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Family Support Worker

Includem
Aberdeen
Full-time
Job Description

Family Support Worker

Hours per week:

37 hours (5 days over 7 between 8am – 10pm)

Contract type:

Permanent

Location:

Aberdeen

Reports to:

Team Manager

Line Management Responsibility:    No

Financial Accountability:

Low

Job Summary

A Family Support Worker will deliver intervention to young people within the Targeted
Family Support Team in Aberdeen. The Family Support Worker will be responsible for
the work with young people and their families to develop and deliver the support plan to
address  presenting  and  underlying  behaviours  and  need.  They  will  work  with  young
people in their communities, see them as frequently as their need requires in a variety
of settings most comfortable for them including their homes and appropriate community
spaces. This will involve evening and weekend working on a rostered basis.

They will be responsible for and respond to individualised needs identified in the support
plan  to  improve  outcomes  in  line  with  GIRFEC  principles  and  includem’s  model  of
support.

The  Youth &  Family  Support  Worker  will  demonstrate  leadership and ownership over
effective service delivery to young people and families.

Key Responsibilities

The key responsibilities of the Family Support Worker include, but are not limited to:

Service Delivery
•  To build relationships and deliver outcome-based support to young people and families,

•

involving all key stakeholders.
Identification and recording of support needs in partnership with the young person and
their family/carer.

•  To be available for young people and families at critical times, including the possible

response to calls to includem’s helpline.

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•  To explore values and attitudes with young people and their families in a supportive

manner, to affirm feelings and ideas, and nurture and confirm their learning.

•  To engage young people and families in 1-1 support in their community.
•  To develop and deliver groupwork activities to meet assessed need.
•  To broker in specialist services to address identified needs such as addiction or

domestic abuse.

•  To work in daily partnership with existing community resources, organisations and

supports to sustain positive change within families and identify appropriate move on
strategies.

•  Actively help young people and families recognise progress and use this assessment to

inform the wider contract management of case progression.

•  Ability to assess and respond appropriately to situations where young people/families may
be at risk of harm. This may involve escalation and referral to more appropriate services.

•  To respond to the young people and families and generate solutions using professional

judgement and decision making which is risk enabled.

•  Assist the young people and their family to understand the impact of their behaviour

within their wider community using appropriate tools including the Scottish Government
Place Standard Tool.

•  To co-produce with the young person a sustainability plan that reflects their learning and

wider community supports to support them moving on from includem support.

•  Promotion of includem’s Helpline as part of meeting young people and family’s needs

24/7, 365 day a year.

People
•  To understand the impact of childhood trauma and adverse experiences on the young

person and family’s behaviour, coping mechanisms and functioning.

•  To understand the different coping mechanisms that young people and their families

use to deal with stress and high emotions, and to respond appropriately.

•  To demonstrate professional resilience when providing support with sensitive or

challenging issues.

•  To use a strengths-based approach to empower individuals facing adversity to find

solutions and make positive changes, ensuring resources are in place to sustain these
changes.

•  To establish mutually trusting, open and non-judgemental relationship with young

people and their families.

•  To participate in collaborative team work to provide a ‘scaffolding of support’ around

individual young people and families.

•  To develop strong partnerships with the wider stakeholders to support the delivery of

includem services.

Influence
•  To ensure young people and families are empowered to advocate on their own behalf

with other agencies.

•  To support young people and families to effectively communicate with others.
•  To reflect on practice, share learning and promote continuous practice improvement

within a team setting.

•  To articulate to service users and partner agencies the includem framework of

intervention and the key aspects of the service delivery model including use of the
includem practitioner’s toolkit (A Better Life).

•  To role model appropriate practice standards and professional boundaries to others.

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•  Establish and maintain high quality relationships with referrers and partner agencies to
ensure the right young people get the right help at the right time and that their progress
is recognised.
Identification of service gaps in the area and using strategies to influence community
planning.

•

•  Promote the project within the area to ensure the service is used to full capacity.
•  Demonstrate understanding of your impact on people and how they might see you.

Resources
•  As a lead worker participate in planning and deployment to ensure time is used

effectively to meet the needs of young people and families 24/7, 365 days per year, with
the support of includem’s helpline.

•  To record the required information that will evidence progress against project outcomes

and the ongoing evaluation process.

•  To maintain and produce accurate and timely records and reports.
•  To ensure support is delivered in line with includem’s Policies Procedures, SSSC Codes

of Practice & National Guidelines.

Quality Assurance
•  To be accountable for the quality of your work and be able to evidence this work

effectively.

•  To actively participate in formal supervision and continuous professional development.
•  To generate creative and new solutions to issues faced by young people and families.

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Person Specification

Category

Essential Job Requirements

Desirable Job Requirements

Technical Skills,
Knowledge, and
Experience

•  Experience of effectively engaging vulnerable

young people and families who are likely to have
faced challenging life circumstances

•  Experience of developing and maintaining

effective partnership relationships across the
organisational sectors.

•  Ability to recognise situations in which people are
in crisis or at risk and ablet o use a strengths-
based approach to deliver appropriate
interventions.

•  Demonstrate an awareness and ability to respond
appropriately to the impact of childhood trauma
and adverse experiences on young people and
families behaviour, coping mechanisms and
functioning.

•  Ability to respond flexibly to changing situations
led by the needs of young people and families.

•  Excellent organisational and planning skills.
•  Effective team player who is also confident

working independently.

Method of
Assessment
Application process

Group stage
interview

Individual interview

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•  Self-motivated and flexible.

•  Ability to routinely evidence practice, particularly

for evaluation purposes.

•  Reliability and commitment to deliver the
relationship-based model of intervention.

Education /
Qualifications

•

•  SVQ 2 & 3 in Social Care (will have to work

Application process

towards if not already obtained).

Other
Requirements

•  UK driving licence
•  Access to a car for work purposes

Group stage
interview

Individual interview
Application process

Group stage
interview

Individual interview

Acknowledgement:
This job description is an overview of the duties, responsibilities, and requirements of the position. You may be required to perform other duties throughout
your employment at the reasonable request of your line manager.

I acknowledge that I have read and understood the job requirements, responsibilities, and expectations outlined in the job description.

Employee Name

Employee Signature

Date

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Line Manager Name

Line Manager Signature

Date

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