Family Support Lead

About Us

The Family Time Team arrange and deliver sessions where Children's Social Care Services are required to supervise a child's time with a parent or family members with whom they are not resident.

About The Job

Salary: £39,187- £42,072 (includes Crawley Weighting Allowance)
Contract: Secondment or Fixed Term, maternity cover
Working Pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week
Location: Office based at Teasel Close, Crawley

Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.

We're recruiting for a Family Support Lead to join our team based at our Family Time Centre in Crawley, whose leadership will support children to have safe, supportive and enriching family time sessions.

As a key member of the team, the Family Support Lead will act as a lead professional responsible for delivering an operational service to families who access or need it. You will work in a multi-agency way to ensure children are central to all coordinated responses. You will support the team and colleagues within the service, carrying out regular management oversight and making the initial decisions on risk level to ensure the service meet the needs of children and families. You will ensure clients receive regular feedback and progress regarding their cases from agencies and organisations.

We are looking for a confident and resilient leader who can effectively motivate their team and manage expectations across a range of multi-disciplinary services. You will thrive in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment and demonstrate exceptional organisational to manage the high volume of referrals this team receives. You will have excellent IT skills, particularly with Excel spreadsheets. You will handle potentially volatile scenarios and navigate conflict with professionalism, while always prioritising the safety and wellbeing of all involved. A successful candidate will be passionate about creating positive and enriching experiences for the children we support.

As the needs of families do not always fit into traditional working hours, and in order to deliver the best outcomes for children and families, it is expected that the Family Support Lead will be flexible with regular working hours. The role also requires you to be able to travel throughout the County including to locations that are not always easily accessible by public transport.

Experience and Skills

Just some of the key skills required for the role:

• Excellent crisis management skills with the ability to deal with stressful, difficult situations and the leadership ability to motivate others to provide the highest possible level of service to families and Social Care.
• Good assessment skills, with the ability to analyse and interpret complex and varied people-related information and data in order to prioritise needs and to negotiate and implement effective support and service provision.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with families in crisis and manage conflict, containing anxieties and working within the boundaries of the role.
• Excellent advisory, guiding, negotiating and persuasive skills in order to encourage others to adopt a particular course of action.
• Computer literacy with sound and accurate IT skills, particularly with excel, and the ability to maintain databases and appropriate records.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent level of significant experience demonstrating comprehensive understanding of social care.
• Advanced theoretical, practical and procedural knowledge of legislation and national policy developments regarding children and young people and the implications for practise.
• Experience of managing levels of risk with the families and identifying complex needs.
• Advanced knowledge of safeguarding children.
• A valid full driving license is preferable.

For full list please read the job description attached.

Rewards and Benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity you will receive:

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE05306.

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and application form. In your application form outline your motivations for applying and explain how you meet the key skills listed in full and the experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check. Being able to drive a car is essential due to it being a countywide service and children we care for potentially being placed out of county.

West Sussex County Council is an equal opportunities employer committed to promoting an environment that is inclusive and free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of its people. We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and take every possible step to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged.

For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability or Veteran's Guaranteed Interview Scheme, this can be found on our application help page.