Key Worker - Young Carers

Essex County Council; Colchester; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 29,000; Full time

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking a district-based Key Worker to support young carers and their families in Colchester. You will assess needs, develop support plans, and provide one-to-one and group assistance, aiming to raise achievement and life opportunities for young carers (0-18) and young adult carers (16-24).

You will collaborate with schools and partner services, promote participation, and ensure safeguarding. A driving licence and mobility are required.

Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE level or equivalent with a relevant professional qualification focussed on working with young people.
• Experience of working with children and/or young people.
• Ability to take responsibility for lone working and managing calendar/working hours.
• Flexible professional approach to meet needs of young people and service.
• A broad understanding of issues affecting young carers and young people.

Responsibilities

• Work with Essex young carers and their families to identify priorities, support needs, interventions and goals, developing and implementing strategies for securing these.
• Take up referrals and identify, understand and meet needs with emphasis on positive outcomes.
• Work with Essex young carers in line with the agreed model, ensuring the level of support meets identified need including one-to-one support, group support, phone support, advocacy, information, signposting, training and workshops.
• Promote self-awareness, confidence and involvement in service design and evaluating impact.
• Provide outreach and awareness activities to other agencies to support identification of young carers.
• Pro-actively work with other agencies to ensure ongoing support, especially at transitions, to enable continued education, employment or training.
• Support development of Essex young carers networks to ensure their voice is heard.
• Ensure ECC safeguarding policies are implemented.

Skills

GCSE level or equivalent

Young people experience

Lone working

Communication skills

Mobility / driving licence

Teamwork

Education

GCSE or equivalent with relevant qualification

Job description

Key Worker - Young Carers

Fixed Term, Full Time

£25,959 to £28,621 per annum

Location: Colchester

Working Style: Community-based worker

Closing Date: 10th September 2026

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

This is a fixed term contract / secondment opportunity for up to 9 months.

Do you have a passion for working with Young Carers, able to organise and manage your workload, good at communicating and able to work as part of a team.

We are seeking a district based Key Worker to work within our North East Essex quadrant team to support Young Carers (aged 0-18), young adult carers (16-24) and their families. You will provide individualised support in relation to their caring role, to raise achievement and aspirations and to allow them to have the same life chances as their peers.

Responsibilities:

• Work with Essex young carers and their families to identify priorities, support needs, interventions and goals, developing and implementing strategies for securing these. Using assessment and monitoring to motivate young carers and their families to achieve a shared and mutually agreed support plan/ contract
• Take up referrals and work with Essex young carers in order to identify, understand and meet their needs, with an emphasis on promoting positive outcomes.
• Work with Essex young carers in line with the agreed model, ensuring that the level of support meets the identified need including one to one support, peer group support, telephone support, advocacy, provision of information, signposting, training opportunities and workshops.
• Promote young carers self- awareness, confidence and encouraging their involvement in the design of their young carers service and supporting them in evaluating the impact of the service upon their own situation.
• Provide targeted outreach and awareness raising activities to other agencies to support the increased identification of Essex young carers including presentations, workshops and events.
• Pro-actively work in partnership with other agencies including educational settings and adult services to ensure ongoing support to young carers, particularly at points of transition and to enable Essex young carers to continue their education, employment or training.
• Support the development and facilitation of Essex young carers networks and forums to ensure that the voice of young carers is heard and that they are in a position to be able to shape and influence the service.
• Ensure that the Essex County Council policies, procedures and practice for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people are implemented.

Skills, Knowledge, and Experience:

• Educated to GCSE level or equivalent with a relevant professional qualification which is focussed on working with young people (e.g. LDSS, Social work, Youth and Community, Teacher, Careers) or equivalent or demonstrably equivalent experience.
• Experience of working with children and/or young people
• Ability to take responsibility for lone working and managing calendar/working hours.
• Flexible professional approach to meet needs of young people and service
• A broad understanding of the issues affecting young carers and young people, opportunities for learning and the services provided by the partner organisations.
• Experience of working with young people on a one to one basis and in groups.
• Excellent communication skills with experience in effective collaborative working with other agencies at a local level.
• Experience of successfully involving young people and families in decision-making processes.

To read more about us please visit: Education

Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we're committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We're committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We're also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you've secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email [e-mail]

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