Cheshire West and Chester Council is a place where everyone can Thrive – through our core values of Teamwork, Honesty, Respect, Innovation, Value for Money and Empowerment. This vacancy is for a Contact and Referral Officer post (CARO) - 13.5 hours per week - for weekend cover shifts. Working on a rolling rota and as part of a stable and supportive out of hours team, you will provide a first point of contact outside of ‘normal’ working hours to a wide range of referring agencies, individuals, and families in need of support. The team covers social care emergencies for statutory responses for adults and children, including those with mental health needs. In this role you will be working within a small team of experienced Children’s, Adults and AMHP Social Workers and CARO’s providing support to individuals and families out of hours. The CARO role requires the ability to engage well with people and obtain accurate information and recording. You will be competent in using IT systems effectively and ensure clear information is collated concisely and accurately recorded. You will have excellent communication skills and be able to work under pressure and remain professional and courteous. It is essential that you maintain confidentiality in the scope of work that we cover. The contractual work location will be based in Chester where weekend shifts will be undertaken. This position might suit someone with responsibilities during the week or studying in the health and social care field. Cheshire West and Chester Council is a place where everyone can Thrive – through our core values of Teamwork, Honesty, Respect, Innovation, Value for Money and Empowerment. Our Children's Social Care workforce is passionate and committed to improving outcomes for Children in our authority by providing a consistent, high-quality service to families, together with the support from excellent leadership and management. It is an exciting time to join our authority, as we progress into the Families First reform. We provide high-quality, person-centred social care for adults and support people to change and enhance their lives every day through the work undertaken by our talented and dedicated teams. Cheshire West and Chester local authority are rated 'Good' by the Care Quality Commission. Interviews are due to be held 20 th April 2026. If you would like to discuss the above post and view the rota pattern, please contact EDT Practice Manager, Michael Dwyer on Michael.Dwyer@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk EDT Team Manager, Kristy Thomas on Kristy.Thomas@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk Please note that this job is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. To find out more information about what it is like to work for Cheshire West and Chester Council including our rewards and benefits please see www.cwcrecruitment.co.uk No candidate will meet every single requirement - if your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you! Cheshire West and Chester Council are committed to equality and diversity in employment. Please see the Equality Policy for more information. Cheshire West and Chester Council have adopted a Local Living Wage for our employees which means that all employees will receive a minimum of £12.60 per hour for all contracted hours. For any technical enquiries please email Sourcingteam@ecwip.co.uk and quote job reference number in all correspondence.