Family Connector

Involve Northwest is an innovative, community-based organisation with an approach that is grounded in our core belief that the services we offer are free, confidential, and are motivated for public benefit, and not profit.

**Job Title**:Family Connector

**Service/Project**:Involve Northwest

**Contract Length**: Fixed term for 2 years

**Salary**: £24,000 per annum

**Working Hours**:Full time - 35 hours per week (Monday - Friday)

**Location**:The Pride Centre, Kirkby

**Reporting To**: Connect Us Head of Service

**Direct Staff**: No direct staffing responsibilities

The Connect Us project recognises that there are inherent strengths in communities and on this basis that we are taking forward the ABCD approach, which subscribes to the belief that it takes a village to raise a child.

The Family Connector role is in partnership with _Northwood Cradle to Career - an_ initiative to support local residents and the community. ‘Cradle to Career’ brings together the community, professionals and the leaders that serve Halton Lea with a place-based, collective impact approach to improving outcomes for children and young people. The community voice is the driving force behind direction and interventions.

**Job Purpose**:As part of the Cradle to Career multidisciplinary team, you will work in partnership with local services to ensure children, young people and their families can access support that meets their needs, by connecting with community members, engaging their talents and skills to identify what is important to the community.

**Core Duties and Responsibilities**:

- Support the identification of people’s dreams and aspirations for the Halton Lea community including families and children, and to support people to identify the community assets that will help those dreams be realised.
- Help families to access support by introducing residents to relevant services, sharing information with the community, and building trust between professionals and the community.
- Identify local informal groups and associations and build relationships, encouraging collaboration between organisations and residents.
- Discover ‘Connectors’ across the community, provide opportunities to come together to exchange learning and map community assets.
- Engage a multitude of individuals who are striving to build community; better connect residents together in purposeful and meaningful social activity, volunteering, and civic endeavour.
- Support local connectors and act as a resource in bringing them together to form an ad hoc collective that’s helps to weave community activities and associations.
- Capture local stories from learning sites and share findings with stakeholders in partnership with the community.
- Facilitate the development of appropriate community led action in relation to community building themes.
- To work in line with set contract targets and monitor and record all work to enable you to produce quality monthly reports.

**Company Duties and Responsibilities**:

- To work in line with set company policies and procedures, including ISO9001:2015 and GDPR 2018.
- To work to Involve Northwest’s Safeguarding procedures.
- To always represent the charity in the best manner.
- To demonstrate a commitment to the vision, values, and strategic aims of Involve Northwest.
- To maintain high standards of professionalism and keep abreast of current legislation, standards, best practice and maintain a focus of continuous improvement.
- To work within the practice standards of the Cradle to Career Service.

**Person Specification - Essential**

**Experience**
- Experience of working with families / children.
- Ability to relate to families, support families and build strong relationships.
- Community leadership and team building skills, strong facilitation skills.
- Ability to work autonomously.
- IT literate
- Ability to research information from a range of sources.
- Ability to produce quality monthly reports.
- Experience of setting and maintaining appropriate boundaries with families.

**Personal Attributes**
- Flexible, adaptable and a good listener.
- An understanding of social isolation, health, wellbeing, and the challenges that can be faced by different families.
- Team player with an open, honest manner and ability to build effective relationships.
- Build strong relationships and work collaboratively with families, local communities, authority, and professionals.
- Ability to become part of a family’s development for the future.
- Ability to ‘step back’ and enable families to do for themselves.
- Able to priorities tasks, workload and good time management.
- Motivational and empowering.
- Political awareness with and ability to influence, challenge and support.
- Believes everyone has something essential to contribute to build communities regardless of their past experience of the label’s others have placed on them & focused on the ‘gifts’ of individuals.
- The ability to monitor and repor