- Qualification in Youth Work or a related field (e.g. NVQ Level 4 in Guidance, Youth and Community Work).
- Experience working directly with young people in formal or informal settings, including needs assessments, care planning and providing guidance and support.
- Strong understanding of relevant theory and statutory legislation relating to children’s services.
- Proven ability to build effective partnerships with young people, families and stakeholders, while advocating for young people’s voices.
- Experience using data and evidence to inform decisions, maintaining accurate records and producing clear reports.
- Ability to engage young people in services and address equality and diversity issues within practice.
- Strong communication, organisational and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
- Confident using digital tools such as Microsoft or Google software.
- Passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people and committed to delivering positive outcomes through a strengths-based approach.
Classifications
Job Information
Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us click here.
Leaving Care Personal Adviser
We're proud to announce that AfC's Children's Services in Richmond have been awarded an Outstanding rating by Ofsted. This places Richmond alongside Kingston, which also holds an Outstanding rating, as a top-performing service. Our separately inspected Fostering Service has achieved a strong ‘Good’ rating, recognising our skilled and dedicated fostering workforce.
Come work with a skilled, stable workforce and be part of an organisation that's truly making a difference.
The Leaving Care/Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) Team sit within our Permanency Service, this service is made up of the Leaving Care/UASC Team, Permanency Team, Fostering Team and the Adoption Team.
The Leaving Care service operates across Kingston and Richmond and supports young people from the age of 16 who are looked after,have recently left care (up to the age of 25) or who are unaccompanied asylum seeking children,to become independent and inspire them to set ambitious goals for themselves.
These goals include them acquiring the skills, knowledge and confidence to live independently, including how to manage their money, have appropriate accommodation options, access education, training and employment, live a healthy lifestyle and access health support when they need and develop and maintain social networks that will sustain them throughout their lives.
Operational area
Kingston and Richmond
Primary place of work
91 Queen's Rd, TW1
Appointment type
Permanent
Business area
Children's Social Care
Full time/Part time
Full-time
Salary from
£41,133 (SCP27)
Salary to
£43,680 (SCP30)
Hours
36
Estimated Interview date/s
08/04/2026
Closing Date
29/03/2026
Ref No
2295
About the role
We are recruiting for two Personal Advisor roles within our Leaving Care Service — one permanent position and one 12-month fixed-term contract.
Personal Advisors provide practical support and guidance to young people and young adults aged 18+ who are leaving care. The role involves managing a caseload, completing assessments and developing Pathway Plans to support young people in achieving positive outcomes. You will help young people access accommodation, education, employment, health services and community support, while promoting their independence and wellbeing.
You will also support young people with immigration or asylum matters by ensuring they have access to appropriate legal representation and guidance through the resettlement process where required.
This role operates on a hybrid basis, with a minimum of three days per week required in the office. For further information, please contact Shaira Makorie at Shaira.Makorie@achievingforchildren.org.uk for an informal discussion.
About you
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.
