Children's Referral Coordinator - Front Door Service (MASH)
- Devon
- Full Time
- £24,702 - £26,421 per annum
About Us
We're on an exciting and ambitious journey of cultural change. We're continuing to embed restorative practice and relational ways of working. We believe that for most families, the family home is the best place for children to live and thrive.
We're proud of our workforce and what we are achieving for children and families in Devon. Our social work teams are committed to providing the best service possible and are supported by our ambitious culture.
About the Role
We currently have permanent vacancies for Children's Referral Coordinators based in our Children's Front Door – formerly referred to as the MASH. This role supports threshold and decision making from an Early help to Statutory level of safeguarding for children and families. provides statutory safeguarding services to Devon’s children and young people outside of normal work hours. The Front Door comprises of a multiagency partnership, to help inform threshold decisions for children and families.
As the first point of contact and first face of the Front Door, you will answer and triage all initial calls and enquiries to be able to filter and prioritise safeguarding concerns. Alongside this you will be inputting relevant information into the children's recording system Eclipse. Your role will offer you the chance to have contact with members of the public, children and families, and professionals, providing guidance and/or information from Social Care. This includes gathering data from records relating to children and families and other relevant information to either signpost or pass over to other professionals and colleagues to continue support or initiate and intervention as per thew safeguarding concerns identified. You will need to establish the nature of any enquires or requests for information, including being able to identify the urgency and importance, to enable you to make judgements to respond and triage accordingly and in a timely manner. Good communication skills and an excellent telephone manner will be essential demonstrating empathy, sensitivity and understanding the importance of children and families confidentiality. You will need to be able to establish situations that have reached a level of risk or seriousness in terms of urgency that require an oversight by delegated senior staff. You will also need to have a good understanding of various support services available to give callers the most appropriate guidance about where support can be accessed if this is not social care.
We’re proud of our workforce, and what has been achieved for children and families in Devon. Our social work teams are committed to providing the best service possible and are supported by our ambitious culture. We are keen to learn, grow and improve and we’re looking for people who share our values to join us.
The service runs from 9am – 5pm (Mon-Thurs) and 9am- 4pm (Fri). Outside of these hours and on public holidays, we operate an Emergency Duty Service (EDS).
For more information on working with us here in Devon, please visit ‘Working for Devon’ and Working in Childrens Social Care.
About you
With previous experience of working with families with multiple and complex needs, you will have excellent interpersonal skills and be able to offer the family both high support and high challenge. You will need to:
- Have gained a GCSE pass in English and Math (or equivalent)
- Previous administration experience, preferably working within social care.
- Display excellent communication skills to engage with children, young people and families from differing abilities understanding and language.
- Possess a positive, professional attitude and approach to work.
- Be confident, demonstrating excellent IT skills to keep records up to the date.
What we can offer you
In return for the vital contribution that you make, we have some fantastic employee benefits available, including:
- Generous annual leave
- Free onsite parking
- Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee well-being services
- Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme
- We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home
- Discounts at over 900 national & local high street retailers through our benefits platform
- Cycle to work scheme
- Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
If you are looking to move to Devon, subject to qualifying conditions, we offer a generous relocation allowance. There has never been a better time to make the move!
If you have any queries, please contact Alice Palmer alice.palmer@devon.gov.uk or Andy Gibson andy.gibson@devon.gov.uk for an informal discussion.
Applications close on 06/10/2024 and shortlisted applicants will be contacted to arrange interview dates promptly.
Please note that interviews will take place throughout our recruitment campaign, therefore we encourage you to apply early to avoid disappointment as we may close the advert early.
For more information about Working for Devon please visit our Working for Devon page.
Internal Applicants, please note: If you are an existing DCC employee, please use your iTrent Employee Self Service (ESS) details to log in and apply.
- This role requires a DBS disclosure
- This role requires the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English
- DCC embraces the positive benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to providing an environment that is inclusive and safe. We welcome applications from people who share our commitment to stop discrimination, challenge inequality and promote diversity across Devon. More information can be found on our Equality and Diversity webpages
- Happy to Talk Flexible Working -The Council offers flexible working arrangements in terms of when and where people work e.g. hybrid working, part-time, condensed hours etc
- We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment
- Personal data we collect from you will be processed in accordance with the Applicant privacy notice
REQ006920
Interview Date: TBC
Click here to see the Job Description