Family Support Practitioner

**Job Title**: Family Support Practitioner

**Reporting To**: Community Learning and Development Manager

**Contractual Status**: Full Time (35 hours per week, including occasional evenings and weekends)

**Salary**: Starting salary £24,000.00 per annum

**Annual Leave Entitlement**: 25 days, plus 9 public holidays, plus 3 days for Christmas

**About us**

FARE Scotland is a voluntary organisation working within disadvantaged communities throughout Central Scotland. At FARE Scotland we strive to raise people’s aspirations, encourage them to become more involved in their communities, create opportunities for personal development and equip them with the skills required to deal with the demands of 21st century life.

Working at FARE Scotland, you will be part of passionate and hard-working team that aims to improve the lives of the people in the communities we serve.

**What you’ll do**

We have an exciting opportunity for a Family Support Practitioner to join our team. Reporting to the Community Learning and Development Manager, you will share our vision of supporting children and young people to live with their parents and siblings, or where this is in the best interest of children, with their extended family, enabling them to grow up in their community with their friends, and attend their local school. Our Family Support Practitioners are part of a multi-disciplinary team, with families to support and enable positive change to improve outcomes. Working as part of a team with an opportunity to work supporting and empowering families to achieve positive outcomes.

As part of your role, your main responsibilities will include:

- To carry out assessments, planned support and reviews, supporting families to overcome barriers.
- To undertake an assessment of need to identify needs, strengths, and challenges faced by each family, basing interventions on expressed family needs and goals, including advice guidance, parenting support, 1-to-1 work with children and liaising with partner agencies.
- To work alongside partner agencies, advocating on behalf of children and families.
- Effectively assessing the needs of families and responding to them.
- Working collaboratively with families to achieve positive outcomes.
- Listening to children, young people, and families.
- Working in an integrated way as part of a dynamic multidisciplinary team.
- Promoting activities which will promote the personal, social, educational, and material welfare of young people and their families.
- Ensuring the collection and collation of vital information as required to evaluate the projects impact and for progress reports.
- Establishing and maintaining contact with relevant outside agencies.
- Complying with all relevant legislation and FARE Scotland’s policies.
- Promoting the objectives of FARE Scotland.
- Attending meetings, training sessions, and writing reports as required.

**About you**
- Post qualification experience of working with children, young people and families and achieving positive outcomes through direct contribution with support activities and intervention.
- Outreach/lone working experience.
- Experience of working with vulnerable families and a broad understanding of their barriers.
- Knowledge and experience of implementing methods of assessment and interventions.
- Experience of developing multidisciplinary support plans.
- Good knowledge of Community Support and Development/Family Support initiatives.
- Understanding of safeguarding.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills.
- Ability to work with people at all levels, both internally and externally.
- Ability to challenge, in a constructive manner, negative attitudes.
- Good knowledge of statutory organisations and the voluntary sector.
- Ability to share learning and develop practice through feedback.
- Organised and systematic approach to monitoring and reporting.
- The drive and initiative to work independently.
- Full driving licence.
- SVQ 3 in social care or HNC equivalent.

Along with the above, we would be looking for an individual who shares, and is able to demonstrate, the organisation’s values of being compassionate, open, collaborative, innovative and driven.

**What we can offer**

In return, we can offer you:

- Enhanced holiday entitlement
- Christmas shutdown period
- Access to an Employee Assistance Programme
- Flexible working options
- Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
- Death in Service benefit (4 x basic salary)

**How to apply**

Pay: From £24,000.00 per year

Work Location: In person