The Asylum & Leaving Care team work with young people from the age of 16 up to 25 who have been looked after by the Local Authority. The team is made up of Personal Advisors, Social Workers, Team Managers, administrative staff and an Operations Manager. We’re based on two sites - in Bedworth and Warwick and cover the county – although some of the young people we work with live out of Warwickshire and so this will involve further travel.

Our aim is to help young people with their successful transition to adulthood. We work with them to develop a pathway plan and explore all areas of support – whether this is through liaison with housing departments, education providers, employers or friends and family. We want to provide the young people with the best support we can to ensure they can achieve their aspirations. 

The Role

37.0 Hours per Week
Fixed term contract - 2 years

As a Personal Advisor you will work with asylum young people from 16 - 25. For young people who are 16 - 18 you’ll co work with a social worker. You’ll manage a caseload and travel throughout the county working with care leavers to complete Pathway Plans through direct work, identifying their needs in respect of housing, education, finances and offer advice and guidance around developing independent living skills. In addition you’ll be communicating with a wide variety of other professionals in housing, education ,health, immigration and voluntary agencies to support them to to make positive choices. Care leavers can face many uncertainties as they make the transition from foster care to independence.

For asylum seeking care leavers this is compounded if they are still waiting for their decision from the home office. This is a varied and complex role as it’s important the support you provide is tailored to each young person’s needs. As a Personal Advisor you could be supporting young people to get settled in their own accommodation, helping with college applications and University statements or working through issues with young people around relationships, health or finances.

There will be young people that may be more difficult to engage with and you’ll need powers of persuasion and creative thinking to ensure they receive the support they’re entitled to. 

 

Key Requirements

Ideally you will have experience of working with young  people and vulnerable groups and the ability to demonstrate a caring and nurturing approach. You will need to be able to complete Pathway Plan assessments and have strong analytical and communication skills, both written and verbal. You will need to be able to work on your own initiative as well as collaboratively with individuals, families, carers, communities, colleagues and other agencies and have strong influencing, persuading and resilience skills.

In addition you’ll need to work to deadlines, often under competing work pressures. The role also requires accurate recording to be kept for which you’ll need to be competent using electronic recording systems with good IT skills.

You will be required to bring to interview (if successful) pre employment documents and to expect a short written exercise as part of the interview process.

This organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS disclosure.

For further information please see the attached Job Description & Person Specification.

Additional Information & How to Apply

For further information about the role please contact the hiring manager: Mike Ray / Lesley Longden - 01926 414888 / mikeray@warwickshire.gov.uk / lesleylongden@warwickshire.gov.uk 

Closing Date: 28th January 2019

Interview Date: 12th and 13th February 2019

To apply for this vacancy please click on the ‘Apply’ button.

Our method of application is online, you will also be required to upload a supporting statement of how you meet the essential criteria.

Please note, CV’s should not been submitted unless asked to do so.

If you are unable to apply using the 'Apply' button please contact the Recruitment Centre on recruitment@warwickshire.gov.uk, including your contact details and any relevant screenshots.

You will be notified of our shortlisting decision via email, so please check your email and WMJobs account on a regular basis after submitting your application.

Rewards & Benefits of working for Warwickshire

It really is true that every single job role here at Warwickshire County Council contributes to bettering the lives of the people in our County; we want to do this for our employees, too. We are proud of our strong flexible working culture, including the opportunity for flexibility on working hours, technology to support remote working (such as light laptops and phones where the role allows).

Time to recharge is so important; we provide a generous holiday allowance which rises as you remain in employment with us. You get all Bank and public holidays off, plus all staff are given an extra day of holiday over Christmas.

As if that wasn’t enough, you’ll also have access to membership of the Local Government contributory pension scheme, childcare vouchers, a host of enhanced family friendly policies and some of the very best Learning and Development training courses to support your ongoing development.

We welcome applications from everyone and value diversity in our workforce.

Supporting documents
Job Description and Person Specification