Barnardo's Scotland Fostering North have a fantastic opportunity for a Supervising Social worker to join our busy team on a Full Time (37 hours) permanent basis.

Location: The successful candidate will be home based, however some travel will be required across the Moray, Highland and Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire areas. Please also note that some meetings and training occur Scotland Wide. The Service has an office base in Aberdeen.

As a Supervising Social Worker, you will work within a team of supervising social workers, children's workers, therapists, managers, and admin staff responsible for the recruitment and support of foster carers who provide care to looked after children and young people who are referred to the service from the Local Authority.

Some of the key responsibilities are:

• Work alongside others in providing supervision, support and advice to carers being able to demonstrate initiative whilst also being part of a team
• Ensure that Children & Young Peoples welfare remains paramount and central in all aspects of the service.
• Ensure the voice of children/young people and carers are represented in the service through engaging in and where appropriate lead in the delivery of participation and consultation activities.
• Deliver relevant training to Barnardo's cohort of foster carers and adopters to the relevant standards on both a group and individual basis and provide feedback to enable training materials to be updated to remain relevant and effective.
• Be flexible to respond to the needs of young people, carers and colleagues.

Ideal Candidate's must haves:

• Demonstrate both excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience of Fostering assessments or similar.
• Have a good understanding of the legislation and National Standards we work within.
• Relevant Social Work Qualification such as DipSW, CSS, CQSW
• Valid Social Work Registration with SSSC.
• Demonstrable and applied knowledge of child protection procedures.
• Previous post qualifying experience in childcare setting settings and/or pre- qualifying work experience in Family Placement
• Hold a full UK driving licence with access to their own vehicle.

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.

Pay & Reward Framework

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 was rolled out 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 as it will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues to progress through the pay band of their role.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay progression steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

Benefits

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.

• 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
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• 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 Learning and Development offer

*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.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is reflected in our values and our practice, and we have invested in this area of our work to ensure that we can deliver on our commitments to be an inclusive employer. EDI is a key enabler of our purpose as a charity and we want to ensure that the diversity of our teams is reflective of the communities we serve and that we continue to learn and develop our work with a focus on inclusion. We particularly encourage applications from candidates from Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic Communities, candidates who are LGBT+ and Disabled candidates.

Our basis and values

“I lost my kids a few times they went to foster care and I would have gone to a place like this if I had the chance. This is badly needed. I hid my drug use and people only found out about it when I had my baby and she was in withdrawal. I loved my daughter and would have welcomed something like this.”

A mother who has been supported by Aberlour

About Aberlour’s Mother and Child Recovery House

Aberlour is proud to be working in partnership with the Scottish Government and we are excited to be opening a new dedicated Mother and Child Recovery House based in central Falkirk. Building on the success of our house in Dundee, also funded by the Scottish Government, which opened just over a year ago, our service is designed to enable children of women with problem alcohol or other drug use to stay with their mothers during recovery. Aberlour’s approach to rehabilitation aims to deliver positive outcomes for women and their children. The house will accommodate up to 4 women with their children under 5.

We will be using the Parents Under Pressure (PuP) programme which combines psychological principles relating to parenting, child behaviour and parental emotion regulation within a case management model. The programme is highly individualised to suit each family. Mothers are given their own Workbook and for many of them this becomes a personal journal of their treatment experience. The overarching aim of the PuP programme is to help parents facing adversity to develop positive and secure relationships with their children. Within this strength-based approach, the family environment becomes more nurturing and less conflictual. Full training on the PuP Programme will be provided to the whole team.

“Too many women with problem drug and alcohol issues are having their young children taken into care and many other women won’t engage with support agencies for fear of their children being removed. The new houses will improve outcomes for these women and children; reduce deaths of mothers with problem drug use; avoid family breakdown and increase the likelihood of children being cared for by their parents.”

Aberlour Chief Executive SallyAnn Kelly

What we are looking for....

We are looking to recruit a Residential Support Worker to be part of a trauma responsive team delivering and implementing residential recovery support for women and their children (0-5 years) to help them reach their aspirations. If you share our vision and values and have the passion and ability to work as part of this new therapeutic team, we would love to hear from you.

You will work a 9 hour shift once every 3 weeks to supplement the team on a rolling rota. The shifts will be on a Monday or a Tuesday, 1pm-10pm. This role is offered on a fixed term basis until March 2026.

Ideally, you will have experience of direct work with mothers in recovery, enhancing their skills and capacity for them and their babies. You must also have experience of working collaboratively with other professional agencies and a working knowledge of drug/alcohol use and its effects on women and children.

Applicants should hold a relevant professional qualification at least SCQF level 7 or

equivalent knowledge acquired by other means with a willingness to obtain the required qualifications for SSSC Registration.

We strongly encourage people to apply who have lived experience of alcohol or drug use, with a minimum of 2 years living in recovery, free from all drug use and problem drinking.

People with lived experience will provide crucial insight into the issues being faced by women and children.

At Aberlour we want to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team.

What we offer...

As well as a supportive team and excellent training opportunities, we want all our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers.

About Sycamore Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel is our newest residential house for children who are unable to live with their own families. Aberlour is Being Brave for these children, fulfilling The Promise to provide a safe, loving home for the three children who live in the house, enabling them, over time, to reach their full potential. We do not seek to provide a quick fix for the children but to secure transformational change which secures real results and gives our team a really rewarding job experience.

What we are looking for....

We are looking for an individual who can integrate seamlessly into our existing team, working alongside it and relief adults to support excellent service delivery. We are looking for a Residential Worker to work 37.5 hours per week on a residential rota including early, late, waken nights, sleepovers and weekend shifts. You will have a knowledge and understanding of the importance of attachment, trauma and how this can impact on an individual’s development. At times our children express their distress through their behaviour and the role can be emotionally and physically challenging; we are therefore looking for someone who is resilient, understands that behaviour is a means of communication and is trauma responsive.

You will be skilled in building therapeutic relationships with the children, young people and young adults to enable them to feel safe, loved and cared for.

You must have the ability to quickly build your relationships with the adults within the house. The nature of the role is such that you could be working to cover a shift or longer periods as required, including days, wakened nightshifts and sleepovers and you may also be supporting young people to attend school or participate in other learning programmes. You must therefore be able to quickly adapt to the working environment within each house.

You will be comfortable with working within Aberlour’s culture embracing respect, integrity, innovation and the ability to challenge. Demonstration of these qualities will be particularly important in this role given that you will be dipping in and out of the different teams. You must be able to be an exceptional role model for other staff and the young person.

Through a wide variety of learning and development opportunities we support our staff to be as effective as they can be, equipping them to employ best practice in their work and to be exceptional role models for the children and for staff.

At Aberlour we want to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team.

For an informal discussion please phone Caitlyn Ross, House Manager on 07919192605

What we offer...

As well as a supportive team and excellent training opportunities, we want all our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with a competitive salary and allowances, generous annual leave, an excellent pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers.

“The best thing about working for Aberlour is making a real difference to the lives of children, young people and their families.”

About Sustain Angus:

A family crisis can happen at any time. Aberlour’s Sustain Angus Service uses person-centred, asset-based approaches to help families overcome their challenges, providing support when it is needed and helping them get back on their feet. Our whole-family approach means we can create personalised support for both the children and their parents.

This innovative, creative service focuses on families with children aged 0-18 years old and supports them to remain at home while maximising their potential and ability to flourish in their local communities.

What we are looking for:

We are looking for a Community Support Practitioner to join our team, working 26.25 hours per week. As this post includes an unsocial hours’ allowance, you are required to be flexible with your approach and available to work weekends, early mornings, evenings and public holidays to meet the needs of the families you would support.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about supporting children, young people and their families to achieve the best possible outcomes as they live and grow within their communities. Our aim is to ensure that children, young people and families are supported to build on their strengths, assets and interests to develop enduring capacity and resilience. Working in partnership with parents, you will support them to develop their parenting skills, self-esteem and confidence and encourage self-reflection.

Applicants should be dynamic and creative and be able to deliver flexible, person-centred services to vulnerable children and families which is playful, warm, accepting, curious, tenacious and empathetic. Working in a culture based on respect, integrity, innovation, and the ability to challenge, you will share our vision that collaborative early intervention and engagement is the best option for children and families who are on the ‘edge of care’. You will bring a fresh and collaborative approach and, in discussion with the leadership team, be willing to try new approaches to ensure that strong and trusting relationships are developed with families and stakeholders.

At Aberlour we want to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. Aberlour’s values are critical and drive everything we do. We will be looking for someone who can demonstrate how Aberlour’s values of Respect, Innovation, Integrity and Challenge will be visible in their practice. You must be comfortable working in an environment where Aberlour’s values are lived in practice.

What we offer:

As well as a supportive team and excellent training opportunities, we want all our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers.