Wellbeing Practitioner
- Exeter, North Devon, South Hams, Devon
- Full Time
- £30,518 - £33,699 per annum
Wellbeing Service Practitioner
1: North and Mid team - 1 vacancy, office base Barnstaple
2: Exeter and East team - 2 vacancies, office base Exeter
3: South and West - 1 vacancy, office base Totnes
4: Return home/return from care team - 1 vacancy
5: Stable care team - 2.6 vacancies
All posts are 37 hours per week (permanent)
About the Service
Exciting opportunities have arisen to join Devon County Council’s new Wellbeing Service with multiple vacancies in teams for Wellbeing Practitioners.
The Wellbeing Service will provide dedicated, countywide support for children and young people in Devon who are on the edge of care, in care, returning home, or care experienced. It will help more children stay safely with their families and communities wherever possible, whilst making sure those who cannot live at home have stable, good quality care and the right emotional, practical and therapeutic support.
Working closely with social care teams, the service will offer timely, joined-up support for children and young adults with complex needs or those in crisis. Led by an Operational Lead and dedicated Clinical Lead it will bring together multi-disciplinary expertise to strengthen relationships, improve wellbeing and help children and young people thrive.
Each of the teams within the Wellbeing Service has an area of specialism in their work.
Locality teams –work with children and families on the edge of care to prevent family breakdown including providing a rapid response.
Stable care team – work with foster carers, kinship carers and children, including providing training, so that children remain in stable homes.
Return Home/Step down from residential care to foster care team – work to reunify children in care with family and carers and support transitions from residential care to kinship or foster care.
About the Role
As a Wellbeing Practitioner you will provide intensive, time limited support to children, young people and families/carers where complex needs are present, aiming to improve outcomes by preventing entry to care, supporting reunification, enhancing family connections and increasing care stability. Working as part of team within the service you will be responsible for providing trauma informed evidence based therapeutic interventions to children and adults working with the service.
You will be working with colleagues in your team supported by a team manager and senior wellbeing practitioner and in partnership with others in the professional network including for example social workers, personal advisors, Early Help practitioners. Alongside colleagues in the wider multidisciplinary team, you will be coordinating therapeutic plans, responding to crisis and safeguarding concerns, working holistically to strengthen the capacity of carers and families to provide safe, nurturing stable care for children.
About You
We are looking for experienced applicants, from a range of backgrounds, who are passionate about achieving the very best outcomes for children and their families. You will need the skills to engage and build meaningful relationships with children, parents and carers based on restorative principles and provide evidence-based therapeutic interventions to support sustainable change and stability. You will need to be persistent, tenacious and assertive at times whilst also being compassionate, reflective and relationship based in your approach.
You should possess a wide range of skills and knowledge, including:
- Excellent communication and engagement skills as this work will involve direct contact with children, young people and their families/carers.
- Experience of multi-agency working and able to develop and maintain strong relationships with professionals from a range of agencies.
- The ability to listen and use a restorative approach to support stability and challenge families to make positive changes in their lives.
- Be enthusiastic and motivated to work creatively with children, parents/carers and other professionals.
If you are interested in working for an organisation that seeks to improve the outcomes of Children, Young people and families we would be delighted to hear from you.
Please read the Job Description for the full details of this role linked below to this advert.
What you’ll get in return
In return for the vital contribution that you make, we have some fantastic employee benefits available, including:
- Generous annual leave, & the ability to purchase additional annual leave.
- Free onsite parking.
- Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee well-being services.
- We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
- Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme.
- Discounts at over 900 national & local high street retailers through our benefits platform.
- Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice scheme.
For an informal discussion about this role, please contact one of the team manager by calling 01392 383000 and asking by name when prompted.
Amanda Barrett Team Manager SC Amanda.barrett@devon.gov.uk
Vicki Giles Team Manager RH/RFC, vicki.giles@devon.gov.uk
Jon Scott Team Manager S&W Jonathan.scott@devon.gov.uk
Karen Collins Team Manager N&M karen.collins@devon.gov.uk
Emma Black Team Manager E&E emma.black@devon.gov.uk
Applications close on Sunday 9th August 2026. Upon shortlisting, applicants will be contacted for an interview with times available over two weeks from 17th to 27th August.
For more information about Working for Devon please visit our Working for Devon page.
How to apply
Please ensure when completing your application form that you provide a supporting statement which demonstrates how you meet the essential and desirable criteria as described in the person specification of the job description. Applications may not be taken forwards if the supporting statement is not adequately completed.
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.
Please click Apply Now to see the Job Description.
Additional Information
- Applicants must hold a valid UK driving licence and have access to a car (exceptions may apply under the Equality Act 2010).
- 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.
- For details on the use of AI in applications and Devon County Council’s use of AI in Recruitment please see Use of AI in Our Recruitment Processes - Working for Devon | Devon County Council
- 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.
- This role requires the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English.
- Personal data we collect from you will be processed in accordance with the Applicant privacy notice.
- For more information about Working for Devon please visit our Working for Devon page.
- We cannot consider visa sponsorship at this time. UK Right to Work is required. For further guidance on right to work in the UK, please visit: Work in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
- This role requires a DBS disclosure.
Reference: REQ010154