Job Title: Placement and Administration Officer
Location: In person
Reports To: Head of Resources/ Registered Manager
Job Type: Full-time
Job Purpose
The Placement and Administration Officer plays a dual, vital role within our Independent Fostering Agency. You will be responsible for managing the end-to-end placement matching process—liaising with Local Authorities to receive referrals and accurately matching vulnerable children with our foster carers. Alongside this, you will oversee the agency's core administrative functions, ensuring strict compliance with Ofsted regulations, National Minimum Standards, and internal data processes.
Key Responsibilities1. Placement Matching & Referrals
- Referral Management: Act as the first point of contact for Local Authority brokerage and commissioning teams; monitor portal platforms for incoming child care referrals.
- Strategic Matching: Review complex child profiles and expertly match their specific emotional, cultural, and physical needs against the skills, experience, and availability of our approved foster carers.
- Carer Liaison: Coordinate closely with Supervising Social Workers (SSWs) and communicate transparently with foster carers to discuss potential placements, ensuring they feel fully equipped to say yes.
- Profiles & Resumes: Create and maintain high-quality, professional profiles for our foster carers to submit to Local Authorities during the tendering process.
2. Administration & Contract Monitoring
- Data Systems: Ensure all placement data, carer records, and statutory checks are meticulously updated and maintained on our internal database
- Compliance Tracking: Monitor placement compliance and tracking data
- Individual Placement Agreements (IPAs): Administer and track IPAs, ensuring contracts are signed, accurately reflect agreed terms, and are safely archived.
- Meeting Support: Coordinate, attend, and take precise minutes for matching meetings, foster carer support groups, and team meetings.
3. Financial Coordination
- Fee Deductions & Top-ups: Collaborate with the finance team to ensure accurate invoicing. Track specific contract adjustments, such as weekly savings deductions for Children in Care (CiC) or agreed respite fees.
- Provider Tracking: Ensure external placement costs, allowances, and additional therapeutic expenses match Local Authority agreed frameworks before passing them to finance.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Experience
- Essential: Minimum of 1 year experience in a high-volume administrative, coordination, or operational role.
- Essential: Proven track record of managing complex database systems, data entry, and digital record-keeping.
- Desirable: Direct experience working within an Independent Fostering Agency, Local Authority Placements Team, or Children's Social Care sector.
- Desirable: Prior experience utilizing sector-specific databases
Knowledge and Understanding
- Essential: Proficient knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams).
- Desirable: An understanding of Ofsted regulations, Fostering Services Regulations, and National Minimum Standards.
- Desirable: Awareness of Local Authority commissioning and brokerage frameworks for children in care.
Skills and Abilities
- Essential: Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to prioritize an unpredictable, fast-paced workload.
- Essential: Meticulous attention to detail and a high level of accuracy when managing statutory compliance data.
- Essential: Strong written communication skills, with the ability to draft professional foster carer profiles and take precise meeting minutes.
- Essential: Strong analytical skills to review referral profiles and identify key matching criteria (e.g., matching a child's needs to a carer's skills).
Personal Attributes and Interpersonal Skills
- Essential: Excellent communication skills with a warm, professional, and empathetic telephone manner.
- Essential: Ability to remain calm, focused, and resilient under pressure—particularly during emergency or short-notice placement requests.
- Essential: Strong team player who can collaborate effectively with Supervising Social Workers, foster carers, and Local Authority stakeholders.
- Essential: High level of integrity and a strict commitment to data protection, confidentiality, and GDPR.
What We Offer
- Hybrid working once probation is passed ( Four office days, one working from home day)
- Continuous professional development and learning opportunities
- Company Events
- 28 days Annual Leave
Pay: £24,420.00-£26,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- Employee mentoring programme
- Free parking
- On-site parking
- Referral programme
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Iver SL0 0JW: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
- placement officer: 1 year (preferred)
Work Location: In person
