Personal Advisor Leaving Care

Salary: £35,235 - £ 37,938 per annum Working Pattern: Full Time - 37 hours per week - chance of hybrid working dependant on operational requirements. Contract Length: Permanent Location: Based at County Hall North, Horsham with travel outside the county required and overnight stays in other parts of the Country on occasion.

We are looking for a Personal Advisor to join our Care Leavers Service. The Care Leavers service work with our care leavers between the ages of 17-25 in their transition to adulthood. Personal Advisors support care leavers to develop the skills needed to live independently and to be aspirational in identifying and achieving their goals, including healthy living, stable homes, and good educational opportunities.

Transitioning into adulthood is a challenging time for any young people. This is especially so for our Care Leavers who have often experienced trauma and may have complex needs including mental health, substance use and offending behaviours.

To succeed, you will be able to demonstrate personal resilience, to manage the emotional demands of this role and support our Care Leavers who may have experienced trauma, abuse, neglect, and discrimination. You will be able to demonstrate you are able to respond calmly and sensitively to our Care Leavers who at times may be presenting challenging behaviours and in crisis situations.

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do. Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including:

• an excellent local government pension scheme
• generous holiday entitlement (plus opportunity to buy additional leave)
• a range of flexible working options, depending on your job role
• maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
• volunteering opportunities
• training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform (see our Staff discounts page if you are a business looking to offer a discount)
• health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

The Opportunity

The main focus of your role will be to act as a professional representative for Care Leavers by working with a focus on delivering services to those people who access or need the service, in line with statutory duties, acting with integrity, professionalism and respect on behalf of the organisation, ensuring at all times that the needs of individuals are paramount.

About you

To be successful in this role you will have:

• The ability to analyse and interpret people related information and data, allowing you to prioritise, negotiation and implement actions and interventions where appropriate.
• The ability to engage and empower Care Leavers and work effectively with these young people in crisis.
• The experience to work in partnership to assist the young people you are supporting.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbally and written, which will enable you to influence and persuade in relevant situations.
• Problem Solving skills and be a decision maker.
• The Ability to work under pressure and remain calm in a crisis.
• Experience of working with children, young people, and families.
• Experience of safeguarding situations and how to respond appropriately to these.
• You will need to be able to travel independently around the country, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport. Pool cars and pool bikes are available.

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

About us

At West Sussex County Council, we are ambitious for all children, young people, families, and our workforce. We are committed to improving our services for children, young people, and families in West Sussex that we support. You will join us at a key time in our improvement journey.

We have established a new and experienced leadership team driving forward our 'Children First' improvement plan. We don't underestimate the work that needs to be done and the challenge ahead. That's why we need professionals, like you, who really want to be part of the positive change that is happening in the Care Leavers service. Be part of an ambitious improvement plan and make a significant difference to the Care Leavers in West Sussex - there has never been a more rewarding time to join!

The Care Leavers service work with our care leavers between the ages of 17-25 in their transition to adulthood. Personal Advisors support care leavers to develop the skills needed to live independently and to be aspirational in identifying and achieving their goals, including healthy living, stable homes and good educational opportunities. Transitioning into adulthood is a challenging time for any young people. This is especially so for our care leavers who have often experienced trauma and may have complex needs including mental health, substance use and offending behaviours.

For more information on our roles please visit Leaving Care Team jobs - West Sussex County Council

Further information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE05503.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact [email protected]

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.

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