Wiltshire Council
Foster Carer Participation Officer – Regional Fostering Hub
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Salary: £13,031 - £13,924 Pro rata
Hours per week: 14.8
Fixed Term: To 31 March 2027
Interview Date: To be confirmed following shortlisting
Are you passionate about ensuring people’s voices are heard and used to shape meaningful change? Fostering South West is looking for a Foster Carer Participation Officer to lead engagement with foster carers, children and young people across the region, helping to influence recruitment, retention and service improvement initiatives.
Fostering South West is a Department for Education-funded regional partnership that supports fostering recruitment and retention across 15 local authorities in the South West. Through targeted marketing, early support for prospective foster carers, and a shared regional approach, the Hub works to increase the number, quality and diversity of fostering placements, helping to ensure more children can grow up in safe, stable and loving homes.
In this rewarding role, you will develop and deliver a dynamic participation programme, creating opportunities for foster carers and young people to share their experiences and inform decision-making. Working closely with colleagues, local authority partners and participation groups, you will facilitate events, forums and outreach activities, gather valuable feedback, and ensure lived experience is embedded in communications, campaigns and service development. You will also help strengthen relationships with foster carers, promote peer support networks and support the co-production of innovative recruitment and retention projects.
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We are looking for an enthusiastic and collaborative individual with excellent communication and engagement skills, experience of working with stakeholders, and a passion for making a difference. If you can build trusted relationships, translate feedback into action, and champion participation as a driver for positive change, this is an exciting opportunity to help improve the fostering experience for carers, children and young people across the South West.
Please ensure you have read the eligibility statement before making an application.
Contact details
Ian Jarman, Team Manager, ian.jarman@wiltshire.gov.uk
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Application criteria
Please download and read the role description and person specification here carefully before you apply.
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Eligibility Statement
This opportunity is open exclusively to employees of the Local Authorities that form the Fostering South West partnership. Applications will only be accepted from individuals currently employed by one of the following partner authorities:
- Bath and North East Somerset Council
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
- Bristol City Council
- Cornwall Council
- Devon County Council
- Dorset Council
- Gloucestershire County Council
- Council of the Isles of Scilly
- North Somerset Council
- Plymouth City Council
- Somerset Council
- South Gloucestershire Council
- Swindon Borough Council
- Torbay Council
- Wiltshire Council
Please note that applicants who are not currently employed by one of the above Local Authorities will not be eligible for consideration for this role. This vacancy is being advertised as a partnership opportunity across the Fostering South West member authorities.
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