AddressThis is an exciting opportunity to be part of a lively and dynamic team which acts as the first point of contact for all new referrals for disabled children requiring a social care assessment across Cambridgeshire and enables Short Breaks under the local offer for children with disabilities. The role is available on a 12 month Fixed Term Contract basis.
We are looking for an enthusiastic, organised and highly motivated person to work in our busy team. We want a person who is passionate about providing quality services to children with disabilities and their families within a strengths based practice framework, helping children to increase their skills and independence and building resilience within families.
For many working in social care, it is about making a difference. When you work in the Disabled Children Referral and Access Team, you really can.
Don’t just take our word for it, here’s what some of our current team members have to say:
“I was given opportunities for regular supervisions as well as reflective supervisions from the team manager and the senior practitioner.”
“I joined the Disabled Children Referral and Access Team almost 4 years ago without any front door assessment experience and received all the support needed to become an effective practitioner.”
What will you be doing?
As a coordinator, you will be involved in undertaking holistic assessments of the needs of children and their families. Through Early Help support, direct work and the provision of short breaks where applicable, you will develop and review plans that promote the right to family life, with the minimal level of intervention necessary to maintain this.
You will have experience of undertaking direct work with children and have the ability to both support and challenge families and other professionals in a constructive manner to ensure best outcomes. You will be able to work with large amounts of information, prioritise need, identify risk and communicate these effectively in both a written and verbal format, presenting clear and reasoned plans within agreed timescales.
It will be important to ensure that the child is at the centre of any plan and that the family and their network is engaged in achieving positive outcomes. As such, plans will be individualized and may require you thinking outside the box to arrive at bespoke solutions.
As a member of the Disabled Children’s Referral & Access Team you will be working alongside the Children with Disabilities Team and the Young Adults Team. You will also work closely with our in house providers of short breaks, health and education professionals and a range of private and voluntary organisations. Experience of partnership working and networking is therefore also beneficial and experience of working with children in the disabilities sector and strong administration skills are desirable.
Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
About youWe recognise the importance of transferable skills and we provide a focused induction, so there is no requirement to have previous experience of working within an assessment or disability team.
This is a great opportunity for you to work within a diverse and supportive team who will empower you to make important decisions and find creative solutions to challenging situations.
For an informal discussion or if you have any questions about the role please contact Stephanie Kennedy, Emma Moore or Kate Richardson on 01480 379578.
Interviews will be held on Wednesday 17th April
About usCambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.
Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.
We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don’t meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don’t be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Some examples of adjustments could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.
Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.
https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers
Our benefitsWe value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits:
- Flexible working
- Flexible Bank Holidays
- A comprehensive wellbeing package
- Our Cambs Rewards employee discounts
- A comprehensive pension scheme.
- IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
- Camweb our staff intranet helping to keep you informed
- An employee recognition scheme
