Leicestershire County Council
Worker Category: Hybrid Worker- working at home/in the community and within the office
Salary: £34,350-£37,950 per annum (pro-rata for part-time)
Contract Type: Permanent
Are you passionate about working with foster carers and helping to improve the outcomes for our children in care through careful and considered matching to their foster carers?
Are you interested in supporting the well-being of foster carers and their children?
Do you want to work within a busy and supportive team which is committed to ensuring that our children in care receive a high standard of care and our foster carers feel well supported and have the necessary skills to care for children?
We are looking to recruit a Duty Support Worker to join our busy team which focusses on supporting mainstream foster carers care for our looked after children. As a Duty Support Worker your primary responsibility will be attending to the referrals for our looked after children and matching the children to our in-house mainstream foster carers.
You will work within a dedicated duty team to ensure that children are placed with foster carers that have the skill base and knowledge to meet their needs and ensure that any matches are made in a trauma informed manner.
As a Duty Support Worker you will need to develop good working relationships with our foster carers so excellent communication skills are essential.
You will develop positive working relationships with other service areas and teams to ensure that placements are made in the best interests of the child / carer.
Placement matching to carers approval and skill set is fundamental to safer placements, you will work as part of the team around the child to support this.
We also collate data against our utilisation and you will provide this information to our Improvement Cycle Meetings.
Our Duty Support Workers are also expected to hold additional responsibilities within the team such as working with our birth children, supporting carers in a more direct manner or taking responsibility for a service area such as EDI. As a team we hold a number of events throughout the year and it will be part of your role to help to arrange and facilitate these, some of which are outside of the normal office hours.
A DBS enhanced check for a regulated activity is required for this post.
For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.
Hold an NVQ level 3 or equivalent and relevant experience.
Demonstrate an awareness of working with foster carers and Children in Care alongside an understanding of Fostering Regulations, National Minimum Standards and safeguarding procedures
Have knowledge of the triggers, factors and barriers faced by children and young people in care and we can support them and their carers to overcome these barriers.
The ability to communicate clearly and accurately, both orally and in writing, with a wide range of people, including representatives from other agencies, using skills of negotiation and persuasion. The ability to report and analyse data within a service to evidence compliance with aims and objectives.
Microsoft Outlook, Word and database applications as relevant to the department.
You must also have an understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.
Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability.
Interested in Flexible Working?
We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below. This may include requests for term-time working, part-time hours, compressed hours, flexible start and finish times, home/remote working, etc.
Rachael Young, Team Manager, Team around the Child
Telephone:0116 305 4482
Leicestershire County Council is an inclusive organisation which is on a journey to embed and celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion at every level. We warmly welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, as having a diverse workforce with different perspectives and ideas is fundamental to our values and enriches the services we offer our communities. We particularly welcome applicants from Ethnically Diverse and LGBTQ+ communities and people with disabilities to create a balanced workforce and one that reflects the communities we serve. Applicants with a disability who meet the criteria listed in the 'About You' section above will be offered an interview under the Disability Confident Employer Scheme.
You will need to upload a supporting statement as part of your application which explains how you meet the criteria listed in the 'About You' section above. If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post please contact our Employee Service Centre by raising a ticket via our online portal:
About Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire County Council is a Disability Confident, Menopause Friendly, Mindful Employer, Fostering Friendly, Forces Friendly, and Cycle Friendly organisation. We are strongly committed to promoting equality and opportunity, championing employee wellbeing and investing in staff training and development.
Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone. Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire.