Senior Support Worker – D-BIT, Connecting and Uniting Families

Essex County Council; Chelmsford; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking a Senior Support Worker for the D-BIT Connecting and Uniting Families team in Chelmsford. The role focuses on intensive family support and reunification planning, with a countywide remit.

You will work predominantly in family homes and communities, supporting children and families, sometimes during evenings or Saturdays to fit family needs. A fixed-term or secondment opportunity provides skill development in systemic and trauma-informed practices.

Qualifications

• Educated to NVQ/BTEC Level 3 or equivalent experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and in-depth knowledge in relevant professional area.
• Experience of building strong, effective relationships with children and families in times of challenge and crisis.
• Experience of observing, facilitating and reporting on contact.
• Experience of undertaking direct, activity-based work with children and families where required.
• Knowledge of legislative and policy guidance applicable within Social Care settings.
• Proven track record of working with partners and external agencies.
• A certificate in First Aid and/or knowledge of Sign Language is desirable in this role.

Responsibilities

• Accountabilities: support social workers and occupational therapists to implement and monitor care plans, and write reports for interventions.
• Maintain high standards of professional practice contributing to continuous improvement.
• Highlight issues and implement plans to safeguard a child.
• Build strong relationships with service users, providing practical advice and support.
• Work collaboratively with internal and external agencies to improve outcomes for children and families.
• Provide information and advice regarding involvement/accessing third party agencies.
• Participate in meetings, reviews, case conferences and court hearings.
• Write effective reports for professional meetings, forums and court.

Skills

NVQ/BTEC Level 3

CPD

Family relationships

Contact reporting

Direct family work

Legislation knowledge

Agency partnerships

First Aid

Sign Language

Education

NVQ/BTEC Level 3 or equivalent

Job description

About The Role

Senior Support Worker – D-BIT, Connecting and Uniting Families

Fixed Term, Full Time

£26,284 to £33,256 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Community-based worker

An exciting opportunity has risen for a Senior Support Worker to join the Divisional Based Intervention Teams (D-BIT) Connecting and Uniting Families (over 10’s) Team on a 12-month fixed term or secondment opportunity.

The Connecting and Uniting Families Team (based within the D-BIT Service) is a secondary team working in partnership with front line children’s services, devising robust and structured connecting/reunification plans and supporting families intensively for a period of up to 18 months.

The team is based in Chelmsford and provides a countywide response to requests for bespoke connecting and reunification activity. Assigned caseloads are limited, reflecting our commitment to bespoke, relevant, intensive family support activity. Staff work cohesively together, providing support to families as a team with the capacity to flex and adapt as required to support our activity with families referred to the service.

This role will also encompass our Staying Close work, working with young people in, and leaving care up to the age of 25 years, supporting them to connect and or unite with their families where appropriate. Developing and strengthening these relationships aims to provide them with the ongoing connection, support and sense of belonging which will aid their transition into adulthood and beyond.

Working arrangements are flexible, with acknowledgement that a percentage of family- based activity is likely to need to take place outside of usual working hours.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Children & Families

Please take a look at our ‘No Magic’ Children & Families video

As a Senior Support Worker joining the team you will work flexibly with children and their families, most within their homes and in their communities. We work with families at times that are good for them, so you would likely find yourself undertaking a considerable amount of work with families in their homes in the afternoons and early evenings. You may be required to work occasional times on Saturdays where it is a best fit for families. You will have the opportunity throughout this secondment to develop multiple skills and knowledge, through developing your Systemic, Trauma Informed and Solution Focused practice.

Accountabilities

• Responsible for supporting social workers and occupational therapists to implement and monitor care plans, and write reports where required, which deliver interventions for children and families.
• Responsible for maintaining high standards of professional practice which contribute to continuous improvement across the service.
• Responsible for highlighting issues and implementing plans to safeguard a child.
• Building strong, effective relationships with the service users, providing practical advice and support, where necessary and deemed appropriate; enabling children and families to sustain change and function effectively within the community.
• Work collaboratively across the service, with internal and external professional partner agencies, to ensure improved outcomes for children and families.
• Provide information and advice in relation to involvement/accessing of third party agencies relevant to the needs of the service user (e.g. benefits agencies, immigration and housing).
• Participate in meetings, reviews, case conferences and court hearings to provide information, insight and evidence.
• Writing effective reports which could be used in professional meetings, forums and court.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Educated to NVQ/BTEC Level 3 or equivalent experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and in-depth knowledge in relevant professional area.
• Experience of building strong, effective relationships with children and families in times of challenge and crisis.
• Experience of observing, facilitating and reporting on contact.
• Experience of undertaking direct, activity-based work with children and families where required.
• Knowledge and understanding of the issues impacting children, young people and families, leading them to require support.
• Knowledge of legislative and policy guidance applicable within Social Care settings.
• Proven track record of working with partners and external agencies.
• A certificate in First Aid and/or knowledge of Sign Language is desirable in this role.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

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If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email [e-mail]

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