Personal Advisor

Do you have experience of working with Care Experienced young people and a passion to help others to be their very best? Future First, the Leaving Care Service for Wandsworth Children’s Social Care, supports over 440 young people aged 16-25 who are in the care of Wandsworth Borough Council. As part of a dedicated, vibrant, and enthusiastic team of professionals, your role will be to help young people build stable and successful independent lives.

About the role

Working under the requirements of the Leaving Care Act 2000 and the Social Work Act 2017, you will offer a Personal Advisor service to a maximum of 22 young people allocated to you. You will work alongside the young person’s Social Worker while they are 16 and 17 and then take on full case responsibility as they transition to the Leaving Care Service. You will build meaningful and supportive relationships with young people to support them into successful independent adult life, taking a systemic and trauma‑informed approach to deliver the best service to our Care Experienced young people. Promotion of user involvement and feedback is a key element of the role. The role entails regular liaison with external and internal partner agencies and requires extremely proficient organisation and interpersonal skills. You will ensure ’keeping in touch’, Pathway Plans and suitable accommodation is maintained for all young people through regular visits and contact. You will provide duty cover under the guidance of the manager, and engage in group work with young people. Enthusiasm and a passion for supporting young people is key. Please note you will be required to travel around the UK and carry out some limited evening work in line with service participants’ availability and duty arrangements.

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• Previous work with Care Experienced young people.
• Experience of working with young adults in challenging circumstances.
• Experience of identifying safeguarding concerns and risk management.
• Great communication skills with an anti-discriminatory focused approach.
• Experience in producing high quality assessments and reports.
• An awareness of Trauma Informed practice and understanding of the key issues for Care Experienced young people.

For an informal conversation about the role, please contact Carlyn Ferreira by email carlyn.ferreira@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk

Commitments and Benefits

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you require reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and will be conditional upon a satisfactory disclosure and barring service (DBS) check. We offer a wide range of benefits designed to attract, develop, and reward our employees such as 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays), flexible working and a generous pension plan.

Equal Opportunities

Richmond and Wandsworth Better Service Partnership are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences. We recognise that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Council and can improve the way we deliver services.