Job Description

Role: Senior Children and Families Practitioner

Based: Herts (Waltham Cross)

Rate: £18 - £20 umb

Start Date: ASAP

Duration: Temp for 3 months

Hours: 35 hours per week

Our client, a specialist Domestic Violence charity, is looking to recruit a Senior Children and Families Practitioner to lead a team of staff delivering support in safe accommodation to children and young people (CYP) focused on their needs and safety. To take a leading role where CYP Child Protection and Child in Need arrangements and to work collaboratively with adult support and programs staff to enhance parenting capacity, to rebuild family bonds and increase the resilience of the family as a whole. To act as the voice of the child or young person in refuge and within our planning work to respond to CYP as victims in their own right

Synopsis of duties:

• To ensure initial assessments with the CYP (where age appropriate) are undertaken within the specified timescales initiating plans to manage and address risks, needs and immediate safety. To ensure that services are delivered to the standard and quality expected by the Organisation.
• To hold complex CYP cases and complete all work required with the CYP to meet their needs.
• Act as a source of expertise and advice to all staff in respect of children in the families they support, offering support, guidance and signposting where necessary.
• Ensure that all safeguarding measures are delivered in respect of the client and their children and that at all times you and your team adhere strictly to Safer Places policies and procedures in respect of safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• Ensure support for children is prioritised in line with assessed need and risk and work as part of a multi-agency team where there are issues of safeguarding / child protection / other additional factors.
• Ensure that CFSW are planning, delivering and evaluating all activities for CYP in conjunction with the service model and strategy for the delivery of services to CYP including one to one work, group/family activities and arranging for other agencies to bring activities into the service.
• Liaising with all local children s services, supporting and encouraging parents and CYP to access appropriate community provision (including schools and children s centres).
• To ensure that the highest standards of risk management are applied at the area, service and individual level.
• To effectively assess and monitor the quality of service delivery to ensure that CYP receive safe and appropriate support using audit tools.
• Ensure that KPI s and SLA s are met.
• To assist line manager to implement service improvement programmes focussed on performance targets.
• To develop key relationships with local partners in statutory and other agencies within area and through these and other means ensuring that services are geared to deliver equality of access based on risk need and choice.
• Building key partnership pathways with other agencies to ensure referrals can be made to support CYP in safe accommodation and as part of their resettlement plan.
• Responsible for the day-to-day leadership of staff, ensuring appropriate and effective delivery of services to clients including risk assessment, safety planning, referrals to other agencies.
• Responsible for the recruitment, selection and retention process for all staff and posts within the area.
• Responsible for annual employee appraisals, performance reviews and the professional development of staff.
• To support line manager to keep the design and configuration of services under regular review, anticipate and develop proposals for change to ensure practice remains up to date.
• Ensure all records are maintained accurately and confidentially and databases are up to date.
• To work in partnership with the other Managers to ensure a consistent approach to service delivery across the department.
• To work flexibly within the shift pattern allocated by your line manager. To work across all sites on a weekly basis as directed by your line manager.

Essential Requirements:

• Experience of working with vulnerable groups
• Managing a caseload
• Experience in working in a supportive role with families, children and young people (paid or voluntary)
• Experienced in assessing needs and client focused support planning
• Have a good understanding of domestic abuse including the impact it has on victims and their children

Supporting Futures Consulting acts as both an employer and an agency.