Senior Adolescent Practitioner

We have exciting opportunities for Senior Adolescent Practitioners to join our new Adolescent Service which went live in June this year. We are in the process of embedding it into our ways of working, so it's an exciting time to join as a valued member of our dynamic and responsive teams.

The salary range for Senior Adolescent Practitioners is?£40,296- £43,735 per annum based on a 36 hour working week. The salary will be pro rata for any part time working.

We have Senior Adolescent Practitioner opportunities based in the following locations:
East- covering Tandridge
North- covering Runnymede
North- covering Spelthorne- offered as a 12 month maternity cover on a fixed term/ secondment basis.

Rewards and Benefits:

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Annual leave allowance (for bank) or remove for term time
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About us:
This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a brand-new Adolescent Service that is being created in Surrey, bringing together a range services for young people including those who go missing, are involved in gang culture and are vulnerable to exploitation, including criminal and sexual exploitation. Our team includes Social Workers and Senior as well as Adolescent Practitioners who are focussed on achieving positive outcomes for young people. We are committed to doing things differently through implementing a brand-new model for working with adolescents, taking into account current research and best practice.

About the Senior Adolescent Practitioner role:
The Adolescent Service is built on the belief that relationships are the key vehicle for achieving change. The service is underpinned by 'Relational Practice' principles, an intentional way of working where establishing, attending to, and maintaining empathetic and honest interpersonal relationships are prioritised. In addition to children, families and partners, this includes our relationships and how we work with each other.

Adopting a relational practice approach supports us to create systems that can be trauma-informed and respond appropriately to individuals' different needs and experiences. It supports everyone's ability to work restoratively to resolve conflict, repair harm and support change. As a Senior Practitioner you will be responsible for ensuring this ethos is present throughout all of our practice; providing guidance, support and challenge to our practitioner teams in the pursuit of consistent, thoughtful and empathetic work with children, families and our partners.

As a Senior Practitioner in our Adolescents Service you will carry some additional responsibility for oversight and supervision of work in your area/team, and will be required to deputise for the team manager on occasions.

Typical work and tasks you will undertake in this role includes:

• Modelling effective engagement with children and family members, considering the whole family and significant environmental factors, to enable the families to achieve their goals and to demonstrate positive outcomes.
• Line management of Adolescent Practitioners supporting all aspects of supervision, performance & development, training, development and reflective practice.
• Supporting the Team Manager with case audits and all aspects of practice and development.
• Operating as the lead practitioner for a reduced caseload of families, maintaining positive contact and effectively managing the balance of providing hands-on support and coordinating relevant partners, as per a shared family plan.
• Ensuring that children & families are not 'passed around' different services and that support and relationships are consistent and meaningful.
• Ensuring casework is adequately recorded as per the team policy and procedures, including timely and accurate case notes, assessments and reports.

Shortlisting criteria
To be considered for shortlisting for this position, you application will clearly evidence the following:

• Professional qualification in a child/youth or family related discipline e.g. social work, youth justice, youth work, teaching, probation; and / or a relevant degree
• Extensive experience and expertise of working with and supporting vulnerable young people and families/carers to meet their goals and positive outcomes.
• Experience of working with multi-agency partners
• Evidence of continuous training and personal development to increase skills and understanding of working with vulnerable young people and families/carers and the issues they face
• Experience of producing timely and accurate assessments and reports

Surrey has both urban and rural areas and you will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel to your contractual base and across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long-term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 05/09/2024 with interviews planned for 16/09/2024.

An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role.