Children's Homefinder (Placements) - Grade 8 £38,934 - £40,755

Your Croydon; Croydon; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 41,000; Full time

Job description

Childrens Homefinder

Salary: Grade 8 (£38,934 - £40,755)

Permanent – 36 hours per week

Join us in shaping the future for Croydon's children

At Croydon Council, we are passionate about ensuring every child receives the care, stability and support they deserve. As a Children’s Homefinder, you’ll play a crucial role in helping us deliver safe, appropriate, and high-quality placements for our looked after children and care-experienced young people (CLA and CEA).

About the role

This is a pivotal role in our Children’s Social Care division, where you’ll:

• Source and match suitable in-house and external homes for looked after children.
• Compile detailed ‘Options Papers’ outlining placement suitability, costs, and contract terms.
• Collaborate closely with social workers, providers, commissioners, and QA staff to ensure placements are safe, stable, and tailored to the child's needs.
• Maintain accurate records, manage payment processes, and ensure all placement agreements and due diligence are compliant and up to date.
• Build strong provider relationships and undertake provider quality assurance visits.

You will also support the wider team in ensuring that children’s placements are cost-effective, timely, and fully aligned with statutory responsibilities and good practice.

About you

We are looking for someone who is:

• Experienced in working with children in care or related settings.
• Highly organised, IT literate, and confident analysing data to make well-informed decisions.
• A strong communicator with the ability to build and maintain relationships across multi-agency settings.
• Able to work flexibly, including occasional out-of-hours work and travel for QA visits and provider engagement.

A background in local authority or large-scale service environments is desirable, as is experience in children’s residential or fostering services.

Why Croydon?

Working for Croydon means being part of a committed, diverse, and inclusive community. We offer:

• A competitive salary and generous local government pension scheme.
• 30 days annual leave (plus bank holidays).
• Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid working where appropriate.
• Access to training and development opportunities to support your career progression.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Croydon Council is an equal opportunities employer and strongly values the importance of diversity and inclusion in everything we do. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences, and walks of life.

Closing Date: 11 May 2025 at 11:59pm

Click here to view the role profile

Croydon Council is an inclusive employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Subject to business needs, we will be pleased to consider applications from candidates seeking flexible working arrangements and support hybrid working, whereby staff attend the workplace for part of their working week and work from home, or elsewhere, remotely for the rest of the time.

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the advertised role.

Croydon council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. The Successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced barring DBS check.