The Team

With the refresh of the national Troubled Families programme into the Supporting Families initiative in April 2021 come new opportunities for growth and professional development within our Early Support Service. We wish to build upon our existing network of Early Support Consultants across Kirklees to support us in responding to the refreshed initiatives as set out in the latest Spending Review.

One of the core principles of the new Stronger Families programme is the Whole Family approach. This approach aims to help children and young people by giving support to their whole family: it’s about seeing the bigger picture when helping an individual child. The Early Support & Stronger Families Team are working to embed the Whole Family approach into the work of our school partners and council services.

We are looking to hire candidates with experience of Whole Family Working and the Supporting Families program to join us as Early Support Consultants. You will need to understand the importance of the assessment and planning process and be comfortable as a Lead Professional, driving positive outcomes for families across Kirklees.

The Role

You will work with either our schools or housing partners to embed the Whole Family approach into their way of working, ensuring the planning and provision of our support to children and families is as effective as possible. To achieve this, you will need to be an experienced early support practitioner who understands the needs of families and the importance of effective engagement.

The restorative approach underpins our work. As well as following the restorative approach, you will use coaching, consultation and co-working skills to build relationships with partners, working in a collaborative way to ensure positive outcomes for children and families.

You will explore the reasons behind our partner's decisions and, when necessary, be confident in challenging those decisions to ensure they are following the Supporting Families agenda.

You will work to support children's services to reduce the need for statutory intervention by encouraging early support partners to work in a Whole Family way, building on family strengths and making the most of community resources.

You will make the best use of the data available to you to ensure that partners are better able to make informed decisions about children and families and intervene at the earliest opportunity.

The Early Support & Stronger Families team is a diverse network of experienced professionals who will be on hand to support you in your new role.

For a full list of the role requirements please see the attached Job Profile and the Focus Sheet for the Housing Services role.

What can we offer?

• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Friendly and supportive team environment
• Ongoing training and career development
• Excellent pension scheme
• A range of family friendly polices, including flexible working and working from home
• We offer a wide range of well-being initiatives including a cycle to work scheme and discounted KAL membership

If you have any questions about the role please contact Zoe Gatland (Stronger Families Project Manager) on 01484 221 000 or zoe.gatland@kirklees.gov.uk

In order to be shortlisted for this role please state how you meet the Employee Specification as detailed on the attached Job Profile in your application.

Interview date(s): week commencing 17 January 2022.

Closing date  

12 January 2022, 11:55 PM

This job is subject to a DBS check at the appropriate level, please refer to the Job Description/Profile.  A conviction may not exclude candidates from appointment but will be considered as part of the recruitment process.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable adults and children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Important Information

Job Profile.pdf – 185KB 

Job Focus Sheet.pdf – 158KB