Family Support Keyworker

West Sussex County Council; Horsham; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 37,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer Pension 15%

Annual leave 27 days + Bank holidays 8

Job summary

West Sussex County Council is seeking a Family Support Key Worker to join the Horsham team, delivering intensive support to families with complex needs as part of the Early Help service.

You will work with whole families using a single-family plan, collaborating with multi-agency partners and may include out of hours work. A full driving licence is essential to travel across the county.

Qualifications

• Relevant qualification or demonstrable experience in providing support to people in stressful situations.
• Demonstrable experience of working with families in crisis to provide support.
• Experience interpreting families’ needs and helping access support services.
• Experience working in a team and with multi-agency partners.
• Experience of confidentiality and handling sensitive information.
• Experience applying legislation, policies and procedures to work.
• Valid and full driving licence with access to a vehicle.

Responsibilities

• Deliver intensive support to families with complex needs as part of the Early Help offer.
• Work with whole families using a single-family plan and agreed outcomes.
• Collaborate with multi-agency stakeholders and may work outside of office hours.

Job description

The Opportunity

Salary: £33,63 to £36,581 per annum

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Pattern: Full Time(37 hours per week)

Location: Horsham area

We are looking for a Family Support Key Worker to join our Horsham team, working within our local hub system to deliver high level support to families who have complex needs.

Family Support Keyworkers deliver intensive support to families in need as part of the Early Help offer, and this is achieved by working closely and intensively with whole families using a single-family plan, with agreed outcomes that the family and professionals will work towards. Through this system we address issues facing the whole family, improve outcomes for children and reduce dependence on high cost, specialist support services.

As a Family Support Keyworker you will engage with hard-to-reach families, working flexibly, creatively and in partnership with multi-agency stakeholders in order to meet the needs of the children and their families. This may include outside of office hours on occasions.

You will have good working knowledge of legislation and practice relating to children, alongside an understanding of current issues experienced by families. You will have demonstrable experience of working with children and families and will be able to evidence supporting those with complex needs, as well as experience of effective partnership working.

You must be able to travel throughout the county occasionally, including locations that are not always accessible by public transport, so a driving licence and access to a car is essential.

For more information on the Key Skills, Qualifications and/or Experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached. Please refer to the key skills in your cover letter as these will be used for shortlisting criteria.

About You

Key Skills (used for shortlisting):

1. Ability to listen to adults and children who have experienced trauma and have complex needs and to use excellent interpersonal skills in order to build an effective relationship with the families.
2. Analytical and judgmental skills in order to interpret complex situations and information from families to make assessments.
3. Excellent crisis management skills with the ability to recognize the individual needs of families.
4. Ability to create an environment where families are empowered to make positive change.
5. The ability to build rapport quickly with people participating in services and remain up to date with changes in best practice and available support mechanisms.
6. Ability to accurately record information in excel spreadsheets and web databases. Ability to use a variety of screening tools.

Qualifications and/or experience:

• Relevant qualification, degree level preferably, in a relevant subject, or demonstrable experience in a paid or unpaid capacity of providing support to people in stressful and difficult situations.
• Demonstrable experience of working with families in crisis in order to provide support, especially those with complex and chronic difficulties.
• Experience of interpreting families’ needs and assisting families to access appropriate support services.
• Experience of working in a team environment and multi-agency working.
• Experience of working within a frame of confidentiality.
• Experience of applying relevant legislation, policies and procedures to individual pieces of work.
• Valid and full driving licence and access to a vehicle/ability to travel around the county independently.

About Us

West Sussex County Council is a diverse organisation that provides services to more than 850,000 residents every day. Through our Early Help Service, we will work with children, families, and young people to help ensure that every person is supported to achieve his or her potential. The foundations for mental health, emotional control, doing well in education and parenting ability are all set in place in the early years; the home surroundings, family life and parenting are all important factors in determining positive outcomes for children as they grow and develop.

For more information, please visit our WSCC Health and Social Care section of our website.

Benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance, and are rewarded for the work they do.

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including the following:

Employer Pension Contribution: 15% (this alters per annum on the 1 April each year).

Annual leave: 27 days holiday + Bank holidays =35days.

The reference number for this role is 316.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Sarah Tiley at [e-mail].

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.

This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, five years referencing, and an occupational health check.

Equity, inclusion, and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application please contact [e-mail].

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.