Job Details

Job introduction

We are currently looking for two people experienced in working with children and adults to join our supportive and committed team supervising family time contact.

The Contact Service is located within Children's social work services. We arrange and deliver supervised contact for children in care (0-18 years old) so they can spend time with their parent’s and close family members. 

As a contact supervisor, your priority is to safeguard children and provide with advice and practical support when required. You will need to be confident working with children and parents who have complex relationships with each other and who may arrive for contact feeling confused or stressed. You will be expected to respond professionally in challenging situations and  support colleagues to ensure children are safe when spending time with their parents in contact.

Interviews to be held Thursday 8th September

For an informal discussion please email Becki Adams (Contact Service Senior Social on becki.adams@brighton-hove.gov.uk) or Nicola Bloom (Contact Service Manager on nicola.bloom@brighton-hove.gov.uk) with your contact details.

 

About the role

Contact supervisors also work closely with foster carers and social workers.  You will be invited to professional meetings to share your observations of the family and write contact recordings which help inform decisions about the child’s care plan. You will need administrate your work effectively within set timescales and practice in accordance with policy and protocols.

Contact work requires 

• Knowledge of safeguarding and child development.
• Knowledge of positive parenting skills and strategies that promote healthy child/parent attachment.
• Experience of working with children and adults with emotional and mental health needs
• Good observation skills
• Understanding of anti-racist practice and an awareness of safe working practices.
• Understanding of the challenges and barriers to building relationships 
• Good communication, customer service and interpersonal skills in order to work effectively with children, parents, foster carers, team members and social workers
• Good administration, writing and IT skills (Microsoft Office suite, internet and other databases) including the ability to use databases to source and record information
• Confidence and ability to deal sensitively and professionally with difficult or unexpected situations 
• Ability to under pressure to time constraints.
• Ability to work independently, be reliable, punctual and a positive team member.

Children's social work Services recognise that we need to do further work to support families and communities who experience racism in the city and to support our Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff.  As a council we have made a commitment to being an anti-racist organisation and we have set up an Anti-Racist Project to make sure we achieve this within children's social work services.  We have also appointed a Lead Practitioner for Anti-Racist Practice and we are one of the Local Authorities piloting the Workforce Race Equality Standards for social care.  We would particularly encourage applications from candidates who identify as Black, Asian or from a minority ethnic background.

Please read our Apply for a job at the council (brighton-hove.gov.uk) pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.

As part of your application, you will need to complete your education and work history and provide answers to some shortlisting questions. Your answers to the shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our guidance here (Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk)) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.

Additional information

Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.

Work Permits: We may be able to obtain a Work Permit for this post but this is subject to meeting the requirements of the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) Points-based Immigration System. Please see Gov.uk for more information on the Skilled Worker Visa.

For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us (brighton-hove.gov.uk)

Company information

Encouraging a diverse workforce

Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.

Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).

Please note that this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and is subject to a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Check.

Files

• Job Description & Person Specification
• Cover Letter