Family Worker (Link Role)

Based out of our office at Rayleigh Library you will be expected to cover the "South" area i.e., Basildon, Castlepoint and Rochford District.

Family Solutions is our Early Help intervention service for families with multiple needs at a complex level, who require intensive family support, but whose needs do not meet the threshold for specialist intervention.

The 8 operational teams work on the basis of family agreement and can offer up to 12 months of support to families. They work holistically from offices based within the local communities, taking a strength based approach to enable and empower families to make and sustain significant positive changes in their lives. Each team has a Social Worker post and other Family Workers are alternatively qualified from multi-disciplinary backgrounds.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Children & Families

Please take a look at our ‘No Magic’ Children & Families video

The Opportunity

Children and Families is recognised as a service in which social work can develop and prosper, with a culture of collaboration, integrity, and compassion; promoting the development and wellbeing of children, young people, and their families; protecting them from neglect and abuse. Working together with partners delivering a range of early help, family support and effective social work interventions which build resilience, remove barriers, and enable children and young people to look forward to a brighter future.

Family Solutions was established across Essex to work holistically with families with multiple and complex needs to enable them to make significant changes and improvements to their lives. The Family Worker (Link Role) is a key role in the service providing specialist advice and support with regard to their thematic area and coordinating the provision of support from other services.

Accountabilities

• Responsible for determining the direction and actions required in order to progress cases forward on a day-to-day basis; recognising when key decisions regarding risks/concerns need to be referred to the Team Manager or Practice Supervisor.

• Responsible for acting as a source of advice, guidance, and support to colleagues in relation to the thematic role held in order to support case discussions and mentor and guide colleagues.

• Responsible for undertaking holistic assessments of family needs to help create intervention plans and identify how outcomes can be achieved that fully reflect the family and young person’s views and aspirations; delivering interventions, including group work programs, to support families to make change.

• Responsible for facilitating complex family meetings, managing the potentially competing views of families and professionals, in order to find achievable solutions.

• Responsible for undertaking individual and group programmes of work to enable children and families to develop their skills to resolve issues and problems themselves; providing information and accompanying families to help access other local services.

• Responsible for providing specific practical, personal, and emotional support to families in their homes or other settings as part of an agreed plan in order to achieve agreed and sustainable family outcomes.

• Responsible for actively participating in regular supervision in order to review work and ensure effective interventions for families.

• Responsible for ensuring that the principles of effective practice are fully embedded in service delivery; working collaboratively with staff and partners to ensure effective risk management in line with the thresholds of the Effective Support and Guidance document to ensure that the Family Solutions team understands and follows the SET child protection procedures.

• Educated to degree level preferred but minimum NVQ level 4 or equivalent by experience in relevant thematic specialism i.e., Domestic Abuse, Substance Misuse, Education, Mental Health, and Parenting.

• Evidence of continuing professional development with good knowledge in relevant professional area and commitment to the principles of evidence based practice.

• Significant practical experience of working with families with multiple and complex needs.

• Effective communication skills, good problem solving and assessment skills with a demonstrable track record of building and sustaining positive professional relationships with individuals and families with multiple and complex needs.

• Experience of applying a solution focused approach and providing practical advice and support to families to enable them to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes.

• Ability to work in partnership with others to maximise outcomes for families in line with the Family Solutions operating principles.

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team and to use supervision appropriately.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email daniel.warner@essex.gov.uk