Specialist Support Worker- Adolescent Service

About the Borough

The London Borough of Sutton is situated less than 30 minutes by train from Central London, with direct connections to London Victoria and London Bridge. Found in zone 5 with good transport links in and out of London, Sutton boasts award winning parks and open spaces, low crime rates, affordable housing and great schools. As well as high levels of resident engagement and satisfaction, providing quality services and success in addressing our financial challenges, whilst involving residents in key issues and high street changes.

Sutton is continuously investing in the health, wellbeing and education of our residents and the future generation, as set out in the “Ambitious for Sutton” corporate plan. We are home to the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. Together with the development of the London Cancer Hub, Sutton will be the world’s leading life-science district, specialising in cancer research and treatment. Our vision will create around 13,000 jobs while contributing £1.2bn to the UK economy each year, a vibrant community of scientists, doctors and innovative companies intended to deliver real benefits for cancer patients and drive economic growth. With the regeneration of the local areas with new homes and schools, Sutton is passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

The Council is seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment. As we strive to improve our services and spaces for our residents as set out in the ‘Ambitious for Sutton’ corporate plan, Sutton aims to shape the future of the borough and adapt to the needs of its residents to make our Borough a great place to live, work and raise a family.

About the Service and Team

You will be joining an enthusiastic, friendly and supportive service who puts families and young people at the heart of what they do. 

You will work closely with social care. The service is seen as an integral part of improving outcomes for young people and is widely valued. We are looking to increase our edge of care offer so we can offer more bespoke, intensive services to keep young people at home when we know their long term outcomes would be better and where safe to do so.

The service consists of 3 managers within the Adolescent team. The team's main base is the Quad where several other teams operate from so there is a great deal of support and expertise. There are 7 other staff within the adolescent service. We believe in caring for our staff, being flexible to their needs, creating reflective spaces and developing our own with excellent opportunities for training. 

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

The Adolescent Team work with young people that are 'edge of care', we aim to support young people and families to overcome barriers and prevent young people from going into care. 

• Workers will support a caseload of young people (aged 11-17) who are potentially at the edge of care and/or at risk of exploitation which is leading them to display risky behaviours.
• You will look to create a plan of interventions to support the child and their families which leads to better outcomes and reduces risks.
• You will need to think holistically about working with children and families with complex needs using restorative approaches to support families to stay together. 
• Some flexibility is required as visits to families may be required outside of regular office hours and you may be required to work a weekend every 6 weeks. 

Our Ideal Candidate

• You will be passionate and experienced in understanding the needs and complexities around vulnerable adolescents. You will ideally have experience of working with caseloads of young people and carrying out assessments, intervention plans and direct work with families. 
• You will be able to think creatively around support packages for families meeting their needs and being innovative with your approaches. You will have experience of being part of multi agency meetings and representing your organisation in formal situations being confident with a range of partner agencies. 
• You will be able to manage your own time effectively and be able to evidence outcomes, complete tasks within tight deadlines. Quality assurance is very important to us and we are keen for all staff to collect feedback from the young people and families they work with.
• Whilst no formal qualification is needed, we would be keen to hear from people with experience in youth work, family therapy, trauma informed practice, restorative approaches, contextual safeguarding and social care.

Our Offer to You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 26-32 days plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade 
• Enhanced Maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
• Two volunteering days per year
• Flexible Working - Smarter Working Scheme (dependent on the role) 
• Adjustable and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Electric vehicle leasing scheme
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support

Application Process

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.

We understand and recognise the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace and are embracing AI where appropriate, to boost our productivity and streamline how we deliver our Council services efficiently; to provide the best possible outcomes for our residents and communities. 
However, we reserve the right to reject applications where it is apparent that AI-generated content has been used in isolation and without personalised responses. At Sutton we value authenticity and are looking for individuals who can clearly demonstrate their own skills, experience and motivation for the role that they are applying for and embrace and demonstrate our PRIDE values.
Here at Sutton we have core values of Transparency and this is to be demonstrated during the application process and completion of the supporting statement and will be further tested at interview and selection stage for those who progress forward.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

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