Senior Practitioner (Falkirk Core and Cluster)

LinkLiving Limited; Falkirk; On-site; GBP 29,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

35 days holiday per year

Pension scheme

Healthcare cash plan

Job summary

LinkLiving is seeking a Senior Practitioner for the Falkirk Core & Cluster service to support care-experienced young people with trauma-informed approaches. You will lead complex key-working, coordinate multi-agency arrangements, and mentor junior staff to maintain high-quality practice.

The role requires experience in housing support, welfare rights and advocacy, with a commitment to the service’s values of empathy, respect, integrity and care.

Qualifications

• Secondary education with passes in English and Maths.
• SVQ Social Services and Healthcare SCQF Level 6 achieved or working towards Level 7.
• Willingness to achieve supervisory/management qualification.

Responsibilities

• Provide trauma-informed key-working support to care-experienced young people.
• Coordinate complex support arrangements and multi-agency work.
• Lead and mentor less experienced colleagues within the service.
• Establish respectful, empowering relationships with service users.
• Assess new service users and review existing ones regularly.
• Advocate for service users with other agencies to safeguard rights.

Skills

Social care experience

Housing support

Welfare rights

Relationship-building

Education

SVQ Social Services and Healthcare SCQF Level 6

SVQ Social Services and Healthcare SCQF Level 7

Supervisory/management qualification

Job description

Senior Practitioner (Falkirk Core and Cluster)

The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.

Job details

Salary £29,249 - £32,093 per annum.Salary will be dependent on skills and experience.

Contractual hours 37.5

Basis Full Time

Region LinkLiving

Package Monday to Friday, between the hours of 8am to 6pm, with the need to be flexible for the needs of the service).

Job title: Senior Practitioner (Falkirk Core and Cluster)

Location: This post is based at LinkLiving’s Falkirk Core and Cluster Service.

Hours of Work: 37.5 per week (Monday to Friday, between the hours of 8am to 6pm, with the need to be flexible for the needs of the service)

Are you passionate about helping people to live a better life? Do you want to work for a charity where your health and wellbeing matter just as much as the people you support? Do you want to be part of a trauma-informed team where you will be supported to develop creative and flexible ways of working?

At LinkLiving, our values and people are at the heart of everything we do including how we recruit our staff. It is important for us to find people who share our values, which are:

• Empathy (listen to and understand an individual’s needs and circumstances)
• Respect (treat others the way they wish to be treated)
• Integrity (be honest and have strong moral principles)
• Caring (show kindness and concern for others)

LinkLiving is a Scottish health and wellbeing charity that supports people to manage or overcome the effects of negative life experiences (including trauma, mental health challenges, poverty and inequality) so that they can build on their strengths and aspirations in order to live their best possible lives. We support people through a range of models including:

• Personal development and employability programmes
• Self-help coaching
• Supported accommodation
• Care at home
• Housing support
• Befriending

The Service

The Falkirk Core & Cluster project supports young people aged 16 to 21 who have experienced care or are arriving in Falkirk through the National Transfer Scheme. The goal is to help them develop the skills necessary for successful independent living while also providing access to employment, training, and educational opportunities. In collaboration with Link Housing Association, we offer a supported core and cluster housing initiative. This project features ten independent tenancies situated around a central hub/training flat, where our small but dedicated team delivers flexible, individually tailored support. The project also provides ongoing transition and outreach support to young people in their own tenancies.

The Job

As a senior practitioner, you will be skilled and experienced in working with care-experienced young people. Taking a trauma-informed approach, you will be responsible for complex and varied key-working issues, co-ordination of complex support arrangements and supporting the leadership of the service. You will use your extensive knowledge and experience to provide support and guidance to less experienced colleagues through informal mentoring (where relevant).

You will have extensive experience in multi-agency working, housing support systems and the support of care experienced young people which you will use to establish and maintain respectful and empowering relationships with service users so that they feel valued and supported and in control of their own lives. You will be responsible for carrying out assessments of new service users and for reviewing existing service users on a regular basis.

In your role you will offer practical, emotional and social support to care experienced young people within the project, assisting them to develop the independent living skills necessary for future tenancy sustainment. You will need to develop warm and effective relationships with the young people supporting them to cope with their lives in a positive and planned way so that they can make informed choices and take responsibility for their actions, advocating for them with a range of other agencies to ensure their rights are upheld at all times.

About You

We are looking for a compassionate and dedicated individual with the skills and passion to make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. You should have a general standard of secondary education, including passes in English and Maths at Standard Grade level, and a SVQ Social Services and Healthcare SCQF Level 6 and be willing to work towards qualifications recognised by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). These include an and an SVQ Social Services and Healthcare SCQF Level 7, alongside a suitable supervisory or management qualification, if not already attained.

You will bring extensive knowledge and experience in social care, housing issues, welfare rights, benefits, and procedures, alongside a solid understanding of housing support and care-at-home systems. Experience working with diverse service user groups, particularly care-experienced young people, is essential, as is an understanding of the challenges faced by marginalised and excluded individuals.

We value a non-judgmental attitude and the ability to recognise and nurture the unique gifts of others. You should have strong relationship-building skills, a commitment to supporting people, and sound decision-making abilities. Sensitivity to emotional and social needs is crucial, as is a proactive and reflective approach to learning and self-improvement.

You will also need proficiency in using technology to maintain and update records, along with the ability to stay informed about relevant practices, policies, and legislation. Your dedication to embracing diversity and challenging exclusive attitudes will make you an asset to the team.

If you are ready to bring your expertise, compassion, and commitment to this role, we would love to hear from you.

For a comprehensive list of the essential and desirable criteria required for this post, please refer to the Job Specification in the Job information Pack above.

What’s in it for you?

The benefits of being a LinkLiving employee (subject to the policies and benefit terms and conditions) include:

• Competitive salary, reviewed annually, and opportunity for annual performance related salary increases and discretionary non-consolidated pay awards, subject to terms of the scheme
• 35 days’ holiday per year (inclusive of public holidays) pro rata plus additional 3 days pro rata after 3 years’ service
• opportunity to buy and sell holiday
• enhanced company sick and family friendly pay
• access to paid SVQ qualifications and a wide range of learning and development opportunities
• funded Disclosure Scotland and Scottish Social Services Council memberships
• defined contribution pension scheme with generous employer contributions plus salary exchange and additional voluntary contribution options
• access to a Salary Exchange car leasing scheme, subject to the terms of the scheme
• healthcare cash plan for employees (and dependents) to support health and wellbeing plus discounts on shopping, restaurants, and other services
• employee assistance programme for employees and their immediate household dependants to support health, mental and financial well-being
• access to purchase annual corporate clothing vouchers
• access to a credit union savings and borrowing scheme

Successful applicants will be required to apply for registration with SSSC within 3 months of their start date and be registeredwithin 6 months.

This role is subject to PVG membership under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020. Individuals who are barred from working with children or protected adults will not be considered for this position. Link will meet the cost of any new PVG scheme membership or membership update.

Further Information

Interested? If you have any questions about the role, please email [e-mail] and we can arrange for someone from the service to call you for an informal chat.

To find out more about what LinkLiving do and to view the generous pay and benefits package, please visit our website at https://www.linkliving.org.uk

Closing Date: 23:59 on Wednesday 28 October 2026

Interview Date: Interviews are being held on Thursday 05 November 2026 in Falkirk

We aim at all times to recruit the person who is most suited to the job and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and from anyone who shares our commitment to inclusion. Our interview locations have step free or level access therefore may be accessible to applicants using mobility equipment such as wheelchairs and walking equipment however, if you have any specific access requirements, please let us know and we will be happy to provide more information and/or support.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we will interview all disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria.