Family Worker (Link Role)

Family Worker (Link Role)

Permanent, Full Time

£29,741 to £34,001 per annum

Location: Harlow

Here in Essex, we continue to raise the bar about practice and our investment in our workforce is second to none. It's an exciting time to join us. Not only have we been named Outstanding by Ofsted, we are delighted and at the same time humbled to have been crowned Social Work Employer of the Year for the second time in the last three years!

The Opportunity

Children and Families is recognised as a service in which social work can develop and prosper, with a culture of collaboration, integrity and compassion; promoting the development and wellbeing of children, young people and their families; protecting them from neglect and abuse. Working together with partners delivering a range of early help, family support and effective social work interventions which build resilience, remove barriers and enable children and young people to look forward to a brighter future.

Family Solutions was established across Essex to work holistically with families with multiple and complex needs to enable them to make significant changes and improvements to their lives. The Family Worker (Link Role) is a key role in the service providing specialist advice and support with regard to their thematic area and coordinating the provision of support from other services.

The role - overview:

The work of a Link Family Worker is a varied and rewarding supporting children and families with many different types of need. Key aspects of the work include:

• Working closely with families to build strong relationships with all family members.
• Promoting positive change with families.
• Provide both practical and specialist advice as well acting as a lead coordinator for other support services
• Managing your own caseload
• Managing safeguarding risks to children
• Taking the lead on an area of professional practice for the team through supporting team members, and liaising with professionals outside of Family Solutions
• The post holder will be expected to operate flexibly to meet needs of the families with some work taking place out of normal office hours.
• Family Worker are Community Based Workers spending most of their time working with children and families in the community, but able to work from the team office and at home.

Accountabilities

• Responsible for determining the direction and actions required in order to progress cases forward on a day to day basis; recognising when key decisions regarding risks/concerns need to be referred to the Team Manager or Practice Supervisor.
• Responsible for acting as a source of advice, guidance and support to colleagues in relation to the thematic role held in order to support case discussions and mentor and guide colleagues.
• Responsible for undertaking holistic assessments of family needs to help create intervention plans and identify how outcomes can be achieved that fully reflect the family and young person's views and aspirations; delivering interventions, including group work programs, to support family's to make change.
• Responsible for facilitating complex family meetings, managing the potentially competing views of families and professionals, in order to find achievable solutions.
• Responsible for undertaking individual and group programmes of work to enable children and families to develop their skills to resolve issues and problems themselves; providing information and accompanying families to help access other local services.
• Responsible for providing specific practical, personal and emotional support to families in their homes or other settings as part of an agreed plan in order to achieve agreed and sustainable family outcomes.
• Responsible for actively participating in regular supervision in order to review work and ensure effective interventions for families.
• Responsible for ensuring that the principles of effective practice are fully embedded in service delivery; working collaboratively with staff and partners to ensure effective risk management in line with the thresholds of the Effective Support and Guidance document to ensure that the Family Solutions team understands and follows the SET child protection procedures.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

Essential:

• Educated to degree level preferred but minimum NVQ level 4 or equivalent by experience in relevant thematic specialism i.e. Domestic Abuse, Substance Misuse, Education, Mental Health, and Parenting.
• Evidence of continuing professional development with good knowledge in relevant professional area and commitment to the principles of evidence based practice.
• Significant practical experience of working with families with multiple and complex needs.
• Effective communication skills, good problem solving and assessment skills with a demonstrable track record of building and sustaining positive professional relationships with individuals and families with multiple and complex needs.

Desirable:

• Experience of applying a solution focused approach and providing practical advice and support to families to enable them to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes.
• Ability to work in partnership with others to maximise outcomes for families in line with the Family Solutions operating principles.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team and to use supervision appropriately.

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.