About The Job
Salary: £32,597 to £35,412 per annum
Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract
Working Pattern: Full time - 37 hours per week
Location: Your current work base is Arun Civic Centre, Littlehampton. The use of Arun Civic Centre is currently initially expected to be in place for three years to April 2029. The substantive hub for your service is Worthing and therefore, there is the potential for services to relocate to Worthing in the future.
Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.
Pause is a dedicated service to support birth parents in West Sussex. The focus will be to work with women who have experienced, and are at risk of, repeat pregnancies that result in children needing to be removed from their care who do not currently have children in their care. As well as offering a core model of intensive, relationship-based support to women at most risk of repeat removals, the service is developing to consider how we offer support to more birth parents.
As a Pause Practitioner, you will provide intensive support to women taking part in Pause West Sussex to ensure the implementation and delivery of an integrated package of health, therapeutic and social support. This is specifically designed to address the complex needs of women to enable change in their lives and ultimately reduce the numbers of children being removed into care. There is extensive training on the approach and support from working together with other pioneering practices, to enable sharing of practice across the UK.
You will be part of a small team of practitioners, that will coordinate and develop effective partnerships and influence other agencies and stakeholders that support women. The Pause model is based on a relational way of working, so a commitment to this approach as well as an ability to ‘model the model’ for other professionals is needed. You will need to understand the circumstances that result in children being removed from their families of origin and be passionate about making a difference in their lives.
Experience and Skills
Key Skills:
- Ability to effectively engage and empower vulnerable people to undertake direct work and use a range of interventions to achieve change
- Ability to work effectively with vulnerable people in crisis and manage conflict, containing own and others’ anxieties and working within the boundaries of the role
- Ability to work in partnership with carers, colleagues, and a variety of external agencies in order to deliver the most effective service, including the ability to facilitate and coordinate multi-agency meetings and plans
- Ability to work professionally, to reflect on own practice and learn from experience
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in both written and verbal format, including the ability to explain complicated and contentious information to a wide range of people and negotiate and persuade others to adopt a particular course of action
- Ability to recognise the limits of own accountability and responsibility, and to seek appropriate support, advice and supervision
Qualifications and/or experience:
- Substantial demonstrable experience, in a paid or unpaid capacity, of supporting complex and vulnerable people to overcome the trauma and challenges of their lives
- Experience of working in partnership and networking with external bodies or agencies to achieve inter-agency working
- Experience of working in partnership with those who access or need the service and maintaining a focus on the needs of the individual whilst handling conflict and disagreement
- Evidence of working with those who access or need the service to identify issues and identify specific action by means of creative and pragmatic solutions
- Knowledge and experience to understand the needs of the women who use the service, and analyse this information, drawing appropriate conclusions
- Evidence of effectively prioritising work and meeting deadlines
- Experience of managing levels of risk within a caseload
- Sound and accurate IT knowledge and keyboard skills
For full list of Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.
Rewards and Benefits
As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where you can achieve your full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work you do. Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including:
For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.
About Us
Here at West Sussex County Council, we are ambitious for our children and our workforce. We have made great improvements in our service for the children and families in West Sussex over 5 years. You will join us as at a key time on our continuous improvement journey; the service you would be joining has a stable workforce with manageable caseloads and a fully permanent management team. We are proud of the work we do and we are proud to be a supportive and inclusive employer.
That’s why we need professionals, like you, who really want to be part of the positive change that is happening for children. Be part of an ambitious ongoing improvement plan and make a significant difference to children and families in West Sussex. There has never been a more rewarding time to join.
For further information about us and about working in Children’s Social Care at West Sussex County Council, please visit Careers in children's social work in West Sussex.
Further Information
The reference number for this role is CAFHE06381.
For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Bernie Mullett (Pause Practice Lead) at [email protected] and for issues or queries regarding your application please contact [email protected].
To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to Social Work England registration, an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.
Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contact [email protected].
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.
Job Reference: CAFHE06381
