Senior Duty Support Officer (MASH) (6 month secondment)

Important Information for Current Barnet Council Employees: This position is open to internal candidates only. Any applications received from external candidates will not be considered and will be automatically rejected. Where possible, employees who have access to Oracle are encouraged to apply via the Opportunity Marketplace (Internal Career Site). This helps to ensure applications are correctly identified as internal and avoids potential delays during the recruitment process.

About Barnet Council: Barnet is a borough with much to be proud of. Our excellent schools, vibrant town centres, vast green spaces and diverse communities all help make it a great place to live and work. As a council we want to build on these strengths as we move into the future. We are growing and developing as an organisation to meet the challenges facing our borough and we are committed to working with partner organisations and residents to make Barnet even better. Our staff are committed to Our Values: Learning to Improve, Caring, Inclusive, Collaborative – which drive everything we do.

About the role: This is an exciting opportunity for an existing Duty Support Officer to step up into a Senior role for a six month secondment. Barnet’s Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) operates as a single ‘front door’ for Children & Young People’s Services, co-locating a wide range of key agencies and social work professionals who work together to share information and assess risk to ensure that children receive the help they need swiftly. This new role requires a dynamic individual who can provide managerial administrative support, oversee the MASH DSO posts and offer regular supervision. The aim of the Family Service is to ensure that all children and young people in Barnet achieve the best possible outcomes and to enable them to become successful adults, especially our most vulnerable children.

About you: As the Senior Duty Support Officer you will be responsible for an effective support service in the MASH, ensuring a fair and equitable work allocation and quality control system. You will have experience in providing efficient and robust administrative support and research to assist in the timely processing of information gathered from the multi-agency partnership so that they are equipped to make decisions about the services children need to safeguard their welfare or meet their identified needs. You will be adept in navigating and demonstrating a range of client-based data systems. You will also ensure that MASH administrators are able to utilise relevant databases and systems, and robustly scrutinise information held, preparing information rapidly in a chronological format to assist in the timely and efficient processing of referrals and decisions within the MASH. You will play a key role in supporting the development of the service and contributing to the overall effectiveness of referral and support mechanisms for services to children in Barnet.

What we offer:

• 31 days annual leave, plus public and bank holidays
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme, which provides a valuable guaranteed income in your retirement together with security for your dependents
• A comprehensive Flexible Working Policy which supports work-life balance by empowering staff and management to make decisions around when, where, and how work is done
• A vast range of lifestyle discounts from major retailers, supermarkets, energy suppliers and more
• Broad range of payroll benefits including cycle to work, eye care vouchers, travel and gym membership
• Excellent training and development opportunities
• Employee well-being training programs including confidential employee assistance

Barnet Council 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. Barnet operates stringent safer recruitment procedures, which may include AI Detection Screening, Biometric ID/Right to Work Checks, Qualification and Registration Checks, Employment Data and Insights to Accelerate Screening, Employment History References, DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) Checks, Credit Checks and Social Media, Sanctions and Occupational Health Screening.

To deliver Barnet Council’s commitment to equality of opportunity in the provision of services, all staff are expected to promote equality in the workplace and in the services the Council delivers. As such we value diversity and welcome applications from all backgrounds. Barnet Council embraces all forms of flexible working (including part-time, compressed hours, and hybrid working) and is committed to offering employees a healthy work-life balance. Candidates are encouraged to talk about relevant requirements and preferences at interview.

Barnet Council is a Disability Confident Committed Employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to ensure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process.

All posts with the council are subject to a probationary period of six months, during which time you will be required to demonstrate to the council satisfaction your suitability for the position in which you will be employed. Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close vacancies before the stated closing date if sufficient number of applications are received. Therefore, please apply as soon as possible. Please ensure you regularly check the email account (including JUNK MAIL folders) that you use to submit your application, as any further communication regarding your application will be sent electronically. Should you not hear from us within four working weeks of the closing date for this post, then regretfully in this instance, you have not been shortlisted.