Senior Social Care Officer

LOCATION:
Strathmoor Family Support Team and COPE Team Harley Place Perth, PH1 5DP

SALARY:
£32,210 - £35,532 per year

CONTRACT TYPE:
Permanent

POSITION TYPE:
Full Time

HOURS:
36 hours per week

£32,210 - £35,532
Strathmoor, Family Support Team and COPE Team, Harley Place, Perth

An exciting opportunity has arisen in Services for Children, Young People and Families to be part of our COPE team. COPE stands for:
C - Children and Young People who are

O - Open cases to Social Work and need

P - Planned intervention during

E - Early mornings, Evenings and weekends.

COPE provides planned input and support to children, young people and families who are working with our service. In line with 'The Promise' we have listened to children, young people and families’ requests for support to be available to them at times when they need it.

We are looking for 2 COPE workers to work early mornings 07:45 hrs till 16:00hrs weekdays and to work one 10:45 hrs till 19:00 hrs shift alternate weekends.

We are also looking for 1 COPE worker to work 12:00 hrs till 22:00 hrs during the week and 11:00 hrs till 21:00hrs alternate weekends.

COPE staff work closely with the Lead Professional to undertake directed pieces of planned work which may include providing parenting support for families, spending individual time with a child or young person and completion of any other suitable tasks identified within their Child or Young Person’s Plan.

Alongside planned pieces of work, COPE workers respond to the urgent needs of children, young people and families as required in conjunction with our Out of Hours Service.

A rotating 2 week shift pattern will be in place and we hope to recruit 2 workers to the early morning rota and 1 worker to the evening rota. Both shift patterns will require working alternate weekends. These will be the primary working hours. Workers will be required to be flexible and may be asked to cover early/late shifts such as when their colleagues are on leave.

Staff may also be required to attend Children’s Hearings, Child Protection and Child/Young Person’s Plan meetings.

**Perth & Kinross Council Values and Behaviours**:
**The Individual**:
You will have experience of working with children, young people and families who are experiencing significant difficulties in their lives and require sensitive and non-judgmental support.

You will be qualified to at least SVQ Level III in Social Services (Children & Young People).

You must be able to demonstrate excellent communication skills; the capacity to work independently and as part of a team and to manage competing demands successfully.

You must be flexible in your approach and able to think quickly and on your feet in situations.

You must be able to demonstrate a positive attendance record at work and high levels of reliability and punctuality.

Relationship-based practice is key to positive interventions with children, young people and families and it is important that you have the skills and qualities to provide nurturing support whilst being able to be honest and transparent with families about risks and concerns. Having a strengths based approach will be beneficial so that you are able to help families identify their strengths and how to build on them. It would be helpful if you have experience of undertaking home visits, delivering parenting support and working with children, young people and families in their own communities.

You should be familiar with Getting it Right for Every Child and the My World Triangle and SHANARRI indicators. Children, young people and families may be experiencing multiple adversities such as poverty, addiction, domestic abuse and mental health issues and therefore being able to work collaboratively with other agencies is essential.

You must be able to drive, have a full, clean driving licence and have access to a car as you will need to travel to see families as part of your role.

For further information about this post, including shift patterns, please contact Lesley Whyte, Team Leader on 01738 454321 or 07788 362886.

Please APPLY ONLINE. Facilities are available at all public libraries in Perth and Kinross. If you have a disability and require reasonable adjustments, please call 01738 475555 to discuss.

As part of our safer recruitment measures, Perth & Kinross Council carries out rigorous checks on the right to work in the UK, qualifications, employment history, including references, and fitness to undertake the post.

A healthy work life balance is important to Perth & Kinross Council and we provide supportive management and flexible working arrangements to help you achieve a healthy work life balance. You will have access to training and support for continued professional development.