Family Group Conference Co-Ordinator

About the role

You will be responsible for line managing a Family Group Conference Team for children, young people and families in Lincolnshire. Family Group Conference is an established and successful service in Lincolnshire which offers families the opportunity to co-ordinate and review their own plans and lead on decision making in relation to the welfare of their children in a variety of situations.

The service works with families from Early Help through to statutory interventions; Pre-Birth Assessments; Child in Need; Initial Child Protection Conference and Children Looked After. Working closely with the other managers you will contribute to the promotion and development of the FGC service; supporting best practice in relation to family led decision making and the use of restorative approaches across Lincolnshire Children’s Services.

On occasion, you will work together with partner agencies and other Local Authorities to support them to develop Restorative Practice and Family Led Decision Making within their own organisations.

You will bring:

• Proven management or supervisory experience and ability to develop, manage, motivate and lead a team of highly skilled and experienced FGC practitioners and offer appropriate professional supervision.

• In depth understanding of the practice and theory of FGC work including direct experience of co-ordinating and undertaking Family Group Conferences.

• Experience around family led decision making and an in depth understanding of its benefits in terms of achieving positive outcomes for children and families.

• Commitment to and experience of working in partnership with vulnerable children, young people and families.

• Skills in engaging families and professionals, approachable with strong communication and organisational skills.

• A good understanding of the current Children’s Services agenda and Early Help offer to children, young people and families.

• A Social Work or other professional qualification working with children and families.

To be shortlisted please demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria on the job description and evidence within your application. Please do not attach CV’s as the application form will only be accessed. Please make it clear on your application, what location you would prefer to work within.

What is Pathfinder?

The pathfinder was formally announced in July 2023 as part of the government’s children’s social care implementation strategy, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ and responds to recommendations from the independent review of children’s social care and the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s report on child protection.  

This brings an exciting opportunity for Lincolnshire who are recognised within the sector as an innovative and transformational authority to take the lead in co-design and development of new ways of working.  The pathfinder has been created to bring about innovative reforms to Family Help, Child Protection, Statutory Safeguarding Partnerships and in unlocking the potential of Family Networks for children and families across Lincolnshire.

The pathfinder draws on evidence and existing good practice, including from other government programmes including Family Hubs and Start for Life, Supporting Families, Reducing Parental Conflict and Strengthening Families. The pathfinder will seek to develop greater use of family networks, with increased use of Family Group decision-making, facilitated by support packages to remove any financial or practical barriers family networks may experience in caring for children.

In Lincolnshire we will work alongside key government agencies and local partners including Police, Health and Education within Lincolnshire to support the co-design and creation of a future system where we support families in a new way and develop a stronger multi-agency and expert child protection response.  Our work on this pathfinder will be captured and evaluated by the Department for Education, with a view towards wider national sector led improvement.

About Our Offer:

Along with a competitive salary we are offering: 

• A Contributory pension
• Comprehensive benefits package including excellent discount schemes and cycle to work
• Flexible working policies
• Career progression opportunities
• A generous annual leave entitlement plus the option to buy more

Further details can be found in our rewards and benefits brochure

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Sally Wright via sally.wright@lincolnshire.gov.uk

Interviews will be held on 6th March.

Please be advised that this position may be subject to a criminal record check.

All candidates are advised to read the attached job information pack prior to making an application.

On occasion we receive significantly more applications than expected for some vacancies and under such circumstances we reserve the right to bring forward the closing date of the advertisement. We therefore strongly advise you to apply for the role promptly to avoid disappointment should the closing date be brought forward. 

We operate a talent pool scheme whereby candidates who are not successful on this occasion may be considered for a period of up to 3 months for equal positions.

Lincolnshire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Fluency Duty

In accordance with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 (Fluency Duty), the ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.