Designated Keyworker Development Officer in Preston

Designated Keyworker Development Officer

Band 5

Main area Administrative and Clerical Grade Band 5 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 351-PEN1203-VD

Site Greenbank Centre Town Preston Salary £32,073 - £39,043 per annum (subject to confirmation) Salary period Yearly Closing 22/11/2026 23:59

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:

• Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
• Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
• Extensive community physical health and well-being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term condition management.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.

Lancashire & South Cumbria Foundation Trust are pleased to be recruiting to the Keyworker Team, who play an integral role for children, young people and adults with ASD and learning difficulties who are in crisis.

The Keyworker Team provides a multi-agency approach to support children, young people, adults and families/carers. It is a co-ordinated, person-centred and outcome-focused approach to planning and support where children, young people, adults and families/carers require additional and sometimes complex support. The Designated Keyworker is in high demand, with each Keyworker managing a caseload.

As an LSCFT team, we work across Lancashire, Blackpool and Fylde Coast, Morecambe Bay, South Cumbria and Blackburn with Darwin.

Applicants should have excellent communication skills and the ability to work well autonomously and as part of a team.

Main duties of the job

• Ensure co-production and co-design with parent carers, Children and Young People (CYP) and Adults who have a learning disability and/or autism as well as colleagues across agencies.
• Work closely with the Dynamic Support Register (DSR) leads in each of the Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs), allowing for a comprehensive overview of Lancashire & South Cumbria children and young people and adults.
• Improve the use of the ICP DSR for the recording and tracking of CYP to ensure organisations can co-ordinate their support for the CYP and family effectively.
• Identify the teams around the person to understand where they are supported by the keyworking functions.
• Undertake quality assurance with spot audits of cases to understand the effectiveness of the delivery of the keyworking competencies.
• Identify who is best placed to contribute to the key working functions.
• Where necessary support families directly through embedded processes such as Local Area Emergency Protocol (LAEPs) and Care, Education and Treatment Reviews (CETRs).
• Be "there" for families, becoming advocates on their behalf where necessary ensuring the families aspirations for their young person are addressed in plans for support.
• Be key in supporting the development and the delivery of the Key Worker Function training
• Exercise accountability and responsibility using skills, knowledge and expertise in changing environments, across agency boundaries and in unfamiliar situations

Working for our organisation

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached the job description and person specification for more information about this role.

Person specification

Education/ Qualifications

• Educated to Degree level in a relevant subject or equivalent level of qualification or significant equivalent previous proven lived experience

Experience

• Experience of working with children/adults who have complex needs and their families
• Lived experience of interfacing with statutory and non-statutory agencies
• Experience of multi-agency working

Knowledge

• Knowledge of systems and processes used to identify, assess, and coordinate appropriate support for people with neurodivergent needs.
• Understanding of statutory requirements for children, young people and adults across the various agencies including education, health and social care
• An understanding of the barriers and challenges parents may face when trying to support the needs of their child

You are advised to consider applying for LSCFT vacancies as soon as possible as in some instances vacancies are closed as soon as a sufficient number of applications have been received. If you are not invited to interview within four weeks of the closing date then please assume that on this occasion you have been unsuccessful, as it is not possible to contact all unsuccessful candidates.

Please note that further communication from LSCFT will normally be to the email address given on the application form. You should also ensure that email addresses and telephone numbers are provided for your referees, to enable LSCFT to contact them.

Please ensure that you read the person specification as your application will be measured against this document.

If you use AI to assist with your application, you must declare this. Undeclared use may result in withdrawal. Please ensure your application reflects your own skills and experiences. While AI tools can assist, they may produce generic or inaccurate content. We encourage you to provide personal examples that demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria.

For all posts which require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check please be aware of the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice, a copy of which is available by logging on to the DBS website. If the post is subject to DBS disclosure, a charge will be made to the successful candidate(s).

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Ethan Darr Job title Senior Keyworking Development Practitioner Email address Ethan.Darr@lscft.nhs.uk

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