Family Worker (Link Role) in Colchester

About The Role

Fixed Term, Full Time. £31,931 to £36,423 per annum. Location: Colchester. Working Style: Community-based worker. Closing Date: Wednesday 17th December 2025 at 11.59pm. Please note that this is a Fixed Term Contract / Secondment opportunity for a period of 6 months.

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 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, mentor and guide colleagues.
• Responsible for undertaking holistic assessments of family needs to help create family intervention plans and identify how outcomes can be achieved that fully reflect the family and young person’s views and aspirations.
• 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 empowering families to 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 Effective Support and Guidance document and SET child protection procedures.
• Actively engage in annual appraisals where specific individual objectives are defined inline within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

• 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.
• One post in each team requires the applicant to hold a social work qualification and be HCPC registered.
• 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.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader, and we are committed to interviewing all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. We are also committed to interviewing all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying. Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs. At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour, and we kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles throughout the recruitment process.

Additional Information

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 your role requires a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.