Family Support Worker in Carlisle

At Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Cumbria's Children's Hospice, we provide compassionate, specialist care to people living with life-limiting and terminal illness, supporting families to make the most of the time they have together. We are now entering an exciting period of growth, with a clear ambition to reach more families across Cumbria.

As a Family Support Worker, you will deliver a high-quality, compassionate support service to families, providing emotional, social and practical support to those caring for a child or young person with a life-limiting condition, as well as families experiencing bereavement.

• Provide needs-led support to families across Cumbria.
• Support families before and after bereavement, helping them navigate grief and change.
• Work closely with health, social care and education professionals as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
• Build strong, trusting relationships with families.
• Manage your own caseload and diary, working flexibly across home and community settings.

You will be a compassionate and motivated individual with experience in health, social care, or a related field, with strong communication skills and the ability to support families in emotionally demanding situations.

At Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, our work is guided by a commitment to being caring, inclusive, respectful, and innovative. We are looking for someone who shares these values and is motivated to make a difference every day.

• Dynamic, supportive, and creative working environment.
• A genuine opportunity to make a meaningful impact.
• Involvement in education, training, and service development initiatives.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme, offering free, 24-hour support.
• Discounted local gym membership.

As part of our commitment to learning and development, we provide a comprehensive programme of training to help you perform at your best and feel valued as part of a high-performing organisation. In your first 12 months, you’ll have the opportunity to complete a range of specialist courses, including:

• Mental Health First Aid
• Makaton
• Counselling skills

This programme provides a strong foundation, enabling you to tailor your ongoing development to your interests and career goals.

Overall Aim: As a Family Support Worker, you will play a vital role within the Care Team, delivering a high-quality, compassionate support service to families. You will provide social, emotional and practical support to families, including those caring for a child or young person with a life-limiting or terminal illness, as well as those experiencing the bereavement of a parent or carer. Your work will ensure families feel supported, informed and able to navigate challenging circumstances with dignity and care.

• Deliver a high-quality, compassionate family support service as part of the Care Team.
• Provide needs-led emotional, social, and practical support to families across Cumbria.
• Support families where a child or young person has a life-limiting or terminal illness.
• Offer support over varying timeframes, including both short-term and longer-term involvement.
• Provide sensitive bereavement support to families before and after loss.
• Support individuals and families through grief, loss, and change.
• Apply an understanding of grief processes to support emotional wellbeing.
• Provide appropriate signposting to additional services and support where required.
• Work in partnership with health, education, and social care professionals.
• Contribute to multi-disciplinary team working, including attendance at meetings.
• Collaborate with colleagues across Jigsaw and the Adult Hospice to ensure coordinated support.
• Identify families in need of support and respond to referrals appropriately.
• Build and maintain supportive, trusting relationships with families.
• Communicate effectively and sensitively in a range of complex and emotional situations.
• Promote a person-centred and family-focused approach in all interactions.
• Plan, prioritise and manage your own caseload and diary, working autonomously.
• Deliver support in a variety of settings, including family homes and community environments.
• Work flexibly to meet the needs of families and respond to changing service demands.
• Travel across Cumbria as required.
• Safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults at all times.
• Recognise, respond to, and escalate safeguarding concerns in line with hospice policies.
• Contribute to risk assessment and management, escalating concerns appropriately.
• Maintain accurate, timely and confidential records in line with hospice policies and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with Data Protection legislation and information governance standards.
• Contribute to data collection and reporting requirements as needed.
• Maintain confidentiality of all issues concerning patients, their families together with all other hospice and staff issues.
• Work independently while maintaining high standards of care and professionalism.
• Demonstrate compassion, empathy, and reflective practice in all aspects of the role.
• Participate in supervision, appraisals, training, staff meetings and ongoing professional development.
• Contribute to service development and continuous improvement.
• Take responsibility for attendance at mandatory training sessions in health and safety, resuscitation, fire, safeguarding, moving and handling, infection control, equality and diversity and vehicle familiarisation.

• Comply with all hospice policies, procedures, and statutory requirements.
• Maintain awareness of health and safety responsibilities.
• Promote the values and ethos of Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw.
• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the role.

• Strong interpersonal skills with a practical, people-oriented approach.
• Ability to work at pace while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail.
• Open and effective communication skills (written and verbal).
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and volunteers.
• Ability to adapt communication style for varied audiences.

• Warm, inclusive and compassionate approach to working with others.
• Proactive and motivated, with a focus on achieving goals effectively.
• Professional, credible and able to lead by example.
• Adaptable and resilient when working in emotionally demanding situations.
• Ability to drive throughout the community.

• Experience working as a child health, education or social care professional.
• Experience of working in a demanding, people-focused environment.
• Experience working in a community setting.
• Experience working with volunteers.
• Experience supporting fundraising activity (e.g. writing case studies or updates).

• Sound knowledge of child protection, information sharing and data protection requirements.
• Understanding of professional boundaries and working within established guidelines.
• Additional specialist training in child health, safeguarding or family support.
• Knowledge of community-based support services.

• Recognised qualification in education, health or social care or equivalent professional.
• Counselling or bereavement qualification.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.