Essex County Council
Residential Worker – Night Support
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About The Role
Residential Worker - Night Support
Permanent, Full Time
£34,169 to £43,232 per annum (includes allowance)
Location: Basildon
Working Style: Fixed-base worker
Closing date: 22nd July 2026
“If you have the ability to be patient, to be kind and to be there for any young person, then you can definitely do the job” – Cerys, Residential Worker.
Join our brand-new children’s homes to help shape and empower brighter futures for our young people.
Are you looking to work in a brand-new children’s home that makes a positive, lasting difference to children’s lives? Are you compassionate, empathetic and resilient? If so, this opportunity could be perfect for you to start your career within Social Care!
We are looking for a team of compassionate and patient Residential Worker – Night Support to support and make a difference to the lives young people and families who experience difficulties and inequalities.
Hear more about the rewarding role of a Residential Worker – Night Support here
Role Overview:
The role will be based across our brand-new Basildon sites - where you'll help create safe, nurturing environments for young people aged 11–17 who have experienced trauma.
The Residential Worker – Night Support is focused on supporting the Residential Home Manager in the care and development of young people in residential homes, ensuring their safety at night-time, as well as ensuring the environment is suitable to adequately safeguard their welfare. The role requires you to be empathetic and resilient to ensure our young people feel safe and protected.
In return, you'll be part of a team of passionate, like-minded professionals, supported by an encouraging and approachable management team. You'll also benefit from access to high-quality training and development opportunities, helping you grow and advance your career within the child and family sector.
What You’ll Get
- 37-hour working week + potential overtime opportunities
- 26 days annual leave + bank holidays + option to buy more
- Generous Local Government Pension Scheme
- Essex Rewards – discounts at hundreds of retailers
- Lifeworks Health & Wellbeing Platform
- 2 paid volunteering days (individual) + 2 team volunteering days annually
- Ongoing learning and development to support your career journey
What You’ll Do
This role calls for a compassionate, resilient, and dedicated individual who can make a real difference in the lives of young people during the night. You will be awake during the night to:
- Directly support children and young people within a residential home, ensuring all regulatory requirements and codes of practice are consistently met.
- Contribute to care planning, helping assess individual needs and develop clear, actionable placement plans that are regularly reviewed and updated.
- Facilitate positive family contact, supporting young people in maintaining healthy relationships and preparing for adulthood.
- Empower young people to make informed decisions about their lives, encouraging independence and self-confidence.
- Collaborate with the management team to maintain a healthy, safe, and supportive living environment that promotes independence.
- Support access to education and personal interests, helping young people grow, learn, and prepare for a successful transition into adulthood.
- Contribute to the operational effectiveness of the residential home, including monitoring care standards and occasionally leading shifts.
- Work towards individual and shared objectives, reviewed annually as part of the performance management framework.
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What We’re Looking For
Previous experience of working in a children’s home would be desirable however there are many skills that you might have that would make you suitable for the role. We are looking for individuals who want to make a difference to the futures of our young people to allow them to grow.
Essential skills:
- Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare (or willingness to complete within 2 years – fully funded).
- Strong communication and listening skills and the ability to engage with others effectively and at all levels.
Desirable skills:
- Evidence of working with young people to explore their behaviours and develop an understanding of their individual needs.
- Evidence of an awareness of child protection issues.
- Understands and demonstrates the ability to promote people’s equality, diversity and rights alongside experience of being able to protect children from abuse.
- Experience of contributing to the development, provision and review of Placement, and other care management plans, with evidence of the ability to encourage young people to develop and maintain a positive sense of identity.
You will work an average 37 hours a week with shift times being 9.15pm to 7.15am and you will have every other weekend off.
The salary quoted is comprised on a basic salary of £26,284 to £33,256 per annum, plus a guaranteed additional 30% allowance per annum.
Due to nature of this role any applicants need to be at least 21 years old to undertake this post.
If shortlisted the interview process will be a video interview, followed by a face-to-face interview at the home.
Ready to Apply?
If you’re ready to bring your skills, compassion, and energy to a team that’s changing lives, we’d love to hear from you.
To read more about us please visit: Children & Families
Please take a look at our ‘No Magic’ Children & Families video
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.
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In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.
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.
Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.
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.
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
If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Further details can be found on our careers page.
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