Family Group Conference Children’s Advocate

Job specification

Location:

Swindon

Hours:

37 hours per week

Salary:

£30,825 p.a.

Closing date:

30/09/2024

Job reference:

RNR002410

Interview date:

14/10/2024

Date posted:

12/09/2024

At Swindon Borough Council, we want our town to be the best it can be. Our ambitious vision in the new Swindon Plan is supported by realistic transformation programmes, with the people of Swindon at their heart. Because that’s who we’re doing it for – the communities and businesses that make our town great. As part of the Council, you’ll support a friendly local authority making decisions with real impact. It’s all for better public services. Better processes. And a better quality of life, for everyone. Join us, and Swindon will be better with you.

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Your next role

The purpose of the Family Group Conference Service is to bring families together to participate in a decision making and planning process which will increase the safety and wellbeing of their children.

The Service ensures that young people and families are appropriately supported to understand the worries of professionals and are empowered to utilise their knowledge, skills and resources to make safe plans for the children in their families.

The purpose of the FGC Children’s Advocate is to gain the wishes and feelings of the children within the Family Group Conference Service. The post holder will be responsible for undertaking advocacy within the Family Group Conference Service to work with, and represent, the views of the child or vulnerable adult during the Family Group Conference process. (in cases where the vulnerable adult does not have a named advocate in place). The post holder will have the ability to communicate effectively with FGC coordinators to ensure the child’s voice is central to the process.

The post holder will be responsible for undertaking advocacy within the Family Group Conference Service to work with, and represent, the interests of the child during the Family Group Conference process. Advocacy means assisting people to make informed choices, not making decisions for them.

The advocate’s role is to enable the children:

To have their voice heard
To participate in the Family Group Conference or restorative conference
To have their viewpoint taken into account to inform their family plan

You will also need resilience and the ability to manage your time well and prioritise your work. The team is innovative, creative and empowers families with the opportunity to develop their own solutions and participate fully in decision-making processes.

You will have experience of working with children and families and be confident communicating with adults, young people and children. You will be used to working in partnership with other agencies and confident in communicating with other professionals. You will need to be adaptable, flexible and able to organise your own workload. A qualification, or experience in a relevant profession such as social care, education, youth justice, counselling, mediation, health or community work is essential.

The ability to work flexibly is essential as some evening and weekend work is required.

We are a passionate team who are forward thinking and who strive for continuous improvement. Our aim is to empower children and families to enable them to achieve positive outcomes. If you share these values and behaviours and have the necessary skills then we look forward to hearing from you.

You must be fluent in the English language (as a requirement of Part 7 of the Immigration Act “for the effective performance of a customer-facing role”).

Your next package

Please see our Rewards and Benefits offer for more details.

As an employee, you will receive a diverse and exciting environment in which to work, encouraging creativity and innovation whilst recognising the need to support ongoing personal development and a flexible work life balance.

For Swindon to thrive in the future, we need to lay the foundations now. It’s why our regeneration and transformation programmes are already underway. So, you’ll be joining us at an exciting time on our journey. We’ll look to you to share your knowledge, influence decisions and drive real, positive change. With your contributions, we’ll achieve our vision of a prosperous, re-vitalised Swindon together. And you’ll be proud to say it was made better with you.

Please see our Vision and Values page for more details.

Please see our new Swindon Plan.

Your next steps

Read the role profile and select the Apply button where you will be redirected to the Swindon Borough Council website to complete our online application process. Clicking the ‘Apply’ button on this job website is not an application, you must register on the Swindon Borough Council website in order to be considered for the role.

Potential applicants are sometimes put off if they don’t meet 100% of the requirements. We think individual experience, skills and passion make all the difference, so if you meet the majority of the criteria, we’d love to hear from you.

For further information about the role please contact Lisa McNally, Family Group Conference Manager on 07823 525264 or email lmcnally@swindon.gov.uk

If you are experiencing technical issues submitting your application please email resourcing@swindon.gov.uk