Early Help Worker Employer: Wokingham Borough Council Salary: £30,559 - £34,314 Per Annum (pro rata) Location: Various: Shinfield, Finchampstead, Woodley and Twyford Contract: Fixed Term Contract Working Pattern: Full Time and Part-time Hours: 37 hours per week. DBS Check: Enhanced Closing Date: 04/04/2025 at 23:00 Reference: 712850 and 712849 (Maternity Cover – full-time, 6 months), 712880 (full-time, 7 months) and 712573 (33hrs per week, 1 year) Early Help Workers – Fixed Term Contracts An exciting opportunity is now available within Wokingham Borough Council's Integrated Early Help Service as we look to recruit Early Help Workers to work within our busy team. As an Early Help Worker, you will be responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children aged 0 to 18 years. You will manage a defined caseload and work with children, young people and their families to reduce risks associated with poor outcomes for children, including pre-birth. As a lead professional you will complete 'whole family' Early Help Assessments to gain an understanding of the children and family’s needs and develop a time-limited action plan to help the family achieve identified outcomes. This includes ensuring that the voices of children and young people are heard and modelling positive parenting and co-parenting. You will work closely with other support services including Children's Social Care, Schools, Early Years, Health and Domestic Abuse services to coordinate wrap around, strength-based support for families. You will take a lead professional role in organising and chairing 'Team Around the Family' meetings to ensure that plans are effective and families are making progress with healthy change and increased resilience. You will have a good understanding of risk factors associated with poor outcomes for children and young people. You will be able to demonstrate an inclusive, systemic approach to your work to ensure that the service you deliver is welcoming, professional and accessible, including ethnic minority groups, fathers and male carers, families with complex needs who may be open to CSC, children and young people who may be experiencing harm outside of the family home or network and families with physical and mental health issues. You will assist the wider team by supporting our Duty Service so that regular contact is maintained with families who have been referred to us. You will deliver universal sessions and work closely with your team to maintain operational services, including health & safety policies and procedures. Hybrid Working - This is a hybrid position working from our offices as well as attending meetings/visiting families as and when required. Candidate Requirements Experience of working with children (0 to 18yrs) and families. Experience of managing a caseload of families with complex needs. Excellent communication skills, be creative, resilient and adaptable to change. Essential to the work is a personal robustness to be able to cope with the demands of the role and an ethos of partnership and collaboration. Daily use of a car and full driving licence is also essential for this post. Benefits: Not only is this an excellent opportunity, but it’s a fantastic time to join our team. You will receive an extensive range of employee benefits including: ⭐ A generous annual leave entitlement of 28 days (rising to 33 days after 5 years continued local government service), plus Bank Holidays ⭐ Enrolment to an excellent local government pension scheme ⭐ An employee assistance programme including 24/7 wellbeing helpline ⭐ A range of local & lifestyle discounts ⭐ Use of a free onsite gym (located at Shute End office) ⭐ Salary sacrifice car & cycle to work schemes ⭐ And much more Our Area: Wokingham Borough is set in the heart of Berkshire with excellent transport links to Reading and central London. Our area comprises of a vibrant and historical market town, attractive villages, and miles of beautiful countryside. We’re home to a range of high performing schools including 69 primary and 21 secondary, a host of international businesses and an incredible community. We have a strong local economy with accelerated growth, a range of excellent public facilities and low levels of crime, offering an exceptional quality of life. If you’re interested in this exciting opportunity, click the link below and apply today Closing Date: Sunday 4th April 2025, 11pm Interview Dates: 14 th and 15 th April, 2025 For an informal conversation about the role, please contact Beccy Franklin at beccy.franklinwokingham.gov.uk or Jo Hewitt at jo.hewittwokingham.gov.uk Please be aware that we will be reviewing the applications we receive on a daily basis, and we reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. If your application is shortlisted for an interview, you will be required to provide proof of your right to work in the UK at that stage. Additionally, successful candidates must present proof upon receiving a job offer. Please note that all offers are conditional and subject to the satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks. Whilst these are fixed term contract appointments, for anyone already employed by Wokingham Borough Council this would be classed as a secondment if successful. Therefore, the usual permission requests for secondments apply and you must speak to your line manager in the first instance before applying. Wokingham Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff, other workers and volunteers to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks along with other relevant employment checks. Wokingham is an equal opportunities employer.