About The Role

Risk in the Community Officer (North & Mid Essex)

Permanent, Full Time

£33,049 up to £37,698 per annum

Location: Witham

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Please note that this role covers the North and Mid of Essex.

Here in Essex, we continue to raise the bar about practice and our investment in our workforce is second to none. It’s an exciting time to join us. Not only have we been named Outstanding by Ofsted, we are delighted and at the same time humbled to have been crowned Social Work Employer of the Year for the second time in the last three years!

Please take a look at our ‘No Magic’ Children & Families video here

The role:

The Risk in the Community Officer will deliver targeted group/individual work activities working collaboratively with children and their families/carers who are at risk of harm outside the home. Officers will support the case holder and partnership around the child to assess and understand the factors that may increase a child’s vulnerability to Risk in the Community and how to effectively tackle this and reduce harm to the child.

This is a complex area of safeguarding and as such the Risk in the Community Officer will be a subject matter expert, having a high level of awareness of the challenges, issues and factors linked to harm outside the home.

The role requires excellent interpersonal, communication skills and the ability to build strong partnerships with key partners and stakeholders. The Risk in the Community Officer will be an experienced practitioner working with children and families with a range of complex needs and with an ability to gain oversight in a quality assurance role to ensure the best outcomes for children and families. They will support staff to understand Risk in the Community and implement effective assessments and interventions. The office is based in Witham. This role focuses on the North and Mid of Essex, you should also be mobile throughout the county of Essex and beyond.

Accountabilities:

• Use specialist skills in engagement with children and their parents/carers to build relationships and provide time limited intensive support where assessed as appropriate and gaining consent. This will provide children with an opportunity to talk about any challenges they are facing which is increasing their vulnerabilities and explore any support they may need to ensure they are safeguarded from harm through early intervention related to risk and vulnerability.
• Plan and facilitate relevant group work with children, focused on assessed themes that will increase their resilience and build a positive peer support network around them.
• Responsible for supporting the case holder and partnership around the child to understand the factors that may increase a child’s vulnerability to Risk in the Community to reduce harm to the child and support their understanding of this area of complex safeguarding.
• Provide group Risk in the Community training to professionals e.g. Foster Carers/ Social Workers/ Case Holders as a subject a matter expert, on Risk in the Community in order to achieve quality and effective responses to children.
• Use specialist knowledge and experience to support the case holder to understand the push and pull factors that may be increasing a child’s vulnerability to Risk in the Community through dedicated case discussions.
• Support the Risk in the Community assessment, analysis and safety planning for the children open to MACE 1, this will include quality assurance around the case holders practice and decision making to ensure the best outcomes for children and adherence to the Risk in the Community processes as outlined by the Essex Safeguarding Children Board.
• Responsible for sharing and recording appropriate relevant information with the Case Holders/ Partners. Monitoring and reviewing outcomes for the child whilst working collaboratively and building strong partnerships with the multiagency network.
• Working closely with colleagues from Risk in the Community and Missing Teams to ensure shared analysis and resources across the Child Exploitation and Missing agenda.
• Work collaboratively with statutory and voluntary partners by highlighting learning from the experiences of children, their families/carers to inform and improve service delivery.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.
• A driving licence and access to a car is essential to undertake this role. This role also requires flexible working and can include some evening and weekend working.