Residential Child Care Worker - MOR12083 in Elgin

The residential child care worker will attend to the physical and emotional development needs of the young people living within and those that have moved on from the service, in line with National Health and Social Care Standards and Moray Council Children’s Services Plans. Care will extend to the physical environment itself, in recognition of the importance of the environment in promoting resilience and safety. Care and support provided will be in line with the provided ethos, which recognises that instances of challenging behaviour are distress based behaviours which require a trauma informed response.

Responsibilities

• As part of a team, supported by the senior workers and residential manager, establish and maintain positive relationships based on providing direct support and care to children and young people living in the house, and to their families.
• Care will extend to the fabric of the houses and routines within, which should be recognised as a vital component of providing care in line with therapeutic principles.
• All care and support provided is based on the fundamental principles of The Promise.
• Actively participate and contribute to the overall review and development of care and support for young people using the service, ensuring that the best interests and wellbeing of young people is paramount at all times; taking into consideration all aspects of development needs (social, emotional, physical, intellectual and spiritual).
• Participate in all professional development opportunities and take responsibility for own learning and development and reflective practice.

The Individual Experience

• Experience of working with children and young people.
• Experience of multiagency working.
• Experience of assessing need and risk.
• Experience of participating in the monitoring and evaluating of services.
• Awareness of budgets.
• Knowledge of and ability to work within National Minimum Care Standards.
• Experience of working with vulnerable groups who may display challenging behaviour.
• HNC and SVQ III or equivalent, or willing to work towards these.
• SSSC Registration or willingness to obtain.
• Ability to engage positively with young people and others who are experiencing difficulties.
• Good time management.
• Effective numeracy and literacy skills.
• Capacity to manage change and work for significant amounts of time with uncertainty.
• IT literate and willing to undertake further training as required.
• Participate in all training and development.
• Self motivated.
• Build and maintain positive relationships in a supportive capacity with children and young people, also with colleagues and others who constitute the team around each young person, particularly in difficult circumstances.
• Recording skills and ability to produce reports and written records to a high standard.
• Work effectively within a team.
• Have a strong sense of the role of the Residential Child Care Worker for young people.
• Be committed to delivering quality services for the young people within your care.
• Willingness to work within the ethos of trauma informed care, therapeutic parenting, Dan Hughes PACE model.
• Participate in regular structured supervision.
• You will be expected to travel efficiently and effectively within Moray to meet the operational requirements of the Service.
• Due to the rural nature of Moray this is normally undertaken by use of a car/van.
• Experience of supporting or mentoring others, either for less experienced staff, or for teenage aged young people.
• Ability to undertake continuous learning and to apply learning in practice, to ensure support is based on trauma informed care principles.
• Ability to engage in reflective practice, continuously.
• Effective communication skills.
• Capacity to make decisions under pressure.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• A sense of fun and optimistic outlook.
• Ability to nurture and provide unconditional acceptance.
• Requirement to work shifts, undertake sleep-in duties and waking nights where required.
• Ability to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service.
• Willingness to work over the festive period and public holidays.
• Ability to remain constructive and positive in an emotionally challenging environment.

This post is considered to be a ‘Regulated Role’ under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020. Under the Act it is a legal requirement for an individual undertaking a regulated role with children or protected adults to be a member of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme. Therefore, the successful candidate will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme Update check prior to any formal offer of employment being made by Moray Council.

Closing Date: 4 September 2026

Starting Salary: £32,742.45 (pro-rata)

Hourly Rate: £17.37

Hours: 35 hours a week