Family Worker - Family Help

This is a great opportunity to join our North Family Help Team in Children's Services ,as a Family Worker, in making a genuine difference to the lives of children, young people and their families in Dorset. 

You'll be working closely alongside your North Family Help colleagues, our North Children's Services Team and our partner agencies, you’ll enjoy a varied role that blends time in families homes, Schools, Nurseries and within our North offices, there is flexibility to work from home once a week.

You’ll be managing your own calendar, time and planning ahead so it's essential that you're an individual who is well organised.

You'll join a supportive, experienced team in North Family Help that values collaboration and learning, with regular training and development to help you grow your career in Children's Services.  

What you’ll be doing:

You’ll hold and support a number of families (0-18years), where you'll assess and review the families strengths, needs and risks, and capture the voice of the child/ren, alongside the family and professionals to understand and coordinate the right level of support to help keep children and young people safe.

This position, as a Family Worker, will be challenging and rewarding and will develop your knowledge and skillset. No two days are ever the same and you'll have a real lasting impact on those families you work alongside. 

Your work will include:

•  Direct work with children and families in their home or setting 
• Attending / chairing meetings 
• Referrals to other agencies 
• Liaising with partner agencies
• Writing assessments, reports, meeting minutes 
• Regular supervisions and check in's with your line manager 
• Covering the team’s duty rota one day a month alongside your Team Manager and Assistant Team Manager, to review families coming into the North for help and support. As part of this role you maybe asked to undertake duty visits, make duty phone calls, ensure our recording systems are up to date.  
• Link Work, this is where you will be allocated specific schools within the North based on your knowledge, skillset and geography to build positive working relationships, offer advice and guidance to the School Lead Professional for children & families as part of early intervention work. 

About you:

• You'll be empathetic, compassionate and person-centred, with a strong commitment to understanding and supporting children, young people and their families. 
• You'll have a wider knowledge and understanding of different barriers that children, young people and their families face and the impact. 
• You'll be organised and detail-oriented, able to handle assessments, reviews and record-keeping with care.
• You'll be collaborative, working well with families, colleagues and partner agencies in a  professional manor adopting and adhering to Dorset Council Behaviours. 
• You'll be flexible and comfortable working across different settings and adjusting to changing needs of our families and service. 
• You'll be proactive and solution-focused, always looking for ways to help families get the right level of support they need.
• An understanding of Children's Services - Early Help & Child In Need.
•  You’ll need experience of working with children and young people and their families, along with excellent communication skills.
• You'll need access to your own vehicle for this position, and will require sufficient travel due to North's large and rural area in Dorset...be prepared to be stuck behind tractors now and again! 

If you’d like to make a positive difference and develop your career in children’s services, we’d love to hear from you.

At Dorset Council, we are working together to create a fairer, more prosperous, and more sustainable Dorset for everyone, now and in the future.

We:

• provide essential services that support over 300,000 residents
• work in partnership to make a real difference
• value every role and the impact it has on our communities
• support our employees to grow, develop, and thrive

You will:

• be part of a team that works together for a better Dorset
• have access to a range of benefits and support
• receive training and development opportunities to help your career progress

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation where different skills, perspectives, and backgrounds strengthen both our council and the communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. If you declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role, we will offer you an interview. We also want our recruitment process to be accessible, if you need any reasonable adjustments, just let us know on your application.

This role is UK-based, and we will need to confirm your Right to Work as part of the appointment process. We use generic job descriptions and person specifications, so the job title in any attachments may differ from the advert. If needed, we will provide additional details in a context statement.

If you’re passionate about making a difference, we’d love you to join us.

Find out more about how to apply.