are looking for a Families Together Practitioner (Edge of Care and Reunification) with experience in supporting parents/carers and their children, to deliver targeted, intensive support to families with an aim of keeping families together wherever it is safe to do so. In this role you will:

• Work intensively and flexibly with a small caseload of families, delivering therapeutic and trauma-informed  interventions, often needing to respond promptly in a time of crisis. 
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary professionals’ network attending and contributing to meetings such as Child Protection Conferences and collaborating to ensure that the needs of the family are met. 
• As well as working with families on the edge of care and going through reunification, the Families Together Practitioner (Edge of Care and Reunification) will also support foster care placements that are at risk of breakdown and support children to step-down from residential placements to foster care. 
• Work with the whole family to ensure that changes can be made and sustained, as well as explore wider family networks to explore support available.

You will be able to work flexibly in terms of working hours and location (inc home working) based on the service needs. There is free parking at all Family Hub sites and you will receive a Parking permit for relevant RBWM car parks.

For further information about this role, please contact Danny Gomm by email danny.gomm@achievingforchildren.org.uk for an informal discussion.

About you

We are looking for an innovative, positive, dedicated worker who will help us to transform the lives and futures of children & young people.

You will need to be passionate about working with children, young people and their families and have a reassuring presence, be calm in a crisis and be able to work with families in their homes, helping them make the necessary changes to stay together. You will also need to be/have:

• Educated to a level 4 qualification in a relevant field Family support/parenting or equivalent by demonstrable training and experience in complex family work.
• Experience/qualifications in interventions for parents and children with complex needs.
• Knowledge of  the impact of developmental trauma and applying theory into practice with proven evidence based results.
• Experience of working with vulnerable or disadvantaged families with complex needs and ability to design, implement and evaluate interventions that deliver positive outcomes.
• Experience of working effectively within a multidisciplinary team.
• A full driving licence and access to a car for work.

About our benefits

We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:

• 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)
• Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
• Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
• Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
• A range of staff benefits and discounts
• An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway

To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children click here. For our social work offer click here. For our Recruitment Journey, click here.

Important Information

Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.

Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.