OR110701 – Placements Officer

Role Overview

The Foster Carer Engagement & Placement Coordinator plays a key role in supporting the recruitment, engagement and retention of in-house foster carers while helping to ensure sufficient, well-matched placements for children and young people in care.

Working closely with foster carers, supervising social workers and managers, the postholder will strengthen carer support networks, coordinate engagement initiatives, monitor placement availability and contribute to improving placement stability and positive outcomes for children and young people.

Main Purpose of the Role

• Support the recruitment, engagement and long-term retention of in-house foster carers.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with foster carers, acting as a key point of contact.
• Coordinate engagement activities, support groups and recognition initiatives that promote foster carer wellbeing and satisfaction.
• Monitor foster carer availability, capacity and support needs to assist with effective placement matching and sufficiency planning.
• Gather and analyse feedback from foster carers to inform continuous service improvement.
• Work collaboratively with social work teams to identify carers requiring additional support and contribute to strategies that improve placement stability and prevent deregistration.

What a Typical Day Might Look Like

No two days are the same in this role. A typical day could include reviewing foster carer availability and placement capacity to support matching decisions, responding to queries from foster carers, and liaising with supervising social workers regarding carers who may require additional support.

You may spend part of the day organising or facilitating a foster carer support group, planning an engagement or appreciation event, or coordinating peer support opportunities for new carers. Administrative tasks could include updating engagement records, monitoring participation, distributing surveys and analysing feedback to identify themes and opportunities for service improvement.

The role also involves regular collaboration with managers and social work colleagues to discuss placement sufficiency, retention strategies and initiatives that enhance foster carer satisfaction and improve outcomes for children and young people.

Key Skills

• Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal abilities.
• Effective organisational and event coordination skills.
• Ability to plan, facilitate and deliver group sessions and engagement activities.
• Strong administrative and data management skills.
• Experience collecting, analysing and presenting feedback and survey information.
• Ability to work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams.
• Problem-solving skills with a proactive approach to identifying support needs.
• Good IT skills and experience maintaining monitoring systems and records.
• Ability to prioritise a varied workload and manage multiple tasks effectively.

Overview:

Client – Barnet Council

Location -2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London, London, NW9 4EW, United Kingdom (Hybrid working to be discussed at interview)