The Opportunity
Salary: NJC Grade 9 £36,363 to £39,152 per annum
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Pattern: 37 hours per week, full time, Monday to Thursday 9.00am to 5.00pm and Friday 9.00am to 4.30pm
Location: Northleigh, Chichester, with hybrid working (days in office are currently Tuesday and Wednesday)
Please note:
- You’ll need to be able to travel independently to various locations around the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport.
- There is a regular and intrinsic requirement to communicate in English with members of the public.
Closing date: 01 September 2026
Interview date: 18 September 2026
Start date: From November 2026
Do you enjoy advising and providing guidance to others?
Do you enjoy problem-solving and finding solutions to problems?
Are you experienced in managing complex initiatives to meet customer needs?
The Family Information Service (FIS) provides information, advice, and guidance to parents and carers of 0–25-year-olds on Ofsted registered childcare, childcare funding, family activities and support services. We are a statutory service meeting duties within the Childcare Act 2006. Our service plays a key role for many families, especially working parents or those wishing to return to work or training.
As an Advisor, you will be responsible for progressing action plans, writing reports, evaluating changes, developing initiatives, and using data to analyse information. You will have a key focus on providing information, advice and guidance to the public, colleagues, and professionals.
This is a management role, where you will manage a team and oversee day-to-day work in a solution focussed way.
You will have opportunities to design and implement new processes and training sessions, sharing your expertise and knowledge to empower our customers.
We are looking for someone who enjoys working as part of a team, with great attention to detail, who can promote and assist in the delivery of initiatives, events, policies, and procedures. If you enjoy every day being different filled with various tasks, we would love to hear from you.
About You
What you need to succeed:
- A degree or equivalent qualification, or experience in applied knowledge, of researching, analysing, and evaluating arguments and information.
- Management experience, or experience of overseeing day-to-day work of team members.
- The ability to provide accurate and timely advice and guidance as a subject matter expert.
- High level communication: being able to challenge, negotiate, and influence others and build credible relationships.
- Organisation skills to prioritise your work and respond to unanticipated problems.
- To work in a confidential manner, as you will be dealing with highly sensitive matters.
Please refer to the key skills in your application form as these will be used for shortlisting criteria.
Key Skills:
- Able to demonstrate higher level thinking skills, in order to think through issues, make connections and establish solutions which draw on the wider picture of early years and childcare and supporting families. Able to make connections between disparate issues, and creatively combine solutions to solve multiple problems. Able to interpret complex information, for example to produce a high-quality document with minimal guidance.
- Excellent communication and numeracy skills with the ability to influence the actions of others and communicate information that may be complex and contentious. Excellent writing skills including the ability to write clear, comprehensive and appropriate information for reports, articles and briefing papers. Ability to present information clearly, concisely, accurately and in ways that promote understanding, either verbally or in written / electronic form, with a plain English approach.
- Able to build credible working relationships, building rapport and developing positive partnership ways of working, with a range of stakeholders.
- Ability to design and take the lead on initiatives.
- Ability to organise/prioritise your own workload and oversee/supervise the work of others, co-ordinate a variety of tasks in a clear and logical way and meet agreed deadlines that minimise the disruption to the business.
- Advanced IT skills, using Microsoft Office Suite, in order to be able to make best use of the service’s computerised databases, online provider portal, produce complex spreadsheets and analyse data.
For more information on the Responsibilities of the role, Key Skills, Qualifications and/or Experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.
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 employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance, and are rewarded for the work they do.
For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.
Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including the following:
Employer Pension Contribution: 15% (this alters per annum on the 1 April each year)
Annual leave: 27 days holiday + Bank Holidays = 35 days
How to Apply
The reference number for this role is CAFHE06466.
For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Claire Humphrey-Lewis (Family Information Service Team Manager) at [email protected].
To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Application Form.
In your Application Form 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.
Safeguarding statement
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.
This post is subject to three years referencing, and an occupational 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.
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.
If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contact Natalie Greene, Recruitment Specialist, at [email protected]
