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Senior Practitioner - Homeless Youth Specialist

Employer
Essex County Council
Location
England, Essex, Basildon
Salary
£39168 - £42254 per annum + + Free Parking & Great Benefits
Closing date
12 Nov 2020

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You will need to undertake assessments and work closely with 16/17 year old young people that are considered by the council as homeless or potentially homeless. You will need to have a quick response in supporting young people when they approach statutory services, ensure early, proactive intervention and have a flexible approach to supporting young people to prevent homelessness. You will seek, wherever possible, to mediate, reunite and support families to stay together and will be responsible for co-facilitating initial presentation interviews alongside district council homelessness, working collaboratively with district councils, housing officers, housing providers and teams.

The post holder is responsible for bringing to bear the highest possible standards in social work practice, ability and skills, working in accordance with defined legal frameworks, policy and procedures.

You will need to work flexibly across other parts of the service in South supporting colleagues where there are young people at risk of homelessness. This will include supporting colleagues to develop their knowledge and practice in relation to young people at risk of homelessness.


As a Senior Practitioner you will provide leadership in the team, providing both support and mentoring to newly qualified or less experienced staff and deputising for the Team Manager when needed. You will oversee the review of some child in need plans particularly prior to closure and will have responsibility to lead in a practice area.


Ensure effective clinical supervision reflects best practice and incorporates research/evidence-based approach. Assess the needs and risks for children and identify actions appropriate to meet need and address risk.


There will be opportunities for your own professional development and for being part of developing our team and service. There is an ethos of openness to the development of new ideas, particularly to reinforce our relationship-based focus, both with our service users and within the staff group.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Along with a diploma in Social Work, CQSW, CSS or equivalent, and Social Work England registration as a registered Social Worker, you will be expected to bring skill and high standards of social work to your own caseload, with a comprehensive working knowledge and experience within the field of practice in Children Services. You will have experience of planning activities and programmes for children, young people and parents, and strong evidence of your knowledge and understanding of child development, relating theory and practice.

Ideally you will have experience of court work in relation to Child Care matters and an understanding of the legal process, with knowledge of current legislation pertinent to Child Protection (e.g. CA1989, CJA1991), Guidance and Regulations. Ideally, you will have experience of Child Protection work including section 47 investigations and assessments since the implementation of the Children's Act 1989.Considerable, recent experience of communicating with children of all ages and working in partnership with parents and/or carers.

You will be committed to systemic, relationship based social work, providing effective, innovative interventions and with the ability to build good partnerships, both with our external partners and within the organisation.

In turn, we can offer you a highly competitive package that includes access to our desirable pension scheme, life assurance (of three times your salary), generous annual leave - plus the option to buy additional holiday. Optional benefits such as tax-free savings on childcare and discounted health and dental care are also available, and we will encourage you to develop your skills with ongoing training opportunities.

Crucially, we know that there is more to life than work. We are a motivated and enthusiastic team - but we want you to find an exceptional work/life balance. As such, you will be encouraged to make the most of our commitment to flexible working arrangements, including the chance to work from home.

So, if you want a better quality of life - complemented by a high degree of job satisfaction - then we would be delighted to welcome you to our friendly and inclusive team.


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.

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