Keyworker Lead

North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust; Stoke-on-Trent; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Step into Health scheme

Job summary

North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust is recruiting for a Band 7 Keyworker Lead within the Children and Young Persons Keyworker Team at Dragon Square. This permanent, full-time role centers on leading the non-clinical practice, mentoring staff, coordinating operational management, and advancing multi-agency collaboration to improve outcomes for children and families.

You will be accountable for case prioritisation, innovative solutions using personal budgets, and driving service

Qualifications

• Masters level or equivalent professionally qualified practitioner, registered with a professional body: Social Worker, RMN and/or RNLD, Clinical/Counselling/Educational Psychologist, Teacher, Family Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Child Psychotherapist or Behaviour Analyst/Positive Behaviour Practitioner.
• NMC, HCPC or Social Worker England registration.
• Positive behaviour support training certificate.

Responsibilities

• Supervise the non-clinical practice of the keyworking team, mentoring, upskilling and improving quality of service.
• Provide operational management for team members and hub functions; allocate cases and prioritise workloads.
• Undertake own keyworking caseload including highly complex cases; co-work with keyworkers to develop practice.
• Lead on implementing approaches used within the keyworking function.
• Identify gaps in multi-agency working and inform system-wide commissioning and workforce development.
• Convene multi-agency meetings and develop needs-based action plans with timescales.

Skills

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Social prescribing

Education

Masters level

Professional registration

Job description

Go back North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust

Keyworker Lead

The closing date is 29 September 2026

A full-time opportunity for a Band 7 Keyworker Lead for the Children's and Young Persons Keyworker Team based at Dragon Square.

This exciting opportunity has risen for a permanent role as part of a key worker team.

The Keyworker is part of the NHS long term plan. The vision is for all children and young people with learning disabilities and/or autism to have a designated key worker by end 2026/27. Initially the priority will be for all children and young people currently in hospital to have a key worker, then for children and young people who are at risk of going into hospital (red/amber on the Dynamic Support Registers), and with evaluation of the pilot, the aim will be to develop keyworking for all children and young people with learning disabilities and/or autism by end 2026/27.

The 0-25 year's model aims to support reduction of the number of children in crisis and Tier 4 admissions, support timely assessments/formulations, provide children and families with the support that they need at the right time, and improve transitions and quality of life, resulting in happy children and parents.

A key function will be to empower families and support them with navigating barriers across multiple services and organisations to effectively access the right support from the system. Our keyworking model is about a set of functions introduced to the system via the keyworking role, in addition to the current roles in place to support children, young people and their families.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will supervise the non-clinical practice of the keyworking team, especially with regard to the most complex cases - mentoring, upskilling, co-working - and lead on improving practice and quality of service within the keyworking team. They will provide operational management for team members and the hub functions, be responsible for case prioritisation and allocation to the team and drive the implementation of appropriate approaches to be used within the keyworking function.

They will carry their own keyworking caseload including highly complex cases, and co-working with keyworkers to support complex case practice development. They will lead by example, developing creative solutions to situations such as effective use of personal budgets.

They will identify gaps in and barriers to effective multi-agency working for the CYP and their families, challenging these and using information to inform system wide commissioning and workforce development.

This person needs to be highly experienced with a wide breadth of experience and relevant qualities, passion and vision to be effective in this pivotal role.

About us

As a Trust we remain bold and ambitious with plans for both service and system collaborative transformation over the coming years to improve the health and wellbeing of our local people through high quality care.

We pride ourselves onensuring our team has their wellbeing put first and as such provide a range of wellness opportunities including flexible working.

We are committed to the Greener NHS national ambition to becoming the world's first 'carbon net zero' national health system by 2045 (Greener NHS (england.nhs.uk). As part of this, sustainability is embedded in our strategy as one of our four key enablers. In order to deliver on this commitment, we recognise that we need a workforce that is as passionate as we are about achieving these goals, for the benefit of our service users, workforce, local communities and the planet alike.

The Trust is committed to ensuring that a diverse workforce is representative and inclusive at all levels. We would very much welcome applications from all under-represented groups including women, people with disabilities, people from global majority backgrounds, and those from the lesbian, gay, bi and trans communities.

The Trust is committed to the Step into Health scheme and actively encourages applicants from the Armed Forces Communities to apply.

Job responsibilities

Team budget management responsibilities to include signing off time sheets, expenses and ordering equipment needed for the effective delivery of the service

Supporting the Professional Lead with regards to managing the keyworker team budget

Provide Supervision to Keyworkers, support keyworkers with more complex cases and day to day operational management of keyworkers.

To increase the skills of front-line professionals, work alongside them and challenge the system.

To co-produce personalised pen pictures which are strengths based.

To work with partners in the area of Integrated Personal Budgets / Personal Health Budgets to develop creative solutions to individual needs.

Identify and report on themes and gaps in system wide service/provision, to inform commissioning intentions and wider workforce development.

To convene and chair multi-agency meetings and produce a needs and outcomes based Action Plan with timescales or needs and or update the CETR Action Plan.

To participate in the Dynamic at Risk Register as required, and promote usage of the DSR referral form and RAG rating system.

Engage with CYP and their families/carers and support the systems understanding of individual families, demonstrating resilience to support families.

Able to demonstrate the high level of communication skills required to deal with highly complex cases, or highly sensitive or contentious issues, able to communicate using sensitivity in highly emotional situations and overcome barriers such as language, impairment or hostility

Appreciate and learn from peoples stories and articulate this to inform service development and redesign.

Increase local community support to families, which will in turn reduce the demand on statutory services.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Masters level or equivalent professionally qualified practitioner, registered with a professional body: Social Worker, RMN and or RNLD, Clinical/Counselling/Educational Psychologist, Teacher, Family Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Child Psychotherapist or Behaviour Analyst/Positive Behaviour Practitioner.
• NMC, HCPC or Social Worker England registration
• Positive behaviour support training certificate

Experience

• Experience of a range of Social Prescribing
• Experience of working with children and/or young people age 12 plus with learning disability, autism or both and complex needs and their families.
• Managing and supporting complex cases that may be experiencing or approaching crisis

Knowledge

• Comprehensive knowledge of children's and related legislation, DOH guidance, including Children Act 1989 and 2004, disability and carer's legislation, Working Together, Assessment Framework, Adoption and Children Act 2002, Leaving Care Act 2000, Positive and Proactive Care April 2014.
• Legislative knowledge and awareness of locally available provision, as well as how to apply in practice.
• Knowledge of child development, Autism, Learning disabilities, attachment and trauma, and of personalised and coproduced care planning.
• Strong understanding of children's mental health and human rights.
• Strong, holistic understanding of the education, health and care system to fulfil Keyworking function of holding services to account
• Ability to develop effective collaborative working across a dispersed area
• Skills in influencing positive partnership working
• Ability to develop high quality service delivery
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust