This position will focus primarily upon working with children and young people who have been looked after by the local authority for a significant period, and where following careful assessment by the allocated social worker, the primary care plan indicates connecting and uniting the young person with family. We acknowledge that some children and young people may benefit from support to establish / re-establish these relationships which form the foundation of wellbeing and life chances. Recognising that each family is unique, we take a bespoke approach to strengthening and enhancing family time. We embark on a journey, connecting and uniting families and, in some cases and with appropriate support this may lead to reunification.

Our aim is to enhance decision making and increase support to ensure children and young people who are reunited with their birth families are safe and appropriately cared for by their parents/caregivers and family network.

* You will work in partnership with the child's allocated social worker to ensure that children's' needs and the risks that they may face are properly understood.
* You will work with the parents, children, family and professional network to develop a bespoke package of support for both the child and their parents.
* You will help give parents and children high-quality and timely support in their homes, at times when support is required. We will work with families during evenings and at weekends as required to strengthen family relationships and promote better outcomes.
* You will be part of a team providing parents with support to build their parenting skills and address the problems they face.
* You will be part of a team providing children and young people with the support that they need to promote helpful assimilation back into their families of origin.

About our team

D-BIT is a secondary team working in partnership with front line children's services, devising a robust and structured connecting /reunification plans. The team is based in Chelmsford and provides a countywide response to requests for bespoke reunification activity. Assigned caseloads are limited, reflecting our commitment to bespoke, relevant, intensive family support activity Staff work cohesively together, providing support to families as a team with the capacity to flex and adapt as required to support our activity with families referred to the service.

Working arrangements are flexible, with acknowledgement that a percentage of family based activity is likely to need to take place outside of usual working hours.

As such, candidates should be aware that there is likely to be some evening and weekend work responsibilities which will include a 4% flat rate allowance for flexible working.

What you'll need to join our Social Work teams

To play a key part in transforming the lives of children and families, you will have a Diploma or Degree in Social Work, CQSW, CSS or equivalent and Registration with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) as Registered Social Worker. Be able to demonstrable capability of practice in accordance with current professional standards e.g. Professional Capability Framework (PCF), Knowledge & Skills Statement (KSS) Open to change and ready to innovate, you will be keen to join an environment where you can stretch yourself professionally, make an impact individually and deliver positive outcomes collaboratively.

Testimonial from a Social Worker within our DBIT team:
"As a social worker in the existing DBIT teams, the biggest aspect of my job is the privileged time to carry out meaningful intensive direct work with whole families and young people. With protected caseloads of a maximum of 8 and joint working every case with another member of the team we are able to quickly build positive relationships with families and work regularly alongside to the beat of their agenda and how they would like life to look like. The other excellent aspect to my work is the solution focused strength based approach we use, which in my opinion is what social work is all about. Empowering families and building their confidence in their own powers to enable them to manage and achieve their own goals for themselves. There is a creative flexibility to not only how we work and meet with families, but also how we receive training, consultation and develop as workers within DBIT in order for families to achieve the positive outcomes which led to our service becoming permanent within Essex County Council."

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

Essex County Council is proud to offer an excellent benefits package to all its employees.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity is key to our success.