Hertfordshire County Council
Children & Families Participation Worker
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Job Introduction
Job Title: Children & Families Participation Worker
Starting Salary: £31,537 progressing to £34,434 per annum
Hours: 37
Base Location: Stevenage or Hatfield Countywide and travel out of Hertfordshire.
Contract Type: Fixed Term/Secondment - 12 months from start date
Directorate: Children's Services
About The Team
The Participation Team is dedicated to ensuring the voices of children, young people and families directly influence how Hertfordshire’s services are designed and delivered. We champion meaningful involvement at every level, from individual care planning to shaping strategic service developments.
The Participation Team leads on engaging young people who have experienced a missing episode to undertake independent return home discussions, aimed at identifying contributing factors to their missing episodes, risk factors and devising a collaborative plan to be shared to support them to reduce these episodes and increase their safety. The discussions are shared with allocated workers where there is an open episode within Childrens Services, or are utilised to engage other support services where they are not currently known to Childrens Services.
You will be part of a passionate team working closely across the whole of Children’s Services, partners and community groups. The role is well-established but constantly evolving, offering the chance to contribute fresh ideas, innovate creatively, and help strengthen participation practice across the county.
This role ensures that children, young people and families are heard, valued and empowered to shape both their own care journeys and the development of services. You will work with children in care, care leavers, and those involved in Child in Need, Child Protection and Early Help services.
About The Role
Key Responsibilities
Championing Voice & Influence
- Lead and support CHICC (Children in Care Council), Junior CHICC and other participation groups, ensuring they meaningfully influence Children’s Services.
- Create opportunities for children and young people to express their views in ways that feel safe, creative and relevant.
Creative Engagement
- Develop and deliver diverse engagement activities, from creative groups to digital content, podcasts and events. Ensuring all methods are inclusive and accessible.
- Innovative approaches to capture authentic feedback.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
- Build a representative community of children and young people that reflects Hertfordshire’s diversity, ensuring participation opportunities are inclusive of different ages, identities, abilities and experiences.
- Actively remove barriers to engagement and advocate for fair representation in all forums.
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Consultation & Advocacy
- Gather views through 1:1 sessions, group work, telephone contact and consultation events.
- Ensure children and young people’s contributions are reflected in statutory reviews and service improvement work.
Project Delivery & Impact
- Plan, manage and deliver participation projects from idea to evaluation, meeting deadlines, reporting outcomes, and demonstrating impact across the service.
- Contribute to audits from practice weeks and youth justice feedback.
Collaboration & Relationship Building
- Build strong, trusting relationships with children and young people to support meaningful participation.
- Work alongside social workers, partners and external organisations to embed youth voice in practice.
- Represent Hertfordshire at regional and national participation events.
Impact
Your work will directly influence how Children’s Services, health, housing, education and other partners design and deliver support. By championing lived experience, you will help create services that are more responsive, inclusive and effective for children, young people and families across Hertfordshire.
Ensure a consistent and independent offer to all Hertfordshire young people who experience a missing episode, using these conversations to create support plans and mitigate risk, including those who are currently placed out of county.
About You
Essential:
- Experience working with children, young people and families in group settings.
- Skilled in building strong, positive and professional relationships with young people.
- Experience delivering high-quality, child-centred services.
- Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines.
- Demonstrable commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion in participation work.
- Excellent communication skills, creative thinking and confidence facilitating groups.
- Strong IT, organisational and written communication skills.
- Experience working in a statutory setting and understanding safeguarding legislation.
- Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle.
Desirable
- Experience of working within social care.
- Experience of Liquid Logic Case Management Systems
We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.
This job role is Level 8. Please locate the job profile here: [Job profiles - Health and social care](Job profiles - Health and social care)
To hear more about this opportunity please contact Brooke Donovan (brooke.donovan@hertfordshire.gov.uk) for an informal discussion about the role.
Interview Date: 25th August
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How To Apply
As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.
Secondment
This role is open to secondments for eligible employees who work for HCC. If you wish to apply on a secondment basis, you must have your line manager’s approval before submitting your application. You will be asked to confirm this within your application form. If you are not eligible for a secondment (e.g., you are currently on a fixed-term contract that would end before this positions ends) or you indicate that your manager cannot support a secondment, your application will be considered on a fixed-term contract basis instead.
Additional Information
We are changing
Hertfordshire County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.
LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/
Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.
Driving Required
You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.
English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.
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