Unqualified Senior Broker

**What's involved with this role:
**Job Ref: Tower Hamlets RQ1228284**

**Standard DBS disclosure required**

**This is a hybrid role requiring colleagues to be in the office at least 2 days / week and 5 days for the week when they are on duty**

Ensuring children and young people have the best possible placements that are proportionate to their assessed needs and that help them to achieve their full potential is absolutely key. You will be a very experienced, highly motivated, well organised and determined colleague who understands why the need get placements and support right for children.

Key Responsibilities:
Work proactively within the Placements Team to ensure all children are placed in suitable placements, monitoring referral patterns and use of Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs), and ensure that senior managers are alerted to any risks or threats in relation to sufficiency.
- Help develop and manage systems that track all referrals, placements, placement moves and endings, and ensure that high quality management information is available to assist in the planning and review of the service.Deliver a responsive and efficient service alongside the Fostering Service: ensure that all parties involved in the referral and placement process are kept fully informed when placements are made, and that children’s views are taken into account.
- Undertake the sourcing and negotiation of suitable placements, and to contribute information about the market for health to maintain the quality of services. To keep accurate records and reporting on placement and financial activities by updating individual case notes on Mosaic.
- Negotiate on placement costs/support packages to ensure cost effective placements. Also ensuring placements are agreed and placements contracts (IPAs) are completed in a timely manner as well as Mosaic finances.
- Help put systems in place to ensure foster carers and providers are paid promptly and that any additional or special payments are processed in a fair and transparent way, in keeping with the operating principles of the Fostering Payment Policy.
- Track and maintain an overview of all children waiting for placements and monitor progress on identifying suitable carers. Alert senior managers to any corporate threat or risks relating to the council’s sufficiency strategy.
- Ensure that information systems are fit for purpose and that high quality management information can be produced for a range of indicators. Use management information to inform planning and reviewing the sufficiency strategy.
- Ensure the best use is made of Southwark’s fostering resources, keeping use of external placements to a minimum and promoting the use of Friends and Family Placements as far as possible.

Keep abreast of local and national changes to best practice when securing placement’s options for children and young people including legislative changes and Ofsted guidance.

**To help speed up the process of uploading your CV to the client we would suggest that you send us your CV in Word format (or equivalent) if possible, rather than as a PDF.**

**If you are successful in securing this role, please note that for the entire duration of this contract, regardless of extension you will be working this role at the PAYE rate that has been advertised. For absolute clarity, we only work on a PAYE basis, rather than entertaining umbrella pay terms, we do not offer Ltd/umbrella or outside IR35 rates. If you wish to understand PAYE vs Umbrella more, please let us know and we can send you some additiona**l **information for clarity.**

Other “Essential Requirements” - Please check to ensure that your CV addresses the following items:
**Unless the DBS requirement stated above is for a Basic Disclosure, your DBS must be either through us or be accompanied by a subscription to the DBS updating service.**

Qualifications:

- Must hold a recognised social work qualification or equivalent child care equivalent qualification

Knowledge:
Knowledge of safeguarding procedures and key fostering and residential legislation, guidance and National Minimum Standards
- Knowledge of roles and responsibilities of key children's agencies

**Experience**:
Experience of developing and managing information systems and using data to monitor and evaluate performance
- Experience of working with foster carers and a commitment to achieving placement stability through the development of placement support services Experience of interpreting performance data from a complex database to ensure sound strategic management of the service.Experience of working on own initiative, organise workloads, determine priorities and meet deadlines.Experience of financial and resource management within a social care environment
- Have experience as a broker.

Skills & Abilities:
Ability to analyse, interpret & explain data with a focus and drive on positive outcomes for children
- Ability to delegate and negotiate where necessary
- Ability to manag