Address
Salary
Job Title:Children's Information & Advice Officer
Location: Apsley & Stevenage with hybrid working
Salary Range: £29,269 with the opportunity to progress to £32,076 per annum
Hours: 37 per week
Contract: Permanent
Diversity: We are an inclusive employer and value a diverse workforce
Do you enjoy working in a fast-paced environment? Do you have great administrative and communication skills, and would you say you have excellent customer service? Well, this could be the job you have been looking for.
This is a very exciting time to join the Family and Friends Fostering Service here in Hertfordshire. You will play an integral part in Hertfordshire’s vision to keep children and young people within their family network.
The last 30 years have seen an unprecedented growth in the numbers of children entering the care system in England and Wales and a large proportion of those children and young people are being placed with their family and friends carers (kinship carers) and connected others. This affords children and young people much better outcomes and offers greater placement stability.
As a result, our aim is recruit to the job roles that allow this vision to happen.
Purpose of the role:
Our well-established Family and Friends Fostering teams, Family and Friends Team 1 (Apsley) and Family and Friends Team 2 (Stevenage) are looking for a Childrens Advice and Information Officer to join us in working across both teams to support Hertfordshire’s Family and Friends Kinship strategy.
The Children’s Information and Advice Officer (CIAO) will support the work of the Family and Friends Team at the point of referral by helping to make sure that referrals are promptly responded to and processed accordingly. Responsibilities in the role are varied and will include leading on supporting applicants with applications and pre-assessment checks to avoid delays of assessments being filed in court and presented at fostering panels.
With management direction and support, you will undertake follow up calls, seek further clarification and liaise with other children’s service teams, such as social workers, children’s practitioners from family safeguarding, assessment and Children Looked After other partner agencies such as the police, health, education, and members of the public as appropriate.
Challenges & opportunities:
You will be:
- Working in a fast-paced environment, therefore the ability to work under pressure whilst being extremely well organised, taking a pro-active approach to workload is key
- Supporting a potential carer who is unable to complete their application form and provide sufficient evidence to complete a financial means tested allowance will be an important part of your day-to-day role in Family and Friends
- Supporting with Family Fun Day events to help the service recognise and celebrate the incredible work our carers do for our children and young people
- Developing your knowledge of local community services to offer guidance and signposting
- Supporting with monitoring data and record keeping
Job Reference: HCC25363
