Join Our Team at POLARIS
Referrals Officer - Fostering
Location: Sittingbourne
Contract: Full-Time, Permanent - 35 hours per week
Salary: Up to £23,625.00
Benefits: 30 days' Annual Leave (increasing to 35 with length of service) + Bank Holidays, Company Pension, Life Assurance, Employee Discount Scheme, Medical Cash Plan & Free On-site Parking
About Us
Welcome to Polaris, one of the UK's leading communities dedicated to children's services! For over 30 years, we have passionately transformed the lives of young people through our independent fostering and adoption agencies, as well as our Education, Residential, and Leaving Care services. Our nurturing community collaborates to ensure the best outcomes for every child in our care. We are ambitious for our children, families, and staff, and we believe in their bright futures.
What We Are Looking For
Are you a proactive, relationship-driven individual? We want you to join our established Referrals Team as a Referrals Officer! In this vital role, you will be the first point of contact between Local Authorities, foster families, and Social Workers. Your mission? To ensure every referral is matched with the right foster family based on the child's unique needs.
Your Role Responsibilities
* Take ownership of all foster family vacancies and serve as the key contact for specific fostering agencies within the Polaris Community.
* Accurately monitor and record foster family vacancies.
* Engage daily with foster families on the vacancy list via phone or Teams video calls.
* Attend regular meetings with Agency Managers and Social Workers.
* Keep the recording system (CHARMS) updated.
* Utilize internal performance tools to track data and support foster family vacancies and agency growth.
* Respond to new referrals within 15 minutes, ensuring quick and careful matching of children to suitable foster families.
* Build and maintain strong relationships with Local Authorities and Commissioning Teams.
* Adopt a solution-focused approach to overcome barriers and secure successful matches.
* Provide daily updates to your line manager on referral activity, carer availability, and any challenges.
* Log successful matches and declines accurately on agency spreadsheets.
Requirements
* Strong administration skills, including screening referrals and updating internal systems.
* A methodical and organized approach to managing and prioritizing your workload effectively.
* The ability to thrive in a fast-paced team environment while also working autonomously.
* Confidence in communicating with both internal and external teams.
* A drive to maximize referral conversions into successful placement matches with available foster families.
* A genuine commitment to the ethos and values of the Polaris Community and its agencies (ISP, Orange Grove, Fosterplus, Clifford House).
* Experience in the children's services sector or a related field is advantageous, but full training will be provided.
At Polaris, we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. Please note that the successful applicant will be subject to a DBS check. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults, and we expect all staff to share this commitment. We reserve the right to withdraw this advert without notification.