Family Help Lead Practitioner

Portsmouth City Council; London Borough of Southwark; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Job summary

Portsmouth City Council is seeking a Family Help Lead Practitioner to act as the main contact for children, young people and families requiring support through the Family Help service, delivering evidence-based interventions and practical support.

The role requires trauma-informed, restorative approaches, managing caseloads, contributing to multi-agency meetings, safeguarding processes, and maintaining accurate records, with hybrid working and the opportunity to discuss the role with the hiring

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children and families within a multi-agency environment.
• Understanding of child development and safeguarding procedures.
• Ability to engage families and provide professional challenge when needed.

Responsibilities

• Main point of contact for children, young people and families through the Family Help service.
• Deliver evidence-based interventions and provide practical and emotional support.
• Lead or contribute to Team Around the Family meetings and safeguarding processes.
• Maintain accurate case records and reports, using restorative and trauma-informed approaches.

Skills

Multi-agency collaboration

Child development knowledge

Safeguarding procedures

Evidence-based interventions

Communication skills

Caseload management

Job description

About Family Help

Family Help is our way of working that brings together Targeted Early Help and Child in Need support into a single, seamless offer. It replaces the traditional divide between early help and statutory services, making it easier for families to access support without stigma or duplication.

The Role

As a Family Help Lead Practitioner, you will be the main point of contact for children, young people and families who require support through the Family Help service. You will work directly with families to understand their strengths, identify areas where support is needed and help them achieve positive, sustainable change. You will deliver evidence-based interventions and provide practical and emotional support to families experiencing a range of challenges, including parenting difficulties, mental health concerns, domestic abuse, exploitation and financial hardship. Through building trusting relationships and promoting family-led solutions, you will empower families to develop resilience, strengthen support networks and improve outcomes for their children.

The role also involves leading or contributing to Team Around the Family meetings, responding to emerging risks, supporting safeguarding processes and maintaining accurate case records and reports. You will be expected to work flexibly, using restorative and trauma-informed approaches to support families during both routine and crisis situations, helping to prevent issues from escalating and enabling children to remain safely within their family networks wherever possible.

The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for someone who has experience of working with children and families within a multi-agency environment and who understands child development, safeguarding procedures and evidence-based interventions. You will be a confident and compassionate practitioner who can build strong relationships with children, young people and families, including in challenging or crisis situations. You will be able to engage families in decisions that affect them, work creatively to overcome barriers and provide appropriate professional challenge when needed.

Strong communication and organisational skills are essential, together with the ability to manage a caseload, maintain accurate records and prepare clear reports. You will need to remain calm under pressure, maintain confidentiality and demonstrate a good understanding of data protection and safeguarding.

Experience of delivering whole-family approaches and coordinating multi-agency Family Help plans would be desirable.

Additional Information

Hybrid working arrangements: Minimum of 3 days in the office

Informal Enquiries: If you would like to discuss this role in more detail with the hiring manager, please contact Vicky Williams - [e-mail]

Interview details

Interviews will be held Monday 30th November & Tuesday 1st December 2026

About Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act. We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focussed. These values set out how we can contribute to the success of the council and our own success as individuals.

Learn more about our values and behaviours.

Application process

We anonymise applications during application & shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. As part of your application, we ask that you complete a personal statement, this statement is crucial and is where you must demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the job against each of the points described in the 'Who is the Person' points on the Job Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience. We strongly encourage candidates to add all Career and Education History to your application, as CVs are not reviewed as part of the shortlisting process.

We are a disability confident employer and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard. More information can be found at Equality, diversity and inclusion - Careers portal.

We are committed to offering an interview to all those candidates that qualify under our corporate commitments and meet the minimum criteria, however, for roles that receive a large number of applications, we will select the candidates that best meet the minimum criteria.

You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it.

Safeguarding

Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership safer recruitment procedures.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) at Standard/Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Please read the relevant DBS privacy notice before submitting any information.