Does the sound of developing marketing strategies and running promotional campaigns to recruit new foster carers appeal to you?
If yes, we have the perfect role for you!
We’re looking for a creative and proactive marketing professional to join our fostering recruitment team to help us deliver exciting and engaging activity which raises the profile of Islington’s Fostering Service and strengthens foster carer retention.
Islington Council’s Fostering Service is dedicated to creating a better future for our children and young people. Key to this is having a diverse, skilled group of foster carers ready to offer care and support when children and young people are unable to remain at home.
Our children, young people and their families are at the heart of everything we do and the development of our practice model allows us to them towards their version of meaningful and sustained changed. Islington’s Motivational Practice Model provides an integrated care, safeguarding and change model, which includes Motivational Interviewing skills helping to build meaningful relationships and promote safety, collaboration and purposeful change.
Our practice model is further complemented by Trauma-informed practice (including Dyadic Development Practice), as we believe that by better understanding the lived experiences of those we are here to serve, we are better positioned to engage, support and assist children and young people to reach their full potential.
Relationships are also central to achieving the very best outcome for our children, young people, their families and their carers. We work closely with our fostering team and placements service to support our carers in offering a trauma informed approach to care, and to offer stable placements where our children and young people can achieve their potential. Therefore, relationship-based practice is key to our approach.
We would love to hear from candidates who understand the importance of having a good foster carer. Working closely with our fostering teams and key partners, you will be able to drive a wide range of marketing activities, develop innovative advertising campaigns, and generate ideas that can connect with the right people, and invite them to consider fostering.
The position will involve working within the fostering service to develop a programme of events, promotions and awareness-raising opportunities that will support their on-going recruitment and retention efforts but will have a clear link to the Council’s corporate sufficiency strategy. Part of our commitment to care is ensuring we encourage more people to consider becoming foster carers. To support this, we are in the process of becoming a Fostering Friendly employer.
To be the strategic lead within the service for developing marketing strategies, project managing and coordinate promotional campaigns using communication disciplines from marketing to media relations and events, to recruit new foster carers and maintain positive communications with existing foster carers.
To be responsible for updating and implementing the Marketing and Recruitment Strategy each year in line with the Corporate Parenting Strategy.
To develop partnerships and lead on any collaborative marketing or recruitment work that would benefit Islington.
To monitor and evaluate the success of marketing and events activity against targets and timescales and work with a range of partners to achieve results, providing timely feedback and reports on the effectiveness of individual campaigns.
To create media opportunities and develop a proactive PR programme that will secure positive media coverage and visibility in and outside of the borough, to highlight Islington’s need for foster carers.
To be responsible for the management and maintenance of the fostering website, as well as providing analysis and statistics to inform future campaigns.
To develop and produce promotional materials aimed at recruitment of carers for specific children for example, DVD production and photographs. And individual foster carer profiles.
To develop a specialist interest in fostering campaigns and monitor related activity in other organisations and nationally to help inform Islington’s recruitment plan.
To enhance the fostering service’s image and visibility within the local authority by promoting awareness of services and achievements and encouraging greater participation.
To work closely with counterparts in other local authorities and public sector partner organisations to ensure co-ordinated delivery of promotions and campaigns related to fostering recruitment.
To develop and nurture relationships with local community organisations, for example local businesses, community groups, schools, and churches, which can support fostering recruitment campaigns and help reach target audiences. This would be both offline through community talks and digitally through connecting and interacting via social media.
To organise and deliver presentations to community groups, and at community and business events to raise local awareness of the need for more foster carers. This will include presenting and supporting talks on the work of the Fostering Team.
To undertake exit interviews with any carers leaving the service and provide an analysis to inform the recruitment and retention plan.
Islington is one of the most vibrant areas of London, with a diverse population, a unique cultural identity and a wealth of open spaces, theatres, museums, cinemas, and galleries.
Our Children’s Social Care services have been rated by OFSTED as Outstanding and praises an “unwavering commitment to improving and enriching the lives of children and their families”
A snapshot of what we offer our social workers:
For more information and a discussion about working for London Borough of Islington, contact our Principal Social Worker Wynand McDonald, Principal Child and Family Social Worker at Wynand.mcdonald@islington.gov.uk.