Casual Family Group Conference Coordinators / Mediators

Buckinghamshire Council; Remote; GBP 46,000 - 47,000; Part time

Job summary

A local government authority in Aylesbury is seeking Casual Family Group Conference Coordinators to support children and families on the edge of care. The role requires individuals with at least three years' experience working with vulnerable families, emphasizing mediation and advocacy skills. Candidates should demonstrate an ability to build relationships and facilitate conferences that ensure child safety. This casual position offers flexible hours, meeting the needs of the families served.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Health and well-being initiatives

Discounts on gyms and other services

Pension Scheme enrollment

Qualifications

• At least three years’ experience working with vulnerable families and children.
• Demonstrated expertise in Family Group Conference process.
• Experience in safeguarding and advocacy.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate Family Group Conferences to improve child welfare.
• Work with families to create safe plans for children.
• Manage a diverse caseload flexibly, including evening and weekend hours.

Skills

Communication

Mediation

Conflict management

Team collaboration

Education

NVQ or BTEC Level 3 in relevant field

Degree in Social Work, Youth Work or related discipline

Job description

Casual Family Group Conference Coordinators / Mediators

Location: Aylesbury

An exciting opportunity has opened up to work for the Buckinghamshire Family Group Conference (FGC) team and we are looking for FGC coordinators to help support children on the edge of care, through FGCs, Mediation and Advocacy for children and young people.

This is a casual role, salary is £ 22.58 per hour. (*annual salary increases will be subject to annual staff pay reviews)

About us

Buckinghamshire has a well-established Family Group Conference service offering FGCs, mediation and child advocacy to families who are working with children’s social care.

Set up in 2007, our FGC Service works creatively to ensure that the child’s voice is pivotal to the decision-making processes that impact their lives, within a variety of contexts. The Bucks FGC team prides itself on its high practice standards and the expertise of its Independent FGC Coordinators, Mediators and Advocates, who are the ambassadors of the service, promoting best practice, collaborative working, positive, safe, and sustainable outcomes for children and their families.

We are passionate and committed to strengthening and supporting families to make realistic, safe, and robust plans to protect their children, and to enable families to care for their children within their own family networks.

We are looking for self-employed FGC Coordinators and mediators to join us and expand our team to meet the growing need for our services in Buckinghamshire.

The FGC team is now part of the newly formed Adolescent/Edge of Care service, offering intensive support to young people in Buckinghamshire who are most at risk of entering care. There will be opportunities to work with these children, where restorative FGC and mediation work can support them to remain living within their families whenever they can.

Buckinghamshire Council brings together the best of the previous five councils to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.

Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK and yet it is incredibly well connected– only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.

We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey.

About the role

The Family Group Conference Coordinator, Mediator and Advocacy role is pivotal to the successful engagement and outcomes of the Family Group Conference service. Successful candidates will be required to evidence their existing expertise in this field or demonstrate that they have at least three years’ experience and expertise working with vulnerable families and children in a variety of settings.

As an independent Family Group Conference Coordinator, you will work flexibly to manage your own case load and building relationships with families, where there are worries about their children’s safety.

You will work closely with children, parents, and wider family members to hear their views and address these safeguarding worries, with the goal of facilitating Family Group Conferences and other Family Group Decision Making meetings (FGDM), where families are encouraged to work together to make safe plans and improve life for their children at home.

The FGC service also offers mediation for families, to help resolve conflict and improve relationships and communication, as well as advocacy for children to allow their voices to be heard at Child Protection conferences. You will have the opportunity to work across these services, to build skills in different disciplines and maintain variety.

As part of the Adolescent / Edge of Care team, your FGC and mediation skills will also feed into an intensive way of working with young people identified as most at risk of entering care.

You will be expected to work between 20-30 hours per week minimum on a sessional basis. However, it is likely that more hours will be required as referral rates increase. You will be offered casual staff contract and will be home-based in line with the Council’s working at home policies and procedures. The posts will require some working in the evenings and possibly weekends, so a degree of flexibility is required.

In this rewarding and dynamic role, some of your responsibilities will be:

• Following the FGC/Mediation process to support children, young people, and their families to make safe plans when there are worries about the children at home in their parents’ care and/or there is a risk of children/adolescents entering the care system.
• Work in a variety of settings (home visits, schools, residential homes), taking a holistic approach, to listen to and consider the views of children, young people and their families in order to guide them towards making safe family plans / agreements.
• Identify and explore family networks and relationships in order to build on strengths, support, and safety within families, and prepare and guide family members towards working together in a family meeting (FGC), Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) or mediation meetings.
• Organise and facilitate FGCs / FGDM/ Mediation sessions, sourcing suitable venues, liaising with a range of professionals to share safeguarding information and leading FGC / FGDM / mediation sessions so that they are positive, safe, welcoming, and constructive for families.
• Manage your time flexibly to meet the needs of individual young people and their families. This may include some evening working and occasional weekend work.
• Work with young people and families across Buckinghamshire - access to or use of a vehicle is an essential requirement of the role.

About you

This role will suit someone who is passionate about supporting families to build on their strengths and develop resilience in order to improve the lives and outcomes for children and young people. You will have the ability to quickly build rapport and develop effective relationships with young people and adults as part of a holistic whole-family approach, in order to facilitate difficult conversations and support families to make safe plans that are sustainable and realistic for them.

• You will be a confident communicator with excellent people skills, able to relate to families and children in a no-nonsense yet compassionate way.
• You will be child-focused and strengths-based in your approach to working with young people and their families.
• You will be comfortable managing a diverse caseload and adopting a flexible working approach – agile, resourceful and creative, fitting around families’ needs and schedules with possible evening and weekend work.
• You will have the ability to encourage participation, enable and empower families, with information from other agencies, to find their own solutions.
• You will possess strong organisational skills, with the ability to listen, negotiate, mediate, and manage conflict.
• You will have experience working with vulnerable children, young people, and families (in Childcare, Health, Social Care, Youth Justice, Education, Youth Work, or another relevant field) with a Diploma (NVQ or BTEC Level 3) or Degree in Social Work, Youth Work, Health, Education, Advocacy, Mediation or related discipline.

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

Closing date: Midnight on Sunday 1st February

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.