Personal Advisor WCC623358 in Westminster

As Personal Adviser, you too can make a powerful contribution. You\’ll be responsible for ensuring that carer leavers (ages 18-25) have a successful transition to independent adulthood.

We guide young people through the transition with Pathway Plans. You\’ll contribute to the assessments, formulation, implementation and review of these.

Plus, you\’ll assist and advise care leavers on practical skills necessary for living independently, such as holding a tenancy and developing financial capabilities. Alongside this, you\’ll offer motivational support to build confidence and self-esteem. As this is a relationally led role, you have the opportunity to be creative and autonomous in the impact that you make.

You\’ll keep in contact with carer leavers, checking that they have suitable accommodation, are in education, or have secured employment that is appropriate to their abilities and aspirations. To push this forward, you\’ll collaborate with colleagues across agencies to ensure that provisions are well coordinated.

As Personal Adviser, you\’ll need to be comfortable working with a variety of young people. Differing aspirations, educations, and some with significant challenges, like their mental health and offending history. Multiculturalism runs through Westminster, so you\’ll regularly work with people with a background different to your own.

Our team is rated outstanding by Ofsted, and we don\’t want to lose a notch of that success, we just want to build on it. We offer a high level of support, regular supervision, and manageable caseloads. Plus, our extensive training opportunities provides routes into social work and systemic practice. Inclusivity and shared values are prioritised in all that we do, as well as innovation. Together, we work to ensure that every young person receives high quality, tailored support for their transition into independence.

To be a good fit, you\’ll bring experience of working with vulnerable children, young adults and families according to statutory guidance, either directly in or in partnership with local authority children\’s services. You know how to offer safeguarding support, in accordance with the expectations set out in the Children Act 1989 and the Leaving Care Act 2000. You\’ll have collaborated with young people, families and relevant services to work towards positive outcomes, addressing underlying vulnerabilities. If you do not have direct experience working with young adults, then you will have transferable skills from settings such as health, housing, youth and employment. You\’ll be familiar with assessing and engaging with families, no matter their cultural or ethnic background.

Strong communication (written and verbal) is key to the role. At times, you\’ll have conversations with young people who are feeling particularly distressed or vulnerable. Organisation is also your strength – you\’ll manage time effectively and balance competing demands.

Plus, you\’ll be able to analyse information to move forward with SMART plans of action. You\’re able to learn and use models of practice to support meaningful interventions and to manage the personal impact of the work.

You\’ll be educated to A level (or equivalent). If not, you\’ll bring extensive experience directly working with children, young people, their parents and carers to effect positive change.

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF EMPOWERED FAMILIESChildren\’ Services at Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories where compassionate people bring everything to their work, including their own experiences of parenting.

Take Melissa, a Senior Social Worker in our Assessment Team. She\’s one of the first people families meet when accessing our services, so building rapport is critical. And that\’s where Melissa\’s life experience really counts. She had her first child as a young adult and knows just how judgemental others can be.

Melissa has something unique to offer and it can\’t be found in a textbook: her own experience of raising two children as a single parent. She\’s committed to empowering others: giving them the skills, resources and confidence they need, from housing support to baby supplies. And if the family has older kids? Well, she\’s been there too. Her youngest is now 15 and Melissa knows the challenges of helping young people navigate inner-city life.

Melissa first learnt her craft as a support worker, then completed her statutory training as social worker – all while raising her family single-handed. And she\’s not done yet. Supported by her managers, she\’s been training in systemic therapy and is already looking forward to her next development opportunity.

INCLUSION AND FLEXIBLE WORKINGAt Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way.

As a forward-thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

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