Job Opportunity with FFP Member, Barnardo's : Social Worker Family Placement, NI

​Location: Barnardo's Fostering and Adoption NI
Salary: £35,360 - £41,006 per annum
​Contract type: Permanent
Hours: 37
Closing Date: 20 May 2023
Interview Date: Provisional 26th May

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​History of Barnardo's Fostering and Adoption NI
The Fostering Service has been in existence since 1979 and over this time, has expanded to work throughout all 5 HSC Trusts. We are the longest established Independent Fostering Agency in NI and have worked with children and young people with a wide range of needs and developed particular specialism for children with disabilities and with complex attachment histories.

We recruit, assess, approve and support families to work with children and young people from 0-18 years. For the past 19 years, we have worked closely with Barnardo's Children's House successfully working with residential staff to recruit carers and support young people moving on to long-term foster care. We have a strong reputation for the development and retention of foster carers and staff and have an established record in securing permanent family placements for children with more complex needs.

We have high foster carer retention rates and as a consequence, provide many long-term foster placements, some of which have resulted in children being adopted by their carers. Our service offers an established support and training package for all our foster carers and work is underway to develop similar packages of support to our adopters.

Objectives of the Service
The primary aim of Barnardo's Fostering and Adoption NI is to provide the highest quality foster placements for children and young people who cannot live with their birth families, striving to ensure that Barnardo's strategic aims to achieve safer childhoods, stronger families and positive futures are realised for every child with whom we work.

Key tasks include:

• assessment of prospective foster carers and adopters using the BAAF Form F and AAR frameworks
• attending multi-disciplinary meetings, Looked After Children reviews and panels
• regular supervision and support to foster carers and adopters
• timely recording and good communication with all professionals involved in children's lives
• pre and post-approval training delivery
• participation in the office duty system on a rota basis

This is not a full job description, other duties and responsibilities are allocated within the team according to experience and skills.

Applicants should hold a current, full driving licence and access to a car and be prepared to travel across Northern Ireland which is valid for use in the UK. This criteria will be waived in the case of applicants whose disability prohibits driving but who can meet the mobility requirements of the post through using other transportation. 

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values.  We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which should be in place by 1st April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a key pillar of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to grow and develop in their career at Barnardo's.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible. A waiting list will be created for any new vacancies that arise in the next 12 months. 

Workplace Offer: What it means for you.
The world of work has changed. We are understanding of what works best for our colleagues both current and future as we look to embrace this new way of working. Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or any combination of these.

Benefits

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing after 5 years service
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Corporate University

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*T&C's apply based on contract

About Barnardo's
At Barnardo's we believe in children – no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through. Please read about our basis and values following the link below. You will be asked questions relating to them as part of the recruitment process for this role.

Barnardo's is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce for staff and volunteers. We actively encourage applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates as they are under-represented within Barnardo's.

Full details and application documents here