Senior Placements Officer

Senior Placements Officer
Southwark
28/hr
Start date: ASAP
AKTON Recruitment is working closely with the local authorities and we are looking for an experienced Senior Placement Officer to join the Children's and Adults' Services in Southwark area. 3 – 6 months contract.
Ensuring our children and young people have the best possible placements that are proportionate to their assessed needs and that help them to achieve their full potential is absolutely key. You will be a very experienced, highly motivated, well organised and determined colleague who understands why we must get placements and support right for our children.
We operate in a fast paced and dynamic market place and your work style and work ethic must reflect this.
CHILDREN's SERVICES: To work as part of the Access To Resources Team – responding quickly to referrals from Social Work Teams seeking the right placement and support for our children and young people.
This is a hybrid role requiring colleagues to be in the office at least 2 days / week and 5 days for the week when they are on duty
1. Work proactively within the Placements Team to ensure all children are placed in suitable
placements, monitoring referral patterns and use of Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs), and
ensure that senior managers are alerted to any risks or threats in relation to sufficiency.
2. Help develop and manage systems that track all referrals, placements, placement moves and
endings, and ensure that high quality management information is available to assist in the planning
and review of the service.
3. Deliver a responsive and efficient service alongside the Fostering Service: ensure that all parties
involved in the referral and placement process are kept fully informed when placements are made,
and that children's views are taken into account.
4. Undertake the sourcing and negotiation of suitable placements, and to contribute information about the
market for health to maintain the quality of services. To keep accurate records and reporting on
placement and financial activities by updating individual case notes on Mosaic.
5. Negotiate on placement costs/support packages to ensure cost effective placements. Also ensuring
placements are agreed and placements contracts (IPAs) are completed in a timely manner as well as
Mosaic finances.
6. Help put systems in place to ensure foster carers and providers are paid promptly and that any
additional or special payments are processed in a fair and transparent way, in keeping with the
operating principles of the Fostering Payment Policy.
7. Track and maintain an overview of all children waiting for placements and monitor progress on
identifying suitable carers. Alert senior managers to any corporate threat or risks relating to the
council's sufficiency strategy.
8. Ensure that information systems are fit for purpose and that high quality management information
can be produced for a range of indicators. Use management information to inform planning and
reviewing the sufficiency strategy.
9. Ensure the best use is made of Southwark's fostering resources, keeping use of external placements
to a minimum and promoting the use of Friends and Family Placements as far as possible.
10. Keep abreast of local and national changes to best practice when securing placement's options for
children and young people including legislative changes and Ofsted guidance.