About Us
The Early Help Service is an integral part of the Children, Young People and Learning Directorate. We work with children, families, and young people to help ensure that every child is supported to achieve his or her potential. Early Help ensures that children and families receive accessible and coordinated support when they need it. This support ranges across a continuum from universal preventative approaches through to more targeted help where families are experiencing more complex or multiple difficulties. At every level support is designed to address and reduce the problems or challenges and prevent them getting worse.
The Opportunity
Salary: £30,296 - £33,024 per annum
Working Pattern: Full Time (37 hours)
Contract Length: Permanent
Location: Worthing
The Family Support Key Worker is a lead professional role to deliver intensive, focused support to families with complex issues. This is achieved by working closely and intensively with whole families, using a single-family plan with agreed outcomes, that the family and professionals will work towards. By providing this support we will improve outcomes for children and reduce dependence on high cost, specialist support services.
The successful applicant will have strong leadership skills and the ability to develop and build capacity in the team working around the family, in order that team members are able to work effectively with families with multiple, complex issues.
Experience and Skills
Key Skills:
- Ability to listen to adults and children who have experienced trauma and have complex needs and to use excellent interpersonal skills in order to build an effective relationship with the families
- Analytical and judgmental skills in order to interpret complex situations and information from families to make assessments
- Excellent crisis management skills with the ability to recognize the individual needs of families
- Ability to create an environment where families are empowered to make positive change
- The ability to build rapport quickly with people participating in services and remain up to date with changes in best practice and available support mechanisms
- Ability to accurately record information in excel spreadsheets and web Ability to use a variety of screening tools
Qualifications and/or experience:
- Relevant qualification, degree level preferably, in a relevant subject, or demonstrable experience in a paid or unpaid capacity of providing support to people in stressful and difficult situations
- Demonstrable experience of working with families in crisis in order to provide support, especially those with complex and chronic difficulties
- Experience of interpreting families' needs and assisting families to access appropriate support services
- Experience of working in a team environment and multi-agency working
- Experience of working within a frame of confidentiality
- Experience of applying relevant legislation, policies and procedures to individual pieces of work
- Valid and full driving licence
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 competitive salary you will have access to:
For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee, you can find this at our Rewards and Benefits page.
Further Information
The reference number for this role is CAFHE04684.
For an informal conversation or further information regarding the role, please contact Jonathan Bertram at .
To apply, upload your CV and complete the application explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role 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.
Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.