The London Borough of Hounslow and the Hounslow Safeguarding Children Partnership (HSCP) are seeking to recruit a Children in Care participation Worker to join us on a permanent, full-time basis, working 36 hours per week.
This is a brilliant opportunity for a professional with significant experience in youth participation with an interest in enabling children and young people to have a voice, inform and influence positive change in our corporate parenting offer, to join a forward-thinking organisation and shape our participation model.
The extensive level of skills and experience you’ll bring to this role will be key to the success of our participation offer. You can expect a varied and dynamic workload, creatively working with our young people, facilitating inclusive activities, supporting targeted programmes, and preparing for independence.
If you’re drawn to the idea of working in a creative, cross departmental and multi-agency environment alongside a dedicated and supportive team, developing your skillset while helping our children and young people to thrive, the role is for you.
Key Responsibilities:
1. To work effectively as part of the Council’s Corporate Parenting team, delivering corporate objectives through the work of the participation service for children in care.
2. To work alongside specialist teams for children and young people within the borough to empower young people and promote interdisciplinary working.
3. To work with partner agencies and other statutory bodies to promote the voice of children in care to a wider audience nationally and within the borough.
4. Implement, support and promote systems for involving children and young people in reviewing and influencing policies which affect them. This includes the Children in Care Council.
5. Systematically monitor and report young people’s views and experiences of services to managers, policy makers, and elected members and participate in the Corporate Parenting Panel.
About The Team You’ll Be Working In
You will be working in Safeguarding & Quality Assurance under the Workforce Development Team, collaborating with multiagency teams.
The primary focus is on building the current corporate parenting offer to ensure that the needs of the children and young people are met.
The team actively encourages creative thinking and providing opportunities to hear, respond and adapt our offer to empower our young people to meet their full potential.
If the points below resonate with you, we’d love you to put in an application:
1. Ability to be able to complete flexible working hours to meet the needs of the service.
2. Ability to communicate to a high standard, recognize and respond appropriately to trauma responses within young people.
3. Ability to manage resources within budgetary constraints, securing best value and cost effectiveness.
4. Ability to work with young people and maintain a regular, well-attended youth council, care council and care leavers council.
• Relevant degree is preferable.
• Managerial experience.
Enhanced DBS
Read more about the work you’ll be doing in the Role Profile.
Don’t meet every single requirement? We know that sometimes people can be put off applying for a job if they think they can’t tick every box. At Hounslow, we realise the ‘perfect candidate’ doesn’t exist. So, if you can do most of what we’re looking for, go ahead and apply. You may be just the right candidate for the job or be perfect for one of our other roles!
The London Borough of Hounslow is a vibrant, exciting place to visit, stay and explore, with many hidden gems. Miles of rivers – including the Thames, canals, nature reserves and parks, bustling town centres, and a fantastic leisure offer.
Children, young people and families are at the heart of all we do here in Hounslow. We listen to what children, young people and families have to say about what we do and how and where we do it because their say matters. Putting children, young people and families first is at the heart of our Family Friendly vision and we are committed to developing and supporting our workforce to deliver excellent services using resilience-based approaches.
We are looking for skilled, dynamic and motivated professionals who are aspirational for children and young people with the ability to drive change in the families and professional systems they work within. If you thrive in a child-centred and creative environment – Hounslow could be for you. We know that to recruit passionate, dedicated social workers - where there’s simply more demand than the available resource - we must show our appreciation in more tangible ways. That's why we have put together an attractive package for all our social workers.
In return for your skills, knowledge, and experience, you will receive an appropriate starting salary and a friendly, kind, positive and supportive working culture. We also offer:
Annual leave – Generous annual leave entitlements starting from 22 days and rising to max 30 days.
Christmas closure – Up to 3 days, between Christmas and New Year, if your office is closed. This is at the discretion of the council.
Employee benefits –a range of discounts and benefits across a range of companies which you can access as an employee of Hounslow.
Enhanced maternity leave – Up to 52 weeks’ leave after the birth of the baby and the option of a phased return over 3 months.
Flexible working arrangements - our focus is on the outcomes you deliver and we are flexible about where and how this is best achieved.
Local Government Pension Scheme – Open to all employees, this is a tax approved, occupational pension scheme. Your contributions are based on a sliding scale according to your salary band.
Learning and development – we want you to learn everyday. We have a fantastic range of resources and opportunities and are committed to your development throughout your career with us.
Premature baby leave and pay – where a baby is born prematurely. We are proud to have The Smallest Things Charter mark.
Paternity Leave – Up to two weeks paid leave Parental Leave – Up to 18 weeks’ unpaid leave.
Parental Bereavement leave - two weeks’ paid leave following the death of a child or a stillbirth.
Pool cars –Pool bikes –available for our employees to use for work.
Shared parental leave – Up to 50 weeks’ shared parental leave.
Season ticket loans – Interest free loans for British Rail, Underground and Bus season tickets.
Staff wellbeing services - Including access to Occupational Health, an Osteopath/Chiropractor and Employee Assistance Programme.