Job Summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join a well-established Functional Family Therapy team in Suffolk. We are seeking a team member who is an experienced and professional individual (social work, mental health nursing, psychology) to join the team of 5 therapists. Functional Family Therapy is a licensed, evidence-based program with a strong track record of positive outcomes.
This is an outcomes-based contract for children 8-17 at risk of care entry (using a social impact bond structure), working to prevent children and young people entering care. We also work with a smaller cohort of young people who have entered care, for whom the service will manage a return home using the FFT intervention.
About Us
FPM is a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by its employees. We have extensive expertise in evidence-based programmes and anticipate future opportunities to develop and broaden our portfolio of services. If you\'re interested in learning more about employee ownership in FPM, please contact the EO Council by sending an email to EOCouncil@fpmcic.com. FPM is committed to fostering inclusion and expanding the diversity of its workforce.
Details
Date posted: 07 October 2025
Salary: £39,708 to £54,279 a year, including 2.5% retention bonus. Contract: Fixed term, Duration: 1 year. Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working. Job location: West Suffolk Council, Western Way, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3YU.
Job Description
Job responsibilities
* The FFT Worker role is to provide home-based family therapy sessions with young people aged 8 - 17 and their families using the FFT intervention model.
* Carry a caseload of up to 7 families, providing services in homes or community settings for 3 to 5 months.
* Receive initial training from an FFT Consultant and weekly supervision by the FFT supervisor. FFT is a licensed intervention and fidelity to the model is quality assured (www.fftllc.com).
* Work out of hours and flexible hours to meet families when they are available. The area covered will mainly be Lowestoft; understanding local demography and culture is valuable.
A relocation package is available up to £2,000 or support with accommodation. A retention bonus scheme is in place for this position; more information will be provided during the interview process.
Person Specification
Essential
Skills and Abilities
* Intervention and management requiring sustained concentration; ability to use highly developed analytical and judgement skills.
* Ability to work in community and family settings, including seeing families in their own homes, managing complex emotional relationships within the family and with the professional system.
* Ability to work with families under high stress and to apply systemic theory and intervention with adherence to the clinical model.
* Strong communication skills, both oral and written; ability to act on consultation and feedback; develop pragmatic, goal-specific steps for young people and families.
* Good organisational and caseload management skills; ability to multi-task and work with diverse professional perspectives.
* Ability to identify and employ clinical governance mechanisms, including regular supervision; ability to work with interpreters and diverse communities.
* Willingness to operate as a lone worker and travel to family homes; commitment to high-quality care and service provision.
Desirable
* Experience in providing consultation to other professionals and non-professional groups.
Experience
Essential
* Experience as a qualified professional with systemic training or as a clinical psychologist with systemic work experience, or post-qualifying experience in social work, occupational health or nursing with young people and families.
* Experience of systemic assessment, formulation and intervention with children, young people and families in community, primary care, CAMHS or inpatient settings.
* Experience of risk assessment, risk management and safety planning; experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams.
Desirable
* Experience of community-based assessment and treatment; multicultural work; exposure to multiple therapeutic modalities; self-harm assessment and intervention with families.
Qualifications
Essential
* Professional qualification in social work, occupational health or nursing.
* Or qualification as a systemic practitioner, family therapist or psychotherapist at a postgraduate level.
* Or a masters degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., forensic psychology, clinical or applied psychology).
* Professional registration with a national registrant body.
Knowledge and Understanding
Essential
* Knowledge of legislation related to adolescents with conduct disorder and offending behaviour; social care and its implications for clinical practice.
* Knowledge of basic systemic principles and child/young people development.
* Up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding, ethical issues and frameworks including The Children Act 1989 and The Equality Act 2022.
Desirable
* Well-developed knowledge of specialised psychological therapies for difficult-to-treat groups.
Other Requirements
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; ability to develop cross-agency networks.
* Calm, able to defuse difficult situations; tolerate ambiguity; seek further advice when needed.
* Maintain fitness to practice; good organisational skills; willingness to travel to family homes.
* Respect for privacy and dignity; commitment to data collection for the social impact bond if required.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check, Certificate of Sponsorship, UK Registration and other regulatory information have been reviewed for relevance and applicability to this role.
Employer details: Family Psychology Mutual; West Suffolk Council, Western Way, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3YU; Employer's website: http://fpmcic.com/
Seniority level: Mid-Senior level
Employment type: Full-time
Job function: Other
Industries: Information Services
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