Senior Practitioner (Falkirk Core and Cluster)

LinkLiving Limited; Shieldhill; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and annual reviews

35 days holiday per year (plus pro‑rta

Holiday purchase option

Sick & family friendly pay

Funding for SVQ qualifications

Pension scheme with employer contrib.

Salary exchange car leasing scheme

Life assurance

Healthcare cash plan

Employee assistance programme

Clothing vouchers

Annual flu vaccination

Credit union membership

Cycle to work scheme

Discounts on mobile plans

Job summary

LinkLiving is a Scottish health and wellbeing charity focused on helping people live better lives. The Falkirk Core & Cluster project supports care-experienced youth aged 16–21, with ten autonomous tenancies and a central hub for training and development.

The Senior Practitioner role requires trauma-informed, multi-agency collaboration, complex key-working, and mentoring of colleagues to empower service users toward independent living and responsible decision-making.

Qualifications

• Secondary education with English and Maths passes.
• SVQ Level 6/7 in Social Services & Healthcare; supervisory qualification.
• Experience with care-experienced youth and housing support.
• Ability to mentor and support colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Provide trauma-informed, complex key-working for care-experienced youth.
• Coordinate complex support arrangements and service delivery.
• Mentor less experienced colleagues through informal mentoring.
• Carry out assessments of new service users and review existing ones.
• Develop warm, empowering relationships and advocate with external agencies.

Skills

Compassionate

Relationship-building

Trauma-informed

Mentoring

Education

SVQ Social Services & Healthcare SCQF Level 6

SVQ Social Services & Healthcare SCQF Level 7

English & Maths at Standard Grade

Supervisory/Management qualification

Job description

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.

Our values

• 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
• Social cafes

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.

What’s in it for you?

• 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
• Life assurance scheme providing death in service benefits
• 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
• Annual flu vaccination
• Access to a credit union savings and borrowing scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Access to discounts on mobile airtime plans and much more!

For a full list of benefits available to employees, please see the following link – linkliving.org.uk/work-with-us

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

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 linkliving.org.uk