Senior Family Help Practitioner Redeployment 24281

Suffolk County Council

Address: Ipswich IP1 2BX Bury St Edmunds IP33 3YU and Lowestoft NR33 0EQ - Hybrid
Salary:34434 per annum (pro rata for part time)
Hours:37 hours per week flexible working options available
Contract:Permanent

Reimagine the possibilities

Are you an experienced practitioner looking for your next step in Children and Young Peoples Services

This is an exciting internal development opportunity for practitioners who are passionate about achieving positive outcomes for children and families and are ready to take on greater responsibility within Family Help.

As a Senior Family Help Practitioner youll play a key role in supporting children young people and families experiencing complex needs. Youll hold a more complex caseload act as lead professional for allocated families support colleagues through advice and guidance and help drive high-quality practice across the team.

This role provides an excellent opportunity to further develop your practice leadership and multi-agency working skills while making a meaningful difference to children and families across Suffolk.

Your role and responsibilities

As a Senior Family Help Practitioner you will:

• Act as Lead Professional for allocated children and families coordinating support and interventions to improve outcomes.
• Undertake Family Help Assessments and contribute to Child in Need and Child Protection planning where appropriate.
• Hold a complex caseload managing risk and supporting families to make sustainable improvements in their lives.
• Build strong working relationships with children families carers and partner agencies.
• Chair multi-agency meetings and family network meetings to review progress and coordinate plans.
• Use Suffolk Signs of Safety and Wellbeing principles to support strengths-based solution-focused practice.
• Provide advice guidance and role-modelling to colleagues supporting continuous improvement across the team.
• Support peer supervision mentoring and learning activities to strengthen practice.

About the team

At Suffolk County Council we aspire for every child in Suffolk to live their best life. The Children and Young Peoples Directorate continues to improve and develop services that deliver sustainable change for children young people and their families.

Family Help Teams are multi-disciplinary teams made up of social workers and alternatively qualified practitioners supported by two Team Managers. They undertake assessments and planning for children receiving Targeted Early Help Child in Need and Child Protection services and support children when they first enter care.

This is a supportive and collaborative service that values professional development high-quality practice and continuous learning.

You will need

Were looking for someone who is ready to build on their existing experience and take the next step in their professional journey.

Our ideal candidate will have:

• A Level 5 qualification or equivalent knowledge and experience in a relevant area of work.
• Experience of direct work with children young people and families.
• Experience of supporting families where safeguarding concerns exist.
• Knowledge of solution-focused approaches including Signs of Safety.
• The ability to assess risk manage complex situations and support positive change for families.
• Confidence in building relationships influencing others and working collaboratively with a range of professionals and agencies.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to prioritise workload effectively

• Due to the nature of this role you will be required to have a driving licence and access to personal transport. If you feel you can meet these travel requirements through other suitable means please contact the Hiring Manager before applying to discuss.

If you think you have what it takes to be successful in this role even if you dont meet every requirement we would love to hear from you.

Empowering Everyone

Were big believers in potential possibility and the power of different ideas. Were always searching for ways to encourage respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation as shown in ourWorkforce Equality Report.

For more information

Please contact Steve Blaney for a casual conversation. You can reach them by calling or emailing

How to apply

Step 1 -Read theJob and Person Profile (Word).

Step 2 -Click Apply Now to start your online application.

Step 3 -Upload asupporting statementanswering the following questions below (no more than 400 words per question). You should use theSupporting Statement template (Word).

1. Describe a time when you acted as a lead professional or coordinated support for a child or family. Tell us how you brought agencies together any challenges you faced and what impact your involvement had.

2. Provide an example of how you have supported coached or mentored a colleague to improve practice or outcomes. Tell us what support was needed what actions you took and what was learnt or improved.

3. Describe a situation where you had to make a difficult professional judgement regarding a child or familys safety or wellbeing. Tell us what information you considered what decision you made why you made that decision and the outcome.

Please note:Without a supporting statement your interest will not be supporting documents must be in either PDF or MS Word format.

For guidance on completing your application please seeourHow to Apply page.

Planning to useArtificial Intelligence (AI)Please ensure your applicationstillreflects your own skillsexperienceand used inappropriately your application may not be processed. Please readourguidance for using AIto understandwhatsacceptable.

Do you need any reasonable adjustments to help you to applyIf you are disabled and/or haveadditionalsupport needs you can request reasonable adjustments. You can do this by contacting our Recruitment Team ator.You can find examples ofpossible adjustmentsonourReasonable Adjustment pages.

Closing date: 11.30pm 26 July 2026

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.