Family Intervention Worker - Surrey County Council : Job Details

The starting salary for these positions is £32,512 per annum based on a 36-hour working week.

In Surrey we believe that every child should have the opportunity to reach their full potential and that children are best supported to grow and achieve within their own families. By working together, we are developing flexible services which are responsive to children's and families' needs, providing the right level of help at the right time.

We now have some fantastic opportunities to join our new Intensive Family Support Service (IFSS)!

We are proud of our commitment to families in Surrey and excited to be developing more opportunities to help and support children in local communities. We are looking for Family Intervention Workers to join our quadrant teams based across Surrey.

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About the Role

The Intensive Family Support Service (IFSS) provides intensive early help to whole families who have overlapping and interconnecting needs.

IFFS Teams work closely with social work colleagues and jointly with a broad range of local community partners including Police, Health, Education, Housing, Employment and Benefits, Leisure, Mental Health services and a wide range of local groups from the Voluntary Sector, so families can receive help that is meaningful to them, and early enough to avoid the need for statutory interventions. We want to maximise these partnership opportunities and work together with families to enable better outcomes for children, as per the national Supporting Families Outcomes Framework.

As a Family Intervention Worker you will work face to face within the local community to support whole families with interconnecting needs, doing what is required to support them to achieve their goals.

On a typical day you can expect to be involved in:

• Supporting whole families through a strengths-based and trauma-informed approach, using motivational interviewing skills, one-to-one meetings, visiting children in schools, families in their homes and delivering group-work
• Coordinating key support services and professionals to form an engaged, active and effective Team Around the Family with clearly defined roles and expectations as per the family plan
• Maintaining positive contact and effectively managing the balance of providing hands-on support and coordinating relevant partners, ensuring that families are not 'passed around' different services and that support and relationships are consistent and meaningful

The role demands a unique blend of people skills as you will need to engage effectively with diverse families and help coordinate a range of partners in a Team Around the Family. You will need to be organised, able to write accurate and timely records, and produce clear and relatable written reports for families to use to identify strengths and agree actions together.

Our vacancies are located in the following quadrants:

• South West Surrey - Office base location in Guildford, working across Guildford and Waverley boroughs/districts
• North West Surrey - Office base location in Woking, working across Woking, Surrey Heath, and Runneymede boroughs/districts
• North East Surrey - Office base location in Weybridge, working across Spelthorne, Elmbridge, and Epson & Ewell boroughs/districts

You will be able to select your preferred location as part of the application process.

Shortlisting Criteria

To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:

• Understanding or awareness of legislation, procedures and issues relating to the service user group or the willingness to learn and develop this area
• Ability to plan, manage and prioritise a caseload, seeking guidance where necessary
• Effective written and oral communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships with a range of stakeholders
• Ability to work effectively and flexibly as part of a team, supporting your colleagues when needed
• The willingness and ability to travel extensively around your geographical quadrant area and the wider County as required

We are welcoming applications from people local to Surrey and our surrounding borders with a broad range of experience to create multi-skilled teams that can engage with diverse families. Full training will be provided, so if you are interested in this type of work and are committed to supporting families locally - we would be pleased to hear from you.

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment.The job advert closes at 23:59 on 19th January 2025 with interviews to follow.

Our Commitment

Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role.

We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.