Placements Officer/Child and Family Worker
Location: Aylesbury
The successful applicant will be responsible for taking referrals to place children into care. Referrals will be for new placements or for change of placements in residential, semi-independent, and foster care settings. You will work closely with social work and commissioning colleagues. We are looking for someone who is confident and proactive, has attention to detail, is able to meet deadlines, and possesses strong negotiating skills.
This is a Grade 5 C&F role:
* Working in the Placements team, you will be responsible for taking referrals to place children into care.
* You will pay attention to detail and work methodically, respond well to pressure, and be flexible with your time to ensure that all tasks and actions are completed within the required timeframes.
* You will source the best placement for the child, ensuring the setting meets the needs of the child while providing value for money.
* You will support with complex placements and source a range of placement options.
Liaising with the referring social worker and stakeholders:
* You will have the ability to use your initiative and be proactive while covering duty tasks.
* You will have experience in handling finance queries or invoices.
* You will have excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to negotiate and persuade.
About the role
The successful applicant will be responsible for sourcing the best possible placement for children and young people, ensuring that placement settings meet their needs while providing the best value for money. This role will involve supporting complex placements and sourcing a range of placement options.
Any-Desk:
As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.
About you
We would welcome applications from applicants who:
* Demonstrate a high level of attention to detail and the ability to work methodically.
* Respond well to pressure and be flexible with your time to ensure that all tasks and actions are completed within the required timeframes.
* Possess excellent communication and negotiation skills – you will be a true advocate for the child/young person and will need to build relationships with providers to ensure you can source the most suitable placements.
* Are comfortable using your own initiative and are proactive in your approach.
* Are confident when speaking to professionals.
* Are solution-focused.
Please see attached job description for further detail.
Other information
Closing date: Midnight on Monday 18th November 2024.
We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:
* All unspent convictions and conditional cautions.
* All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e., that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).
We have a set of values that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative, and Trustworthy.
By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:
* a fair and inclusive culture
* the chance to really make a difference to those around you
* health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders, and mindfulness workshops
* a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
* ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
* opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events
At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.
From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.
We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we serve in Buckinghamshire and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.
About the Business Unit
Buckinghamshire is a successful, growing place with fantastic natural assets, a highly productive economy, and many resourceful and thriving communities. However, we are far from complacent, and our new and ambitious unitary authority is well placed to tackle the challenges associated with growth, an aging population, climate change, and inequalities in both opportunities and outcomes – particularly for our children and young people.
Children’s Services is on an improvement journey, and as our very recent Ofsted report shows, we have continued to improve despite the pressures of the pandemic and have built solid foundations for future success. Relationships with partners are strong, and our collective response to the pandemic has strengthened and deepened our work together.
We have a big, ambitious agenda for Buckinghamshire, and our teams work collaboratively and at pace to make a positive difference to the lives of children and young people across the county. We are looking for talented and driven individuals to help us achieve the best outcomes for our children, young people, and families in Buckinghamshire.
Our key priorities include continuing to protect vulnerable children and young people from harm while sustaining an environment where social work practice can thrive. Through our vital work with our partners, including The Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children’s Partnership, we continue to improve our collective response to children and young people who have been exposed to domestic abuse, exploitation, substance misuse, and mental health issues.
No matter what role you take on in our Children’s Services, you will be part of a team dedicated to supporting children and their families to achieve their full potential.
We recognise and reward you
Hard work and success deserve recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various cafés, restaurants, shops, and auto-enrollment onto our generous Pension Scheme. We also offer a salary sacrifice personal car lease scheme to those who are eligible and have passed their probation period. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva, and much more.
#J-18808-Ljbffr