Senior Keyworker (Project Worker 2)

BARNARDO'S; Greater Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 29,000 - 31,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 26 days+

Buy up to 5 extra days

Sick pay from day 1

Cycle2work scheme

Season ticket loans

Store discount 20%

Health cash plan option

Employee assistance program 24/7

Learning and development opportunities

Job summary

Barnardo's Greater Manchester is seeking three Senior Keyworkers (PW2) on a fixed-term contract to support the Future Focus pilot across Greater Manchester. The role involves acting as a named keyworker for young people with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism, engaging with clinicians, mapping pathways, and identifying barriers to care.

You will travel across Greater Manchester, work across agencies, and contribute to early intervention strategies to reduce inpatient admissions while delivering

Qualifications

• Experience supporting children and young people with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism.
• Strong understanding of systems and services for this group.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building across agencies.

Responsibilities

• Support young people to engage with clinicians in assessments, reviews and decisions.
• Act as a named keyworker assisting navigation and informed decisions.
• Develop understanding of pathways into inpatient admission.
• Map lived experiences before, during and after hospital admission.
• Identify gaps, risks and system barriers.
• Capture views of young people and families regarding support received.

Skills

Young people with LDA/Autism

Community-based support

Communication skills

Interagency collaboration

Travel across GM

Job description

Greater Manchester Keyworker Service

Senior Keyworker (PW2) Secondments x 3

Greater Manchester Keyworker Service

Senior Keyworker (PW2) x 3

The Greater Manchester Keyworker Service is seeking to recruit three Senior Keyworkers (PW2) on a fixed12-month contract to support Future Focus, a new time-limited pilot programme.

Future Focus aims to reduce the number of 16 to 25-year-olds with a Learning Disability and/or Autism (LDA) who are admitted to mental health inpatient beds and, where admission has occurred, support a timely, safe, and effective return to community-based care.

The successful candidates will contribute to the pilot by:

• Supporting young people to engage with clinicians in clinical assessments, reviews, and decision-making processes where appropriate.
• Being a named keyworker for young people, supporting navigation and informed decision making.
• Developing a detailed understanding of individual pathways into inpatient admission.
• Mapping the lived experiences of young people before, during, and following hospital admission.
• Identifying common themes, risks, service gaps, and system barriers.
• Capturing the views and experiences of young people and their families regarding the support they have received across the system.
• Identifying opportunities for early intervention and preventative approaches to reduce the likelihood of admission.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Extensive knowledge and experience of supporting children and young people with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism, particularly those at risk of hospital admission or currently receiving inpatient care.
• A strong understanding of the systems, pathways, and services involved in supporting this group of young people.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across agencies and services.
• A commitment to improving outcomes for young people and their families through person-centred, strengths-based approaches.
• A car available for work with business insurance. Please note this role will include substantial travel across Greater Manchester. You will be based on one of our 3 offices dependent upon your home location.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to an innovative pilot and help shape future approaches to supporting young people with LDA across Greater Manchester and beyond.

We appreciate our colleagues' dedication and their commitment to delivering excellence in the vital work we do, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values.

We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

We are committed to a rounded colleague experience with an approach to both pay and rewards that are fair, attractive, and progressive. This is in support of our strategic ambition to ensure Barnardo's is a place everyone can belong, grow and thrive.

The salary range advertised is in line withour pay principles, for consistency and fairness while recognising the skills and experience applicants bring to the role. Appointing salaries can be discussed further at appointment stage; we do seek to appoint within this range always exercising responsible stewardship.

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

Barnardo's require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)

• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave scheme
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

• Reference number:23696
• Job Title:Senior Keyworker (Project Worker 2)
• Location:all 10 boroughs of GM
• Locality:Greater Manchester
• Contract type:Fixed term
• End date:31.10.2027
• Hours:37 hours, includes some evenings and occasional weekend work
• Salary:£28,687.00 - £30,737.00
• Closing Date:11 October 2026
• Interview Date:02.10.26

Additional Info

• Information Sheet for Applicants Applying for Positions Working with Children and Vulnerable Adults (updated July 2021).pdf (107.00 KB)
• Barnardo's Workplace Offer Visual Summary.pdf (27.58 KB)
• Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Policy Dec 2024.pdf (164.07 KB)
• Project Worker 2 - Job Description and Person Specification.pdf (262.63 KB)