An exciting new opportunity has arisen for an
Assistant Placements Officer
on a Maternity Cover basis to join our Placements Service at Five Rivers, a leading Social Enterprise who has been "turning children's lives around" since 1989.
This position will be preferably based in either our
Bristol
or
Salisbury
Office. Other Five Rivers offices are available where suitable. The specific office base will be agreed during the recruitment process. All Five Rivers fostering services are rated Good with Outstanding features by Ofsted.
Five Rivers Fostering Services has grown significantly, this is mirrored in the significant increase in the number of national referrals. We are committed to ensuring that out Placements Service has the structure to ensure we enhance opportunities to increased numbers of placements and build on our quality relationships referring authorities. As the Assistant Placements Officer, you will be integral to the Placements Teams in working closely with all of the fostering teams to ensure that high quality responses to referrals are received by Local Authorities in a timely and effective manner to maximise the opportunities to place children, young people and families with our Foster Carers.
You will be supporting the Placements Officers in both preparing information and processing all incoming referrals from placing authorities and liaising closely with social work teams to match young people referred with foster carers. Processing financial arrangements and data reporting is part of this role to agree placement fees and ensure that additional placement support is negotiated and agreed with our Local Authorities.
Five Rivers works from a Trauma informed (ATIC) model with integration across our fostering, residential, clinical and education services to achieve the best possible outcomes for young people.
Working for Five Rivers has many benefits arising from its commitment as a Social Enterprise to invest heavily in the services it provides to Foster Carers, children, and members of the staff team.
Responsibilities And Duties
* Follow up regularly with Social Workers and Carers appropriately for a progress update and ensure all timescales are met
* Request additional information from referrers when and needed before matching is completed and feedback on any issues
* Complete all placement "Start" of new placements paperwork
* Assist local offices, if necessary, with "Stops," internal moves and ongoing external respite
* Be involved in carer recruitment process & induction of newly approved carers, e.g., physical recruitment event or regional virtual session.
* Maintain regular and agreed contact with carers who are without placements.
* To liaise with Carer Recruitment Team to ensure that carer profiles and welcome books are available at the point of approval
* Maintain an updated and current foster carer profile database
* To work with the Placements Officer to maintain carer's availability and other related referral data and compile reports when and as required.
* To follow up on unsuccessful offers with Local Authorities and maintain a record of reasons.
* To assist Senior Placements Officer with completion of various framework agreements
* Daily reconciliation of referrals.
* To provide cover for any Placements Officer absence.
* Any additional administration tasks or projects that may be required by the business
* To build good relationships with Foster Carers, Social Workers, Commissioners
Role profile: Assistant Placements Officer Job Profile Dec
You Will Receive
* Formal induction and training in our paperless electronic recording and management system (CHARMs)
* Professional supervision provided by a Senior Placements Officer/Service Manager
* Support from other Placement Officers across the fostering service.
* Opportunities to integrate with our clinical, education and residential service provision
* Competitive annual leave allowance
* Career progression opportunities
* Market related salary
* Pension scheme and access to employee assistance program
* Blue Light Card
* Simply Health Membership
You Will Have
* The desire to be a team player who wants to achieve best possible outcomes for all our children and foster carers
* Experience of working in the fostering sector and/or children/young people in social care
* The right to work in the UK
Do not delay your application. For more information, please e-mail our recruitment team at [email protected] or call option 4
Five Rivers Child Care is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of Children and Young People. Applicants must be willing to undergo appropriate child protection screening, including employment references and DBS check
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age.