* Suffolk County Council – Riverside, Lowestoft, NR33 OEQ - Community based
* £27,711 per annum (pro rata for part time)
* 37 hours per week - Flexible working options available
* Permanent x 2 posts
When you join the South Lowestoft Family Support Team as a Family Support Practitioner, we’ll support your development from the start. We’ll help you to play to your strengths, diversify your skills and build an influential and impactful career.
Your role and responsibilities
As a Family Support Practitioner, you will support and communicate with young people and their families to facilitate and create positive change. You will hold your own caseload where you will be using Suffolk’s Signs of Safety framework to assess, plan, and review support regularly. Being able to confidently challenge concerns and connect families with support that exists around them to help strengthen their situation is fundamental to this role.
You will respond to the needs of the family by identifying and delivering evidence-based interventions both on a one-to-one basis, as part of family work, and in the facilitation of group work.
Collaborative working is essential as part of the wider support being offered; you will lead on regular family review meetings with other key professionals. You will be part of exploring wider networks and encouraging family support.
You will identify risk and safeguarding concerns which will be accurately recorded and escalated accordingly in a timely response. When statutory intervention is required, you will work with the guidance of social care, social workers, and health to support families in a unified response.
Building networks and maintaining positive relationships is an integral part of the role. You will work in collaboration with others, actively building relationships and networks with other professionals, services, and the community.
You will play a vital role in facilitating Family Time, supporting children to maintain safe links and connections with significant adults in their life through supervision.
You will have opportunities to learn and develop within your role with regular training opportunities which you will be encouraged to pursue.
If you have a drive and passion to support positive change for young people and their families, we would like to hear from you.
You will need
* a suitable practitioner-level qualification at Level 3 or equivalent experience in a relevant area of work
* to be confident in communicating with a range of people with the ability to convey ideas and key messages. You will be able to adapt your communication approach depending on the audience and their individual needs
* to be flexible in your approach and balance the variety in the role as a Family Support Practitioner
* to have a strong understanding of the written word and be confident with IT, skills which are necessary to keep accurate and timely records
* a commitment to safeguarding and promoting the positive welfare of children, young people, and their families
* a passion to make changes and to advocate for children and their families
* a willingness to learn new skills and to share existing knowledge and experience with the team.
You can view a full list of requirements in the Job and Person Profile (docx). If you believe you can succeed in this role, apply. Even if you don't meet all requirements, still apply. We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.
The team
We are a friendly, diverse, and supportive team all sharing the same passion to work together to make meaningful differences within our communities. We ensure we find time to support each other and learn together.
All new starters will have a buddy and a full induction into the role, alongside shadowing opportunities.
Empowering Everyone
We believe in potential, possibility, and the power of different ideas. We’re always searching for ways to encourage, respect, and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve and welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report.
For more information
Please contact Ian Rhodes for a casual conversation. You can reach them by calling 01502 674747 or emailing Ian.Rhodes@suffolk.gov.uk.
How to apply
Step 1 - Read the Job and Person Profile (JPP) (docx).
Step 2 - Click ‘Apply Now’ to start your online application.
Step 3 - Upload a supporting statement answering the following questions below (no more than 400 words per question). You should use the Supporting Statement template.
1. Describe a situation where you had to collaborate with multiple professionals to support a family. What was your approach to ensuring effective multi-agency communication?
2. Describe a scenario where you identified risks and developed an intervention strategy. How did you ensure the safety and support of the children involved?
3. Describe a challenging case that pushed you to learn and develop new skills. What did you learn from this experience?
4. Describe a situation where you had to de-escalate a tense or challenging interaction with a family or individual.
Step 4 - Upload a CV (without name and personal details).
Please note: Without a supporting statement and CV, your interest will not be progressed. Any supporting documents must be in either PDF or MS Word format.
We value authentic applications that showcase your genuine skills and experiences. Applications suspected of being generated by AI may be rejected. We encourage you to present your own work and ideas throughout the application process.
If you require any reasonable adjustments to the application process before the next selection stage, please contact our Recruitment Team by emailing recruitment@suffolk.gov.uk or calling 03456 014412. If you are invited to the next stage of selection, you will have another opportunity to request adjustments for the next stages of the process.
Closing date: 11.30pm, 12 January 2025.
Interview date: 27 January 2025.
This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts. #LI-Hybrid
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