JOB DETAILS

A new and exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and enthusiastic practitioner to manage a newly developed Continuing Care/UASC team within Fife Council’s Children & Families and Justice Directorate.
We are committed to prioritising and achieving best outcomes for young people in Fife. The new team will keep young people at the centre of planning and will be offering a responsive service to young people within Continuing Care as they journey towards independence. The team will drive forward our UASC strategy ensuring that young people feel included within their local communities and thrive within Fife.
This is an exciting opportunity to offer a flexible, innovative service that will improve outcomes for these young people.
We invite applications from candidates who will share our enthusiasm, have a passion for improving outcomes, and a motivation to create innovative services to meet the needs of this population.
This is an exciting time to be part of team which connects to the wider development of our children’s services. We are looking for a confident, experienced and committed person to join us on our journey.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• We’re seeking a confident and motivated leader who can drive forward the improvement agenda and manage a newly formed team. You will need:
• You will be a qualified Social Worker registered with SSSC.
• You will have significant experience working within Children and Families Social Work.
• You will have experience working with care experienced children/young people and a good understanding of the impact of care.
• You will have a relevant post qualifying award.
• You will be able to evidence an ability to managing people, casework, assessments/planning/delivery within timescales.
• Excellent presentation and organisational/time management skills are necessary along with excellent written and communication skills.
• You will be able to show an ability to develop team plans.
• An essential skill will be your ability to motivate, support, and champion good practice in your team.
• Be confidently able to work effectively with colleagues and partners.
• Effectively use team performance data to monitor standards and performance and ensure compliance with practice standards and processes.
• You will be able to deliver excellence in terms of contribution towards planning and development of this new team with a focus on embedding relationship based, trauma informed practice.
• You will be able to work effectively with colleagues and partners building on new and enriching established relationships.
• Take on a key role to improve outcomes for young people and ensure they receive the service they require to succeed.
• You will directly manage a team of experienced Social Work Assistants, and Support Workers and be supported in a range of management tasks by Senior Practitioner’s.

You will lead and manage a newly formed Continuing Care/UASC team who will offer trauma-informed, person-centred support.

• Promoting our use of Continuing Care as we know this provides stability, security, and support to young people. critical life stage. Continuing Care gives our young people the same gradual transition to adulthood as their non-care experienced peers.
• Offering consultations for Children and Families Social Work teams to promote continuing care planning, ensuring the young person fully understands their rights.
• Ensuring that every young person has a pathway assessment which identifies and responds to their needs and has a plan to enable them to successfully live independently
• Managing and maintaining budgets, holding budgetary responsibility for continuing care and UASC funding provided by the Scottish Government/Home Office.
• Establishing links with the Family Based Care tea ensure co-ordinated planning when young people are in continuing care.
• Ensuring the team promote stability within continuing care arrangements and offer scaffolding at times where additional support is required.
• Developing groupwork programmes to assist young people prepare for independent living and aid the transition out of continuing care.
• Establishing links with adult services should young people require care and support post 21 years.
• Holding and maintain accurate data around Continuing Care and UASC. Submitting responses to Scottish Government and the Home Office around this population.
• Developing creative interventions for our UASC population which centre around integration into communities and access to opportunities for building a life in Scotland.
• Driving forward Fife’s 3-year UASC strategy implementing and embedding this within the team.
• Establish a Youth Advisory Group to help shape future strategies and policies.
• Establishing group work opportunities for our UASC population to include a variety of activities such as cooking classes, life skills, employability classes, and budgeting.
• Leading on engagement with local communities, local services, and third sector groups which will be central to Fife’s inclusive approach to integration within communities.