Reference:
Job title:
Support Service Officer
Directorate:
Children and Supporting Families
Service:
Support Service
Closing date:
06/03/2026 10:00
Job type/Hours:
Permanent | 37 Hour
Salary:
£31,537 - £33,699 a year
Pay Scale:
S2
Location(s):
Ty Drws Y Nant, Caernarfon
Gwynedd Council offers an attractive employment package, for more information please click on this Information Pack
Gwynedd Council operates internally through the medium of Welsh, and offers all its services bilingually. The applicant will be required to reach the linguistic level noted as one of the essential skills in the Person Specification.
We encourage everyone who applies for a job with Gwynedd Council to submit job applications in Welsh or bilingually.
(Applications submitted in English only or Welsh only will always be treated equally, but we ask applicants to consider carefully what the linguistic requirements of the job in question is and if it would be more appropriate to submit an application in Welsh.)
For further information about this post please contact Kevin Parry on
Application forms and further details available from Support Service, Gwynedd Council, Council Offices, Caernarfon, LL55 1SH
Tel:
E-Mail:
CLOSING DATE:
The Council will request a Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service for the successful candidate.
If you are successful to be short listed for an interview you will be contacted by E-MAIL using the address provided on your application form. You need to ensure that you check your email regularly.
Recruitment Pack Children and Supporting
Personal attributes
Essential
* Able to work in a non-oppressive manner.
* Able to contribute to discussions and meetings.
* Able to manage and prioritise work and operate effectively under pressure.
* Experience of working flexibly
* The ability to work under instruction and to accept feedback
* Able to keep control of emotions
* Excellent interpersonal skills
Desirable
Qualifications and relevant training
Essential
* 2 GCSE grades
* Child care recognised qualification e.g. NVQ/QCF or equivalent
Desirable
* Social Care foundation course
Relevant experience
Essential
* Experience of working with children and their families.
* Experience of working effectively with others.
* Experience of providing written reports in English and Welsh.
* Experience of planning and organising work in a structured and effective manner.
Desirable
* Experience of management.
* Experience of supporting colleagues in the workplace.
Skills and specialist knowledge
Essential
* Able to act as a member of a team.
* Able to communicate to a good standard both orally and in writing.
* Current driving licence
* Basic knowledge of child development
* Knowledge of the requirements of children in need.
* Can communicate effectively with young people, families, colleagues within the Department and with workers from other agencies.
* Sensitivity, flexibility and the ability to work as part of a team.
* Able to interpret and record events correctly and clearly.
Desirable
* Knowledge of parenting skills development methods.
* Knowledge of ways of dealing with challenging behaviour.
Language requirements
Essential
Listening and Speaking - Higher Level
Able to follow a conversation or discussion through the medium of Welsh and English on a professional level and discuss general day to day topics in the field in order to present information and express opinions.Able to give a pre-prepared presentation and respond to any comments and questions on it in Welsh or English.
Reading and Understanding - Higher Level
Able to understand standard written Welsh and English; both formal and informal.Able to gather information from various sources such as letters, reports, articles through the medium of Welsh and English in order to fulfil the post.
Writing - Higher Level
Present written information confidently by letter, more detailed and technical report formats, and respond to written requests conveying information, ideas and opinion in Welsh and English (help is available to check the work).
Purpose of the post
* Provide a range of support interventions for children and their families within the Community, assisting the unit's manager to coordinate the work.
* Ensure that the people of Gwynedd are at the centre of everything we do.
Responsibility for functions
* Staff Supervision
* Finance for children's activities.
* Equipment and tools used to transport children in a car.
Main duties
* Coordinate the work allocated to staff from day to day, including intake of new referrals, allocate the work and keep records.
* Attend planning meetings as required, contributing to care plans to meet the service user's requirements.
* Act as a designated worker for some service users, leading on devising imaginative and innovative work programmes to assist the user to respond to the difficulties presented.
* Deputise in the absence of the Resources Manager.
* Assist with the management of cash and other elements of the budget in accordance with the Council's financial guidance.
* Offer regular supervision to staff members within the team.
* Work in accordance with the All Wales Child Protection Guidelines and the Children in Need Assessment Framework and their families, as a member of children and families teams in the three areas of Gwynedd, including the Looked After Children's Team.
* Promote and enable Children and their Families to live independently within the community.
* Promote and enable Children to reach their full potential, in a manner that promotes their well-being, health, development and safety.
* Promote personal choice, enable children and families to take meaningful decisions and give control to children and their families for decisions that impact them.
* Ensure that the service responds to the child's needs.
* Ensure consistency in provision and recognise the importance of the relationship between children, families and the provider.
* Assist and support families to continue to care for their children.
* When a child is received into the authority's care, work in partnership with the parents for the early return of the child back to their care.
* Reduce the risk to children and families by working as part of the multi-agency protection plan.
* Provide a supervised contact service between looked after children and their families as part of a court care plan.
* Prepare detailed reports on the contents of the contact between the children and their families and include the reports in the child's file.
* Attend team meetings and any other meetings as required and considered suitable by the Resources Manager.
* Receive regular supervision.
* Familiarise yourself with the Council's policies, arrangements and guidelines relating to good practice and Health and Safety related issues.
* Attend training courses as instructed.
* Responsible for self-development.
* Ensure compliance with Health and Safety regulations in the workplace in accordance with the responsibilities noted in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Council's Health and Safety Policy.
* Operate within the Council's equal opportunities and equality policies.
* Responsible for managing information in accordance with the Council's information management standards and guidelines. Ensure that personal information is treated in accordance with Data Protection legislation.
* Commitment to reducing the Council's carbon emissions in accordance with the Carbon Management Plan, and to encourage others to act positively towards reducing the Council's Carbon Footprint.
* Undertake any other reasonable duty which corresponds to the salary level and responsibility level of the job.
* Responsible for reporting any concern or suspicion that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused.
Special circumstances
* Need to work flexible hours, over weekends and bank holidays as required. (Working 37 hours over 5 days a week).