One of the many benefits of being a member of the national Family Group Conference Network is that you can advertise any jobs/vacancies which are coming up in your family group conference service.
If you would like to advertise a vacancy please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. including all relevant attachments and contact details.
Independent Family Group Conference (FGC) Co-ordinators
SERVICE AREA: Hounslow Children’s Services
CONTRACT TYPE: Sessional Worker (self-employed consultants)
SALARY: (Will be matched with other London Boroughs (i.e. £25 - £29 per hour for professional times & £13 - £14 for non-professional and travel times)
RESPONSIBLE TO: Family Group Conference Service Manager
The in-house Family Group Conference (FGC) Service in Hounslow has now been re-established since March 2018. The aim of the current service is to both increase the number of ‘traditional’ FGC opportunities offered to children and their families network (e.g. CP, PLO, Court Directed, etc.), as well as to offer the service much earlier in the ‘social care process’ to children and their families as a Targeted Early Help service through the Access to Interventions Panel and to Teams working with children in receipt of targeted early intervention, Child in Need plan, young people known to YOS and those children on the edge of care.
The service requires few Experienced Independent Family Group Conference (FGC) Coordinators to deliver FGCs that support family decision making by using the principles and process of the family group conference model in the UK.
MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The candidates will undertake several duties and responsibilities, which include:
- Take responsibility for the referrals allocated to them for an FGC and responding to all the referrals from the various teams;
- undertake necessary preparation work for the FGC with some admin work, including meeting referrer, liaising with other relevant professionals, visiting children, their immediate families, extended families and friendship network members and empower them;
- make suitable arrangements for the meetings to be held at a date, time and place that are convenient for the family group, and also arrange the venue, refreshments, childcare, etc.;
- effectively chair the FGCs and reviews, ensuring that the family have clear relevant information and make decisions in the best interests of their children;
- ensure that the process maintains the focus on the needs of the child/young person and ensure that their feelings, wishes and views are heard at the FGC;
- circulate the “family plan” to everyone who attended the FGC within a given time frame by the service;
- identify and address issues of race, culture, gender, sexuality, disability and/or language, and respond positively to any needs the families may identify;
- provide the service manager with an outline record of each family meeting with a detailed formulation of their plan;
- ensure confidentiality at all times within the agreed boundaries with the exception of applicable risk and safeguarding policies;
- take responsibility for their own professional development and discuss this with the service manager to agree on activities for continuing professional development; and
- be available and flexible to work outside office hours.
The candidates must meet few essential requirements to be shortlisted and may need to demonstrate several desirable criteria to be selected. Few of the key required essential requirements and desirable provisions have been furnished below.
Essential:
- An FGC accredited qualification (Family Rights Group model)
- Minimum NVQ-3 or equivalent qualification in a related subject
- Experience of delivering minimum 10 FGCs for child welfare and/or youth justice
- Hold a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure and Barring service police check or willing to have a DBS police check undertaken by LB Hounslow
- Hold a Professional Indemnity cover of minimum £250K
- Have a command of spoken English sufficient for the effective performance of the task (Code of Practice on English language requirement for the public sector. Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016
- Able to work outside normal office hours including early morning, evening and weekend
Desirable:
- An undergraduate level of qualification
- Up to date knowledge of relevant legislation and statutory frameworks and an understanding of child safeguarding procedures
- Able to use MS Word and Excel
- Able to lone work in a challenging environment
- Able to approach work proactively whilst maintaining reliance
- Able to be persistent, challenging, assertive and empathetic when problem-solving or providing a solution-focused approach with families
- Excellent organisational and time-management skills to meet various competing targets
- Able to develop innovative and informed solutions to the challenges faced by others
- Able to network across agencies and build good working relationships
OTHER INFORMATION:
If you are the right candidate and interested in one of the positions, please express your interest by sending your updated resume to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than Monday, 22 October 2018 by 1 pm. Please feel free to phone on 07816593383 for an informal discussion.