Children’s Centre Manager, Smallwood Primary School & Language Unit

Organisation: Smallwood Primary School & Language Unit

Region/Location: London - North

Salary: £33,777 - £36,474 per annum, PO3 (review pending)

Working closely with the Headteacher and locality multi agency team you will develop the centre, ensuring that the Children’s Centre services are delivered to a high standard. You will hold a relevant qualification, preferably at degree or NVQ 5 or above, hold the National Professional Qualification Integrated Centre Leadership or committed to working towards this. Have knowledge of Every Child Matters and the Children’s Centre agenda and have experience of working with young children and families. You will need enthusiasm to take on a new challenge and skills to initiate and shape the development of a new Children’s Centre working with a wide range of partner agencies.

Closing date: 9 September 2010

Please mention Parenting UK when applying for this job

Young Parents Engagement Officer

Organisation: RSPCA

Region/Location: South East - East Sussex

Salary: £22,000 pro rata

Part time: 28 hrs per week (some evening and weekend working required)

Fixed term to 31 August 2013

Mallydams Wood is the RSPCA's flagship residential education centre, set in 55 acres of woodland alongside a wildlife rehabilitation centre. The role of Young Parents Engagement Officer forms part of the Hastings Wild Things project funded by Natural England as part of the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme. The aim of the role is to plan, advertise, deliver and evaluate environmental and animal welfare activities for young parents and their pre-school children on site at RSPCA Mallydams Wood. The project centres on client-focused delivery of outdoors activities, and natural play for the children and parents, and offering training and volunteering opportunities for the young parents. The post is site-based and subject to an enhanced CRB check.

The successful candidate will have:

• Experience and / or relevant qualifications for working with young parents and their children
  
• Experience of designing and delivering environmental or animal welfare themed activities in an outdoor setting
• Experience of group work with young people and/or chairing and facilitating meetings with young people
  
• Knowledge and understanding of child protection issues
  
• Enthusiasm for animal welfare and the environment
  
• A full valid driving licence
  

Closing date: 10 September 2010 Interviews: 21 September 2010

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Family Support Workers (7 posts)

Organisation: Northamptonshire County Council

Region/Location: East Midlands - Northamptonshire

Salary: £19,621 - £21,519 per annum

Northamptonshire County Council are creating an innovative and streamlined approach in bringing services to children, young people and families in the most effective way. The first stage of this transformation involves the creation of a new centrally based Initial Response Team. With involvement right from the start, you will be part of a brand new team which will provide a modern working environment with the latest technological advances to assist you in achieving excellent outcomes for children, young people and families. 

The council provide high quality learning and development to staff as well as effective supervision and performance management oversight. If you feel you have the skills and abilities to work with them and take forward the Social Work Taskforce agenda and improve outcomes for Children and Families in Northamptonshire, they would love to hear from you.

For an informal discussion, please contact Hilary Ryan, Associate Area Manager on 01604 654040.

The council is currently undergoing a pay and grading review so salary scales for all the roles may be subject to change.

Closing Date: 13 September 2010, 12 pm

Interview dates: 21 – 23 September 2010

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Family Worker, Lewisham

Organisation: Contact a Family

Region/Location: London - South

Salary: £15,312 - £16,204 (Full time equivalent £25,520 - £27,007)

Part Time: 21 hours per week

Fixed term to 2014

Contact a Family's Lewisham project offers the chance to make a real difference for local children and parents. Funded by The National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund – Reaching Communities Programme, in this vital role you will be part of a small team based at Leemore Central Community Hub, you’ll carry out direct advice and support work with families, help with group work activities and workshops and generally assist in getting information to parent carers.

It’s demanding but very rewarding work that requires a good knowledge of the issues and concerns that affect families who have disabled children. You should have experience in a similar role and a sound understanding of welfare benefits, maximising income and tackling debt. It’s also important that you have good organisational and administrative skills and can communicate clearly with a wide range of people. You’ll also lend a hand with the monthly activity session we organise at Wavelengths swimming pool, school holiday programmes for families and an annual weekend away.

Closing date: 6 September 2010, 9am

Interview date: 13 September 2010

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Commissioning Officer

Organisation: Reading Borough Council

Region/Location: South East - Berkshire

Salary: £34,549 - £37,206 per annum

Reading Council have exciting plans for the future, ensuring all their services are fully commissioned by 2012. They started developing a new commissioning team for children’s services in 2009, which currently works on commissioning the voluntary sector, children’s centres, parenting, services for children with disabilities, and negotiating out of borough placements, ensuring value for money throughout.

The team will become increasingly more involved in all areas of children’s services, and the Commissioning Officer’s role will be a critical part of taking these plans forward. This role will report to the Joint Commissioning Manager, working across the Directorate of Education and Children’s Services and with partners in the Children’s Trust.

You will need to be experienced at building positive relationships, negotiating costs, challenging the status quo, and developing services across organisational boundaries. A track record of excellent project and financial management is key. Experience in commissioning within social care, schools or the private sector are all particularly relevant for this role.

Closing date: 8 September 2010, 12pm

Interview date: 1 October 2010

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Post Doctoral Researcher Worker - Parenting Programme Evaluation Team

Organisation: Institute of Psychiatry - National Academy for Parenting Research

Region/Location: London -

Starting: £33,070 pa (inclusive of £2,323 pa London Allowance)

We would like to invite applications for the above posts based at our offices at Denmark Hill.

Family Support Worker

Organisation: Camden Council

Region/Location: London - North

Salary: £25,515 - £27,009

Fixed-term contract/secondment up to 12 months, until June 2011, x 6 vacancies

You will manage a caseload, carry out home visits and signpost families to services. This will involve assessment of children and family needs using the common assessment framework, assisting families to use local CC services and referral to more specialist services. You will work in partnership with families and other agencies, to ensure effective joint working, improving outcomes for children and their families in line with the Every Child Matters Framework.

Key requirement include:

• Experience of working with families with children under five years of age.
  
• Knowledge of child development is essential as well as the ability to provide good quality assessments of children and families needs.
  
• Experience of working in partnership to support families and be able to confidently work with a range of statutory and voluntary agencies as part of the team around the child.
  
• A working knowledge of child protection and integrated working procedures is a key element of this role.

Closing date: 12 September 2010 at 11.59pm

Assessment centre date: 30 September 2010

Please mention Parenting UK when applying for this job

Family Support Manager

Organisation: Camden Council

Region/Location: London - North

Salary: £37,851 - 40,506

12 month fixed-term contract (maternity cover)

You will manage a number of staff with a varied caseload, who carry out home visits and signpost families to services. This will involve assessment of children and family needs using the common assessment framework, assisting families to use local CC services and referral to more specialist services. You will work in partnership with families and other agencies, to ensure effective joint working, improving outcomes for children and their families in line with the Every Child Matters Framework.

Key requirements include:

• Experience of working with families with children under five years of age.
  
• Knowledge of child development is essential as well as the ability to provide good quality assessments of children and families needs.
  
• Experience of working in partnership to support families and be able to confidently work with a range of statutory and voluntary agencies as part of the team around the child.
  
• A working knowledge of child protection and integrated working procedures is a key element of this role.
  

Closing date: 12 September 2010 at 11.59pm

Assessment centre date: 30 September 2010

Please mention Parenting UK when applying for this job

Support Worker (Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities Groupwork Co-Facilitator)

Organisation: Action for Children

Region/Location: London - Romford

Salary: £8.81 (+OLW £1739 per annum, pro rata)

Havering Stepping Stones is a small, locally based service offering family support via early intervention practices, including one to one work and group work. The service aims to support parents and carers by delivering an evidence based programme: Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities which is a co-ordinated package of parenting support.

Duties include; Co-facilitation, preparation and delivery of the Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities Programme, supporting families via a co-ordinated package of parenting support and working in partnership with local authority staff.

The successful applicant must have received basic training from the Race Equality Foundation as well as possessing the ability to deliver, prepare and co-facilitate the Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities Programme.

You will possess organisational skills, the ability to engage, negotiate, empathise and be non-judgemental. You will be able to breakdown theoretical concepts, making them accessible to parents using jargon free language. The Co-facilitator role demands a flexible approach to working and willingness to take on change and manage this by using the professional supports in place.

Closing date: 29 December 2010

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Parent Participation Development Officer

Organisation: Contact a Family

Region/Location: London - South

Salary: £23,016 - £24,280, Scale 30 - 32

Hours: Part Time

Contract

This role offers the chance to give a real voice to parent carers in Lambeth. You’ll be working to support an established forum to influence services for disabled children and their families right across the borough.

Co-ordinating input from Lambeth statutory services, you’ll compile a database of parents willing to participate in planning forums and provide overall support to the work undertaken by the Parent Advisory Group.

Key tasks will include promoting successes, running training workshops and working with special interest groups. Experience of working with families who have disabled children is essential, together with a sound grasp of issues affecting them. You should have knowledge of consultation processes and an understanding of how to actively engage parents. Excellent networking and presentation skills are a must.

Please mention Parenting UK when applying for this job