Family Support Coordinator

Family Support Coordinator

If you have experience in early years, Family Support, mental health support or community work, we’d love to hear from you. We are committed to helping families with young children through their challenging times. Our coordinators build strong relationships with our families, working with them to identify their needs, match them to a trained volunteer and regularly review progress. They provide support, supervision and ongoing training to existing volunteers and train new volunteers.

 This is an exciting opportunity to join our enthusiastic and supportive staff team. We offer a genuinely rewarding and positive work environment, and ongoing opportunities for training and development.

Full Job Description:

Home-Start Stroud and Gloucester is a voluntary organisation committed to promoting the welfare of families with at least one child under five years of age. Volunteers offer regular support, friendship and practical help to families under stress in their own homes, helping to prevent family crisis and breakdown. Family Support Coordinators manage and supervise the support given by volunteers and work directly with families themselves. We also provide a wide range of group support for families (Best-Start, Bump-Start and Mothers in Mind) and specific support to dads/partners through our Dad Matters Gloucestershire Project.

Purposes of the job

• To maintain high standards of practice in supporting families within the Home-Start model and ethos.
• To ensure equality of opportunity, fairness and diversity in all aspects of the scheme’s work.
• To implement good safeguarding practice in all areas of work.
• To contribute to the effective day to day operation of the scheme in accordance with the Home-Start Memorandum & Articles of Association, Home-Start, Standards & Methods of Practice, Home-Start Agreement and Quality Assurance Standards.

Main Responsibilities

Support for families

• Receiving referrals and assessing needs of families across Stroud and Gloucester.
• Introducing families to appropriate support (such as signposting to specialist services or matching a family with volunteer support).
• Ensuring support to families is reviewed at regular intervals and at the end of Home-Start support, in line with current Home-Start guidance.
• Providing direct support to families when there are no volunteers available or where additional needs have been identified.
• Attending professional group meetings when necessary in order to support families and promote good working relationships with other agencies working alongside the family.
• To undertake designated responsibilities to safeguard and promote children’s welfare.

 Managing Volunteers

• Recruiting, selecting and preparing suitable volunteers.
• Matching and introducing volunteers to families.
• Contribute as directed to the delivery of the Home-Start preparation course in full and to a high standard to all prospective volunteers
• Providing support, supervision and initial and on-going training opportunities for volunteers.

Supporting the work of the scheme

• Undertaking work as delegated by the Senior Coordinator to support the strategic management, development and future funding of the scheme.
• Supporting the implementation and review of all Home-Start policies and procedures.
• Complying with the scheme’s administration, monitoring and financial systems.
• Promoting the work of the scheme, as required by the Manager.
• Contributing to and supporting the development of the Home-Start network locally, regionally and nationally.

Working in Partnership

• Ensuring appropriate liaison with referrers and other professionals.
• Networking appropriately within the community.

The post holder may be required to undertake any other duties that fall within the nature of the role and responsibilities of the post as detailed above.

We actively encourage applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds as we are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace. Our team values diversity and believes that it enriches our creativity and innovation. We welcome candidates from all walks of life to join us and contribute to our dynamic team.