Functional Family Therapy Child Welfare Therapist

Job reference

REQ6373

Date posted

10/11/2025

Application closing date

01/12/2025

Location

Hybrid working - Home and Leicester City Offices

Salary

£47,181 - £50,269 Per Year

Package

Total benefit value (includes pension contribution and full holiday entitlement): £68,546

Contractual hours

37

Basis

Full time

Job category/type

Childrens Social Care

Job description

Full Time / 37 Hours Per Week / Fixed Term for 1 Year

We're seeking an experienced therapist to join our well-established Functional Family Therapy team to deliver FFT interventions within our children's services division. Using the FFT model, we work to divert cases from court proceedings and help safely move children home after a period of time in care. The Leicester FFT-CW team has a remarkable success rate of over 90% of children safely remaining in the care of their parents and around one third of cases being closed to the LA within 6 months of their involvement with the FFT team. The new posts reflect the team's need for growth, as a result of an expansion of our remit.

This is a full time, fixed term position for 1 year, working 37 hours per week Monday to Friday (for 12 months). The role is hybrid, with an office base at Halford House, however you'll be required to travel across the city to undertake visits in family homes across the city. We offer flexible and agile working to promote a healthy/work-life balance meaning that there is an option to work remotely from home when your needs suit. There may be a requirement to work non-social hours to meet the needs of families.

We will consider this vacancy on a secondment basis for Leicester City Council employees. If you wish to apply for this post on a secondment basis then please ensure you have your line manager's approval before applying.

As an authority we are committed to addressing racial injustice both for the families we work with and across the workforce, and particularly encourage applications which reflect the communities we serve.

What you'll be doing

Following a period of training and induction, you'll deliver Functional Family Therapy to families where there is a child, children or young person(s) between the ages of 0-17 who is at imminent risk of being taken into care. The primary focus of the team is referrals where domestic abuse is a concern or where the family have children under 6 yrs old, although referrals are considered for any age child or families presenting with any other child welfare concern which has them at the door of the court. The FFT intervention aims to work with families to mitigate risks and enable a safe and nurturing environment for the children to remain at home. The team is also now taking referrals for families where children are returning home after time spent in care.

Whilst directly managing a case load of up to 8 families, you'll work collaboratively with your colleagues in the FFT team, participating in team supervision and case discussions, and with colleagues from the wider social work services. You will keep accurate and timely case notes, which will form part of your reflective practice and development as a Functional Family Therapist. Whilst initial and ongoing training is provided, we expect that you are already an experienced therapist.

What you'll need

You'll have experience of providing therapeutic interventions to families facing a wide range of difficulties. You'll have a knowledge of the underlying principles of FFT, and a sound understanding and experience of delivering other, evidence based, psychological interventions. You'll be an integrative practitioner who enjoys regular group and individual supervision. Being able to keep accurate up to date case records; providing reports for the department and other agencies as required is a must. You'll need to be positive enough to believe that families can change but resilient enough to cope when they don't, and unafraid to escalate concerns.

This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check. In addition, you must have a driving license in order to travel to within the county/city/community areas and occasionally further afield.

What we can offer you

As well as the satisfaction of helping to improve lives of children across Leicester, you can look forward to a work environment that encourages a healthy work/life balance. You'll enjoy generous annual leave, membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme and the option of flexible working. We'll also give you the chance to develop your skills and expertise with a variety of training and development opportunities. In addition, you can choose from a number of flexible benefits, including discounts on city buses and trains. For an illustrative value of your benefits package, take a look at our benefits calculator.

Join us

We're committed to recruiting a diverse and highly-talented workforce as we continue to build a council that is fitting and representative of our great city. That's why we've designed our recruitment process to put you at your ease, make you feel welcome and bring the best out of you. We'll do all we can to make our recruitment process as fair as possible. To help you with your application, take a look at the 'our approach to recruitment' page.

For an informal discussion, or further information regarding this job please contact Rachel Williams at

Interviews/assessments will take place on 11th December 2025.