Personal Advisor

About The Job

Salary: £33,945 - £36,648 per annum (£27,156 - £29,318 pro rata per annum for part time role)
Working Pattern: Full Time (37 hours) and Part time (29.6 hours)
Location: Horsham and Worthing. Please state your location preference in your cover letter.

We are looking for a number of Personal Advisors to join our Care Leavers Service. Due to an expansion in the service, we are looking to form a new team in Horsham to support the vital work this service does in the North of the County. We also have a couple of positions in our existing Worthing team too.

The Care Leavers service work with our care leavers between the ages of 16.5-25 in their transition to adulthood. Personal Advisors support care leavers to develop the skills needed to live independently and to be aspirational in identifying and achieving their goals, including healthy living, stable homes, and good educational opportunities.

To succeed, you will be able to demonstrate personal resilience, to manage the emotional demands of this role and support our Care Leavers who may have experienced trauma, abuse, neglect, and discrimination.

Experience and Skills

Key Skills:

• Ability to analyse and interpret people-related information and data in order to prioritise needs
• Ability to effectively engage and empower Care Leavers, to undertake direct
  work and use a range of interventions to achieve change
• Ability to work effectively with young people in crisis and manage conflict, containing own and others' anxieties and working within the boundaries of the role
• Ability to work in partnership with carers, colleagues and a variety of external agencies in order to deliver the most effective service
• Ability to work professionally, to reflect on own practice and learn from experience. To take responsibility for own performance and be proactive in relation to own work and professional development. Ability to recognise the limits of own accountability and responsibility, and to seek appropriate support, advice and supervision
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in both written and verbal format

Qualifications and/or experience:

• Relevant degree, or equivalent qualification or experience, demonstrating that level of applied knowledge in providing advice and support to young people
• Relevant postgraduate professional qualification, or equivalent qualification or equivalent demonstrable experience
• Theoretical, practical and procedural knowledge of legislation and national policy developments regarding youth, and their implications for practice, in particular the field of Leaving Care
• Understanding of working with young people in crisis and the delivery of support and advice to enable and encourage them in their transition from adolescence to adulthood, maintaining a focus on the needs of the individual whilst handling conflict and disagreement. For example, the transition from a supported living environment into a more independent environment
• Understanding of occupational, career and other pathway opportunities for young people both locally and nationally
• Significant experience of direct work with young people who have a range of presenting issues
• Experience of working in a multi-agency context, demonstrating an awareness of differing roles and responsibilities and effective methods of collaboration
• Evidence of good assessment skills, including the ability to ensure regular reviews and risk management with a variety of young people. Evidence of effectively prioritising work and meeting deadlines
• Evidence of working with those who access or need the service to identify issues and identify specific action by means of creative and pragmatic solutions
• Experience of managing levels of risk within a caseload

Rewards and Benefits

In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity you will receive:

• A competitive salary
• 27 days annual leave + bank holidays
• A generous pension scheme
• Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• Flexible working

For a full list of the benefits, please visit our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter outline your motivations for applying and explain how you meet the key skills listed in full and the experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.

West Sussex County Council is an equal opportunities employer committed to promoting an environment that is inclusive and free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of its people. We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and take every possible step to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged.

For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability or Veteran's Guaranteed Interview Scheme, this can be found on ourapplication help page.