Fostering Community Project Lead

West Sussex County Council; Littlehampton; Hybrid; GBP 46,000 - 49,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Local government pension scheme

Generous annual leave entitlement

Flexible and hybrid working options

Retail, travel and fitness discounts

Cycle to work scheme

Wellbeing hub and Employee Assistance

Job summary

West Sussex County Council is seeking a Fostering Community Lead to manage the Fostering Community Pilot across six South East authorities. You will oversee recruitment, onboarding and ongoing support for 20–35 workers, ensuring placements and safeguarding standards.

You will design training, provide supervision, monitor progress and manage risks. Travel across the region and collaboration with SE Sector Led Improvement Programme will be key elements of the role.

Qualifications

• Degree level qualification, or an equivalent level of experience in a related field.
• Significant experience of working within children’s services.
• Experience of ensuring the safeguarding of children, young people and/or vulnerable adults.
• Experience of providing effective liaison, facilitation, case management and appropriate supervision to a team.
• Experience in understanding and using statistical and performance data.
• To be child focussed and able to promote the aims of the fostering service.
• Ability to effectively identify, design and implement new processes and ways of working to improve project outcomes.
• Ability to communicate clearly, concisely and persuasively in writing and verbally with a range of audiences, including external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the coordination, delivery and ongoing development of the Fostering Community Pilot across six South East local authorities.
• Oversee recruitment, onboarding and support of 20–35 Fostering Community Workers.
• Design and deliver a structured training programme and provide ongoing professional support through supervision and peer learning.
• Monitor project progress, manage budgets, identify risks and develop solution-focused approaches to maximise impact.
• Collaborate with local authority partners and SESLIP to capture learning and inform future service development.
• Contribute to formal reporting and recommendations for future roll-out.

Skills

Fostering experience

Stakeholder liaison

Project coordination

Team leadership

Data analysis

Communication

Programme development

Education

Degree level qualification

Tools

Microsoft Word

Outlook

Databases

Job description

ABOUT US

Being part of the West Sussex Fostering and Kinship service involves joining a diverse group of people who need to work positively and collaboratively together to be the best they can be, as people, as carers, and as workers within our organisation.

Six local authorities across the Southeast have joined forces to launch an innovative pilot programme designed to address the growing challenge of foster carer recruitment and retention. This exciting initiative aims to create a supportive pathway into fostering for people who may have limited experience or who want to gain a deeper understanding of what fostering involves before making a longer-term commitment.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Salary: £45,529 to £48,738 per annum
Contract:Fixed Term – 18 Months
Working Pattern: Full-time – 37 hours per week
Location: Hybrid working at home, Horsham or Littlehampton with some travel across six local authorities in the Southeast of England (Southampton, Milton Keynes, Hampshire, East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton and Hove)

Interviews: 25th and 26th November 2026

Please note: On occasions, you will need to be able to travel independently to various locations around the southeast region to participating authorities.

At the heart of this project is the Fostering Community Lead, a pivotal role responsible for building engagement, nurturing relationships, and supporting prospective carers throughout their fostering journey. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a pioneering programme that has the potential to make a lasting difference to children, families, and communities across the region.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead the coordination, delivery and ongoing development of the Fostering Community Pilot across six South East local authorities. You will oversee the recruitment, onboarding and support of 20–35 Fostering Community Workers, working closely with local authority fostering teams to ensure successful placements, clear role boundaries and positive outcomes for foster families. You will also design and deliver a structured training programme and provide ongoing professional support through regular supervision and peer learning sessions.

As the central point of contact for the project, you will build strong relationships with fostering teams, Community Workers and partner organisations to ensure support is safe, effective and responsive. You will monitor project progress, manage budgets, identify risks and challenges, and develop creative, solution-focused approaches to maximise impact. The role also involves working collaboratively with local authority partners and the South East Sector Led Improvement Programme (SESLIP) to capture learning, share best practice and inform future service development.

You will play a key role in evaluating the success of the pilot, contributing to formal reporting and recommendations for future roll‑out. With a strong commitment to safeguarding and continuous improvement, you will ensure high standards of performance, compliance and record‑keeping, while maintaining a focus on delivering meaningful outcomes for children, young people, foster families and local communities.

What makes you the right fit?

We are looking for someone who has meaningful experience in children’s services, with fostering experience preferable. You should be passionate about improving outcomes for children in care and confident in developing new ways of working. Organised, proactive and resilient, you thrive in a fast‑paced environment, balancing multiple priorities while building effective relationships across agencies. An excellent communicator, you can provide supportive leadership to a developing workforce, champion diversity and inclusion, and maintain a commitment to continuous learning. You will also be confident using IT systems, including Microsoft Word, Outlook and databases, to support the successful delivery of this innovative project.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Degree level qualification, or an equivalent level of experience in a related field.
• Significant experience of working within children’s services.
• Experience of ensuring the safeguarding of children, young people and/or vulnerable adults.
• Experience of providing effective liaison, facilitation, case management and appropriate supervision to a team.
• Experience in understanding and using statistical and performance data.
• To be child focussed and able to promote the aims of the fostering service.
• Ability to effectively identify, design and implement new processes and ways of working to improve project outcomes.
• Ability to communicate clearly, concisely and persuasively in writing and verbally with a range of audiences, including external stakeholders.

For a full list of key skills, experience and qualification requirements please refer to the job description.

REWARDS AND 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.

In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity you will receive:

• Local government pension scheme
• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Flexible and hybrid working options
• Retail, travel and fitness discounts
• Cycle to work scheme
• Wellbeing hub and Employee Assistance Programme

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Benefits and Rewards page.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The reference number for this role is 390.

For an informal conversation or further information regarding the role, please contact one of the following people;

Kelly Wilkes (Head of Service – Fostering and Kinship) [e-mail]

Kerry Joad (Recruitment Specialist) [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, 5 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.

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.