Family Group Conference Facilitator

St Helens Council; St Helens; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

St Helens Borough Council is seeking a full‑time Family Group Conference Facilitator to support vulnerable children and families within the FaST Service. The role focuses on independent family mediation, risk assessment, and collaborative planning with partner agencies.

Candidates should have experience with complex needs, strong record-keeping, and report writing, with calm communication in diverse settings.

Qualifications

• Experience of providing services to children and/or families with complex needs.
• Good record-keeping skills and the ability to construct coherent reports.
• Strong mediation/ negotiation skills and ability to work with other professionals.
• Ability to communicate with people from diverse backgrounds and life situations.

Responsibilities

• Create a supportive environment for families to establish their own plan to remain a family.
• Work in partnership with families and other agencies to address complex issues.
• Attend the St Helens office regularly and travel around the borough as required.

Skills

Mediation

Record-keeping

Report writing

Communication

Job description

We are St Helens Borough Council

Located in the heart of the Northwest close to Liverpool, Manchester and Lancashire, St Helens is a modernising Council which is passionate and ambitious for the children and families we support, our communities and our workforce. As part of our transformation journey, we continue to build on our progress and put children firmly at the centre of our care. We can only do this because of our highly valued, skilled, and supported workforce.

Making a Difference as a Family Group Conference Facilitator.

We are seeking to recruit one full‑time Family Group Conference Facilitator to an existing stable and experienced team, within the Families Staying Together (FaST) Service. The service aim is to support the most vulnerable children and families in St Helens and work closely with all teams within Children’s Services, supporting those children at risk of becoming a Child We Look After and those children who are a Child We Look After, who could be reunified home. The team takes a holistic approach to support families where crime, anti‑social behaviour, school attendance, domestic violence, substance misuse.

As A Family Group Conference Facilitator you will be responsible for creating a supportive environment for families to come together to establish their own plan to provide them with the best opportunity of remaining a family and reducing the risk to the children and families. Offering an independent mechanism to discuss the risks and strengths to build on and review, you will be a valued member of the Families Staying Together Service. The focus of this role is to work in partnership with families and other agencies to identify and address the often complex issues that families face and reduce the risk of issues and problems escalating.

The work is sometimes emotionally demanding, but always rewarding. Flexible, positive and willing to learn, you'll be capable of communicating with people from all walks of life in a wide range of situations, remaining calm in a crisis and adapting to constantly changing situations and priorities.

To be successful in this role, experience of providing services to children and/or families with complex needs is essential, along with good record‑keeping skills, the ability to construct coherent reports and contribute to and complete assessments as required. Strong mediation/negotiation skills and the ability to work in an inclusive and non‑discriminatory manner is a must as is working effectively with other professionals and organisations.

This Authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This is an exciting opportunity for you to utilise existing skills and develop new ones. You will receive continuous support, development, and career progression opportunities on your journey with us. The posts include some home working but will require you to regularly attend the St Helens office and travel around the St Helens and surrounding areas.

For an informal discussion please contact Sue Kenrick, Family Group Conference Manager [e-mail] / 07719009673.

St Helens is a great place to work so why not visit our Children’s Services web page https://socialcarerecruitment.sthelens.gov.uk/ to see what our colleagues have to say and discover our full range of in work benefits.

Making a Difference

Whatever stage of your career, working in the public sector puts you at the heart of communities. Our workforce provides services to our resident's day in and day out, making a positive impact on people’s lives. We could not do this without the dedication, professionalism and strength of our workforce. There are so many reasons to choose to work at St Helens Council including the fantastic range of employee benefits and rewards on offer. St Helens Borough Council | Jobs | Search here for your perfect career - Home Page

As a St Helens Council employee, you'll be enrolled in the Merseyside Pension Fund Pension Scheme. Use the calculator to see what your annual pension could be worth based on your salary and length of service Try the calculator

Roles That Matter

Full Job Description & Person Specification Documents are included with this advert.

This is an Enhanced Disclosure post

Employees can regularly work away from Council workspaces (including home or other locations), alongside required office-based working. The balance between remote and office-based working is determined at service level based on operational need, however, there has been a minimum specification that staff will work at least 2 days from an office-based location.

St Helens Council is officially recognised as one of the region’s leading fair employers, achieving accredited status under the Liverpool City Combined Authority Fair Employment Charter. The Charter recognises the ongoing commitment to fair pay, secure work, training & progression & staff well‑being whilst celebrating employers who go above and beyond for their workforce providing an inclusive and supportive environment.

Equality & Diversity

We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds, who share our values, our commitment to inclusion, and who will help us on our journey to transform our organisation.

The Council guarantees an interview to disabled applicants who demonstrate that they meet the essential criteria for the job, as detailed on the Person Specification, and will, for qualifying disabled candidates, make reasonable adjustments within selection.

All Council employees are required to abide by the ethical standards embodied by the 7 Nolan Principles.