Early Help Advisor

Surrey County Council; Horsell; Hybrid; GBP 14,000 - 29,000; Part time

Job summary

Surrey County Council is looking for an Early Help Hub Advisor to join their Children's Single Point of Access Team. The role supports vulnerable families by directing them to preventative services, requiring effective communication and collaboration with various agencies. This part-time position offers a flexible working model and includes comprehensive benefits.

Benefits

26 days' holiday, rising to 30 days after 5 years

Employee Assistance Programme for health and wellbeing

Option to buy additional annual leave

Learning and development hub access

Paid volunteering days

Qualifications

• Minimum Level 3 qualification in a relevant area such as Education or Social Care.
• At least 2 years' experience working with children and families.
• Understanding of CSPA functioning and purpose.

Responsibilities

• Work as part of a team providing support to families in need.
• Screen contacts within the CSPA by speaking with families.
• Signpost and refer families to appropriate support services.

Skills

Communication

Organizational ability

Team collaboration

Analytical thinking

Education

Level 3 qualification in related areas

Job description

• Salary: £29,697 per annum (£14,848.50 per annum for the 18-hour position)
• Category: Care - Children and Young People
• Contract type: Permanent
• Working hours: 18 hours per week
• Posted on: 2 June 2025
• Closing date: 21 June 2025

Description

This role has a starting salary of £14,848.50 per annum, working 18 hours per week.

We are excited to be hiring a new Early Help Hub Advisor to join our Early Help Hub team within the Childrens Single Point of Access (CSPA) Team. We are dedicated to the recruitment and development of employees who are passionate about supporting and safeguarding vulnerable children and families.

The role is located in our Woking office (Quadrant Court) from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. There is flexibility for hybrid working from home with an expectation of being office based a minimum of two days a week. It is our intention to move within the local area away from Quadrant Court to Victoria Gate in Central Woking later this year.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing.
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• A generous local government salary related pension.
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Opportunity to undertake higher education apprentice courses linked with the University of Chichester.

About the Team

The CSPA is an exceptionally busy service providing a critical response to the County's children and families who need help, protection and support. The Early Help Hub has the objective of directing children and families to early and preventative support services whenever safe and possible to do so.

Our team consist of Early Help Advisors who bring a diverse range of experience across the span of children and family services.

About the Role

You will work as part of a well-supported team consisting of a social work qualified team manager and advanced practitioner alongside advisors and senior advisors. You will be provided with regular guidance and support inclusive of regular case review and reflection, supervision, and support from colleagues who have a diverse range of experience and specialisms.

The role primarily consists of screening contacts within the CSPA which includes:

• Speaking with parents/carers and children whenever possible.
• Undertaking checks with agencies when proportionate to do so.
• Signposting and referring families to support, providing advice and undertaking safety planning when required.
• Regular threshold review of families with management, inclusive of escalating safeguarding concerns when required.
• To ensure families have the most timely response, we strive to ensure each family has an outcome within 24-48 hours.

Shortlisting Criteria

To be shortlisted to interview for this position your application will clearly evidence:

• A minimum of a Level 3 qualification in a related area such as Education, Social Care etc. and/or at least 2 years' experience of directly working with children and families in a safeguarding and supporting capacity.
• A good understanding of the functioning and purpose of CSPA.
• Alignment with Early Help services being a preventative and timely approach to meeting the needs of vulnerable children and families.
• Ability to work collaboratively within the team, the wider service and with other agencies such as health and education.
• Ability to communicate clearly in a respectful and professional manner with children, families, agencies and colleagues.
• Organisational ability to manage and prioritise your workload in line with service needs and needs of families.
• A curious and reflective approach as to the needs of children and families inclusive of families with complex needs, safeguarding concerns and ability to analyse information to make threshold recommendations.
• Training and experience in responding to safeguarding concerns for children and families.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Contact us

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment.

The job advert closes on Wednesday 21st June 2025 with interviews to follow.

We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.

Local Government Reorganisation

Surrey County Council is preparing for Local Government Reorganisation which will allow us to implement the Government led policy of devolution, which is all about giving more powers to local areas.

Currently, Surrey has a two-tier council system, with 11 district and borough councils and a county council, all responsible for different services. All these councils will be reorganised into a smaller number of new unitary councils which will come into effect in April 2027. At this point, this role will be transferred, with all existing terms and conditions intact into one of the new unitary councils.

Our Values
Our values are as important as our abilities and shape who we are as an organisation. Discover more about ourvalues .

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description. Our Life at Surrey handbook provides insights of the culture at Surrey and how as a valued employee, you can help shape our Council.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applicants where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.