Key Worker - Young Carers Service

About the role

Key Worker - Young Carers Service

Fixed Term, Full Time

£25,081 to £27,653 per annum

Location: Colchester

Closing Date: 29th May 2025

About Us:

Do you have a desire to help and support young people? Are you able to organise and manage your workload, good at communicating and able to work as part of a team? We are seeking a passionate and enthusiastic individual who is keen to make a difference and support young carers in Essex. This could be the opportunity you are looking for!

Please note this is a fixed term or secondment opportunity for a period of 12 months.

Benefits:

Healthy work life balance.
Wide range of learning and development opportunities.
IT equipment and home-working equipment supplied.
26 days annual leave + bank holidays + choice to buy extra.
Generous Local Government Salary related pension scheme.
Access to hundreds of discounts and benefits through Essex Rewards.
Access to our health and wellbeing support platform with LifeWorks.
Up to 4 days per year Volunteering leave.

Essex County Council is proud to offer an excellent benefits package to all its employees. More information can be found here pay and reward

The Role:

As a Key Worker within the Young Carers Team, you will play an integral part in supporting the lives of young carers across Essex. You will be working with young carers (aged 0-18) and young adult carers (aged 16-24) and their families to provide individualised support in relation to their caring role, to raise achievement and aspirations and to allow them to have the same life chances as their peers.

You will complete statutory assessments with the young carer and their family which will be used to form an action plan to ensure the best targeted support can be offered. The interventions you offer will vary from 1:1 support, to helping the young carer engage in local clubs while ensuring schools are fully understanding of the young carers needs and impact of their caring role.

As part of the Young Carers Team, you will provide workshops and respite opportunities to help enhance the skills of our young carers and give them opportunities to meet other young people in similar situations.

About You:

You will:

Be educated to a GCSE level or have a relevant professional qualification which is focussed on working with young people (e.g. LDSS, Social work, Youth and Community, Teacher, Careers) or equivalent or demonstrably equivalent experience.
Have experience of working with children and/or young people on a one to one basis and in groups.
Be able to take responsibility for lone working and managing calendar/working hours.
Have a broad understanding of the issues affecting young carers and young people, opportunities for learning and the services provided by the partner organisations.
Have excellent communication skills with experience in effective collaborative working with other agencies at a local level.
Have experience of successfully involving young people and families in decision-making processes.
Have a broad understanding of the issues affecting young carers and young people and have experience of working with young people on a one to one basis and in groups.
Be able to recognise opportunities for learning and knowledge of the services provided by the partner organisations.
Have experience in effectively working collaboratively with other agencies at a local level.
Be able to evidence experience of successfully involving young people and families in decision-making processes.
Have the flexibility to be able to work evenings, weekends and residential work in order to respond to young people’s needs.

Essential Requirements for the role:

As a Key Worker, you are required to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, you will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

What will you be doing?

Work with Essex young carers and their families to identify priorities, support needs, interventions and goals and developing and implementing strategies for securing these.
Use assessment and monitoring to motivate young carers and their families to achieve a shared and mutually agreed support plan/ contract.
Take up referrals and work with Essex young carers in order to identify, understand and meet their needs, with an emphasis on promoting positive outcomes.
Work with Essex young carers in line with the agreed model, ensuring that the level of support meets the identified need including one to one support, peer group support, telephone support, advocacy, provision of information, signposting, training opportunities and workshops.
Promote young carers self-awareness, confidence and encourage their involvement in the design of their young carers service and support them in evaluating the impact of the service upon their own situation.
Provide targeted outreach and awareness raising activities to other agencies to support the increased identification of Essex young carers including presentations, workshops and events.
Pro-actively work in partnership with other agencies including educational settings and adult services to ensure ongoing support to young carers, particularly at points of transition and to enable Essex young carers to continue their education, employment or training.
Support the development and facilitation of Essex young carers networks and forums to ensure that the voice of young carers is heard and that they are in a position to be able to shape and influence the service.
Ensure that the Essex County Council policies, procedures and practice for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people are implemented.
Work flexibly and deliver services as directed.
Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

For informal discussion, please contact Senior Key Worker, Tina McPartland on 07917098306

To read more about us please visit:

Education

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex . With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.

We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles , including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

How to apply:

Start your journey within the Young Carers Team by clicking the APPLY button now!

If you are interested in finding out more about this role or require further information, we would love to hear from you. Please email: work.placements@essex.gov.uk .

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service .

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community .

Additional Information:

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email work.placements@essex.gov.uk

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Key Worker – Young Carers Service