Senior Early Help Worker - Unit

Role Responsibility

Do you want to make a difference to children and family’s lives?

Do you want to work in an inclusive environment where no two days are the same?

Are you a confident communicator who thrives when working with others?

Do you enjoy working with other services to support families?

Can you work independently and manage a complex caseload?

Role responsibility :

- Provide specialist knowledge on early help best practice, leading on key areas for outcome-based interventions (such as Supporting Families risk factors) and drive practice within and across the early help system.

- Lead on work with families where children have been identified as at risk of poor outcomes and provide early help for emerging problems to improve impact, engage families better and avoid escalation to higher levels of statutory intervention.

- Support continued progress of families who have ‘stepped down’ from statutory work and work with a high level of complexity.

- Work with all family members to assess their needs and develop with them a solution focused, whole family plan to achieve desired outcomes such as  safeguarding of children and attendance at school.

- Work directly with children and families and actively engage them to achieve sustainable change, supporting to implement responsible positive parenting techniques.

- Support the Unit Lead to create a high performing team, role modelling good practice.

About the role:

- To engage families and support them to implement sustainable change to improve outcomes for the children.

- To conduct whole family assessments that consider risk factors such as poor school attendance, physical and mental health issues, substance misuse, worklessness, offending, exploitation, financial difficulties, safeguarding, domestic violence and parental conflict.

- To create a whole family plan with families that includes the voice of children and has SMART objectives to address risk factors and improve outcomes for children.

- To review progress of family plans regularly and plan exit strategies to sustain progress.

- To use Kent Practice Framework and evidence-based tools that engage families and can show progress against identified needs.

- To deliver direct work to children, parents and families to address risk factors in a 1:1, family or group setting using a variety of professional skills.

- To work purposefully with schools, health professionals, voluntary sector, police, social workers and other professionals to achieve best outcomes for children.

- To manage a complex caseload of families and balance competing demands as needs arise, ensuring timescales for case work are met, demonstrating best practice to other less experienced staff.

- Use electronic case recording system for casework, to a high quality and within expected timescales.

- To promote parental responsibility for school attendance and work with parents and schools to implement strategies to improve attendance and prevent school exclusion.

About you: 

The purpose of the Senior Early Help Worker role is to deliver Early Help interventions and targeted support to vulnerable children, young people and their families using a strengths-based systemic approach. As Senior Early Help Worker you will manage a caseload of complex cases, have oversight of a number of cases and provide a high quality, effective and responsive service for children, young people and their families, targeting support as required at critical times and stages of development so a Knowledge and understanding of child development, parenting capacity, environmental factors and risk and protective factors for poor outcomes for children is required.

The Senior Early Help Worker will be part of the unit leadership working with the Early Help Unit Lead to achieve a high performing team, supporting Early Help workers as required.  

Requirements :

You will hold a relevant degree and/or extensive experience. You will have the ability to create a rapport and build relationships with children, young people and families, as well as be able to gather and interpret information from a range of sources. You will have knowledge of safeguarding and child protection and relevant legislation and regulatory frameworks. You will be flexible in your approach and committed to helping to develop a new way of working. You will be willing to learn, working collaboratively to innovate and find new solutions, taking personal and professional responsibility for your actions and performance. 

Transport:

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wide operational area. This role is subject to holding a Full UK Driving Licence – The Council is committed to making reasonable adjustments so whilst this job requires the jobholder to drive your application will still be considered if you are unable to drive due to a disability.

The role is varied and interesting and we offer: -

- A starting salary of £32,485 with annual performance related pay increases

- Opportunities for personal training and development

- Regular supervision

- Option to enrol in the Local Government Pension scheme with employer matched contributions

- 29 days paid annual leave per year (rising to 30 after 5 years’ service) + bank holidays + a concessionary day at Christmas

- A range of flexible leave options to help you manage your work/life balance such as Carers leave, Maternity leave, Personal Leave, Timeout/career break, Study leave, Religious observance

- Hybrid working – work from home or office as agreed

- Staff discounts on a range of leisure products and services through our Kent Rewards programme  

Additional Information: 

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Application to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements.

Contact Details

For further details about this role, please contact the hiring manager:

Kerry Collins, Unit Lead on 03000 416890 or via email at Kerry.Collins@kent.gov.uk

About the Company

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds and faiths, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note – if you are interested, please apply as soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.