Essex County Council
Senior Key Worker
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About The Role
Senior Key Worker
Permanent, Full Time
£26,725 to £31,441 per annum
Location: Clacton on Sea
Working Style: Community-based worker
Closing Date: 20th July 2026
Please note the post holder will be expected to operate flexibly, working out of normal office hours when required (evenings and weekends), to best meet the needs of service users.
We are seeking a Senior Key Worker for Mid Essex to carry out the statutory assessment of Young Carers and their families. To implement support for Young Carers (aged 0-18) and young adult carers (16 – 24) and their families. To provide individualised key worker support in relation to their caring role. Raising achievement and aspirations and to allow each Young Carer to have the same life chances as their peers. As a community-based worker you will be meeting families face to face, completing assessments, and providing individual and groupwork support, as well as line managing a team of Key workers to support Young Carers and their families.
Accountabilities
- To work with young carers and other agencies to develop and coordinate the delivery of a whole family support plan, agreeing the support to be provided, the co-ordination of this support and time limited objectives for the family, reviewing progress and restating goals where appropriate.
- To take up referrals and work with Essex young carers in order to identify, assess, understand and meet their needs, and to allocate Senior Key Worker or Key Worker support within the remit of the support required and to manage the workload of Key Worker Support resource within each quadrant.
- To line manage, supervise, and monitor the workload of Young Carer Key Workers within the relevant quadrant.
- To facilitate through youth work approaches the learning and development for Essex young carers to enhance their future development or meet identified needs, such as provision of specific training opportunities, focussed peer group support and/or targeted support workshops.
- To promote young carers self-awareness, confidence, and participation, encouraging their involvement in the design of their young carers service and supporting them in evaluating the impact of the service upon their own situation.
- To ensure that Essex County Council policies, procedures, and practice for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people are implemented effectively.
- To work flexibly and deliver services as directed.
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The Experience You Will Bring
- A relevant professional qualification which is focussed on working with young people (e.g. Youth and Community, Social work, Health, Teacher, IAG) or equivalent or demonstrably equivalent experience.
- A broad understanding of the issues affecting young carers and young people, opportunities for learning and the services provided by the partner organisations.
- Experience of working with young people on a one-to-one basis and in groups
- Excellent communication skills.
- Experience in effectively working collaboratively with other agencies at a local level.
- Be flexible in their approach and have excellent time management skills and ability to work evening, weekend, and residential work to respond to young people’s needs.
- The job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Depending on the geographical area, access to a vehicle or another efficient mode of transport will be required.
- Excellent level of numeracy, literacy (GCSE A – C or equivalent or demonstrable experience) and ICT
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.
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.
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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.
What You Should Do Next
If you are interested in finding out more about this role, we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website.
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 here.
If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email ami.fosker@essex.gov.uk
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