Outreach Personal Advisor

The Methodist Church in Britain; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

The Worcestershire County Council Outreach Service is seeking an Outreach Personal Advisor to support looked after children aged 16–18 across the county. The role involves helping young people set goals, arrange in‑house placements, and provide practical and emotional support.

The post requires full driving licence, access to a car, and willingness to travel; on-call and sleep‑in duties apply. Permanent or fixed‑term, 37 hours per week.

Qualifications

• Must be able to work under pressure in emotionally charged situations.
• Able to de-escalate and provide emotional support.
• Work on own initiative with proactive diary and time management.
• Team player who supports colleagues and multi‑agency partners.
• Flexible to meet service needs and shift patterns.

Responsibilities

• Support looked after children aged 16 to 18 to build adulthood skills and set goals.
• Manage and place young people in in‑house county placements.
• Provide day‑to‑day practical support, guidance and advice.
• De-escalate situations and provide emotional support to young people.
• Collaborate with multi‑agency teams and attend meetings with professionals.
• Ensure accommodation is maintained to an excellent standard and oversee upkeep.
• Carry out routine checks of accommodation.
• Keep accurate records of key work, risk assessments and incidents.
• Prepare regular reports for management and professionals.
• Advocate for young people’s rights within the organisation and community.
• Address health and safety concerns confidently and effectively.
• Keep up to date with legislation and training needs.

Skills

Resilience

De-escalation

Time management

Team player

Flexibility

Job description

Outreach Personal Advisor in the Outreach Service of Worcestershire County Council's Children's Safeguarding department, supporting children looked after aged 16 to 18. The work centres on helping young people build the skills to move into adulthood, setting their goals and managing their placements in the council's in-house accommodation. The post is permanent or fixed-term at 37 hours a week, with mandatory on-call, sleep-in and rota weekend working, plus county-wide travel. Applicants need a full driving licence and a car for independent travel.

What the job involves

• Support young people aged 16 to 18 who are looked after to build the skills for adulthood, and help them set goals and aspirations
• Manage and place young people in the council's in-house placements across the county
• Provide day-to-day practical support, advice and guidance
• De-escalate situations and give emotional support to young people
• Work collaboratively with the multi-agency team around each young person and attend meetings with wider professionals
• Ensure living accommodation is maintained to an excellent standard, overseeing cleaning and maintenance
• Carry out routine checks of accommodation
• Keep accurate, up-to-date records of key work sessions, risk assessments, support plans and incidents
• Prepare regular reports for management and other professionals
• Advocate for the rights and interests of young people within the organisation and their community
• Address identified health and safety concerns confidently and effectively
• Keep up to date with current legislation and training needs

Skills & knowledge

• Resilience to work under pressure and in emotionally charged situations
• Ability to de-escalate situations and provide emotional support
• Working on own initiative, managing own diary and time proactively
• Team player
• Flexibility to meet the needs of the service

Checks & eligibility

• Full driving licence
• Access to a car to travel independently

Other

• Willingness to travel across the county
• Willingness to carry out mandatory on-call and sleep-in duties
• Willingness to work weekends on a rota basis