Key Worker - Young Carers
Permanent, Full Time
£25,081 to £27,653 per annum
Location: Basildon
Do you have a passion for working with and making a difference to Young Carers? Are you able to organise and manage your workload, good at communicating and able to work as part of a team.
We are seeking a district based Key Worker to work within the West Essex with need to travel across wider Essex to support Young Carers (aged 0-18), young adult carers (16-24) and their families. This is an exciting opportunity where every day you will be making a difference to Young Carers lives.
As part of your role you will provide individualised support in relation to their caring role, to raise achievement and aspirations and to allow them to have the same life chances as their peers.
Responsibilities:
- Work with Essex young carers and their families to identify priorities, support needs, interventions and goals, developing and implementing strategies for securing these. Using assessment and monitoring to motivate young carers and their families to achieve a shared and mutually agreed support plan/ contract.
- Take up referrals and work with Essex young carers in order to identify, understand and meet their needs, with an emphasis on promoting positive outcomes.
- Work with Essex young carers in line with the agreed model, ensuring that the level of support meets the identified need including one to one support, peer group support, telephone support, advocacy, provision of information, signposting, training opportunities and workshops.
- Promote young carers self- awareness, confidence and encouraging their involvement in the design of their young carers service and supporting them in evaluating the impact of the service upon their own situation.
- Provide targeted outreach and awareness raising activities to other agencies to support the increased identification of Essex young carers including presentations, workshops and events.
- Pro-actively work in partnership with other agencies including educational settings and adult services to ensure ongoing support to young carers, particularly at points of transition and to enable Essex young carers to continue their education, employment or training.
- Support the development and facilitation of Essex young carers networks and forums to ensure that the voice of young carers is heard and that they are in a position to be able to shape and influence the service.
- Ensure that the Essex County Council policies, procedures and practice for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people are implemented.
Skills, Knowledge, and Experience:
- Educated to GCSE level or equivalent with a relevant professional qualification which is focussed on working with young people (e.g. LDSS, Social work, Youth and Community, Careers) or equivalent or demonstrably equivalent experience.
- Experience of working with children and/or young people.
- Ability to take responsibility for lone working and managing calendar/working hours.
- Flexible professional approach to meet needs of young people and service.
- A broad understanding of the issues affecting young carers and young people, opportunities for learning and the services provided by the partner organisations.
- Experience of working with young people on a one to one basis and in groups.
- Excellent communication skills with experience in effective collaborative working with other agencies at a local level.
- Experience of successfully involving young people and families in decision-making processes.
Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.
