About the role
Are you an experienced practitioner looking for high autonomy and a meaningful impact? If you're passionate about making decisions and supporting families, this is the perfect opportunity for you.
The Family Support and Advice Line is a telephone-based service with all requests for support being encouraged to call to speak directly to our practitioners to discuss their concerns. This allows the practitioner the opportunity to ask key questions about the needs, risks and strengths within families and then agreeing together who is best placed to meet the needs of a child. Thus, ensuring the right service is offered at the right time, first time.
Why join us?
* Flexibility: Split your time between our office in Wareham and working from home.
* Supportive environment: Thrive in a team known for its collaborative and positive culture.
* Professional growth: Opportunities to grow both professionally and personally in a nurturing environment.
* Wellbeing support: Access to talking therapies, a network of Mental Health Champions, and workshops by our Employee Wellbeing Team.
What You Will Be Doing
The Family Support and Advice Line is centrally based in Wareham and undertakes 'front door' activities for Dorset's Children’s Services.
The post holder will be required to work 22 hours over 4 days within Dorset Council core hours of 8:40 to 17:20, 39 weeks a year in school term time.
Predominately office-based, answering calls and taking new requests for family support, supporting Social Worker and Family Worker colleagues to manage the day-to-day processes of the service.
Family Support and Advice Line Advisers take calls from partners, members of the public and families and analyse information to inform decision making for children and their families, with a whole family approach when considering the needs or risk for children, progressing requests for support in line with the Dorset's Continuum of Need.
Family Support and Advice Line Advisers work closely alongside Consultant Social Worker and Family Worker colleagues in a one team culture to ensure children and families receive the right support at the right time, first time.
About you
We are looking for highly motivated and child-focused practitioners who work well in a team environment. The successful applicant will need to have excellent communication skills, be able to demonstrate the ability to reflect and learn from practice, have strong analytical skills, and be able to accurately record information.
Family Support and Advice Line Advisers need to be knowledgeable about and able to keep up to date with the Dorset Council Family Help offer and what communities and our voluntary sector can offer families. This will include the SEND Local offer. A key skill will be to understand the continuum of need, and support partner agencies to understand their role in offering Family Help and identifying when further targeted support is required from within the Local Authority.
This is a 39 weeks a year, Term-Time only position.
This post involves working with children and/or vulnerable adults and/or having access to significant information about them. It will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check.
Term time only
The ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.
There is an enhanced DBS requirement for the post.
About Us
We’re passionate about making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit. Working for us should be no exception.
At Dorset Council we:
* Provide more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents.
* Have ambitious aspirations.
* Are excited about our future.
* Care about Dorset and all the people who live here.
* Know that all roles make a difference and that our employees are key to our success.
You will:
* Have access to a range of employee benefits.
* Be part of an organisation that supports each other to grow and succeed.
* Have access to a range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progression.
We are challenging ourselves to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation.
We recognise that recruitment and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to the council and our communities.
We are keen to make our interviews accessible. Let us know on your job application if you have a disability and need any reasonable adjustments.
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