Family Support Worker

BARNARDO'S

25,492 per year

Northfield

Full-time

20th March 2026

Listed today

Northfield District Children's Centres are a targeted service for families with children aged 0-5 years. The Family Support team holds 1-1 caseload work and facilitates group work for families in the Northfield area.

This is an exciting opportunity to become part of a passionate and experienced team. We are seeking a full time Family Support Worker, for a fixed term period to 31 March 2027, provide assistance and support to the parents/carers of the children we work with within our district. Family Support Workers hold 1:1 caseloads and facilitate group work with the aim of improving outcomes for children under 5 and their families, including pregnant women.

Please note that this a locality based position and frequent onsite presence is required. It is not possible to work in a hybrid/remote capacity.

It is essential that the successful has:

Education/Knowledge

Qualified to minimum NVQ Level 3 in relevant field such as Children and Families, Early Education etc
Extensive knowledge of Child Protection and Safeguarding issues
Extensive knowledge of child development
Knowledge of a range of interventions to meet a range of needs, including evidence-based parenting programmes
Understanding of the issue of domestic abuse and its impact on women and children
Understanding of the issue of substance misuse and how it impacts on children
Understanding of the complexity of poor mental health and its impact on families
Understanding of the impact of poverty
Understanding of the impact of poor parenting on child and adult well-being
Knowledge of the impact of discrimination on family life and commitment to equality of opportunity

Skills/Experience

Significant experience as a practitioner of undertaking assessments, identifying appropriate interventions and providing case work and group work support to families with children from pre-birth to 5 where Early Help is required
Significant experience of providing successful interventions with families where there is: substance abuse, poor mental health and domestic abuse
Experience of working with families in areas of disadvantage, or where they experience discrimination
Experience of working with families who are reluctant to engage
Experience of advocacy on behalf of families
Excellent interpersonal relationships with colleagues, including from a range of disciplines
Proven ability to undertake intensive, direct work, with vulnerable children and their families
Resilience
Good communication and presentational skills
Ability to use ICT systems

The working pattern for this role is Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm but may include some occasional evenings. This role requires you to travel independently across the locality therefore you must be flexible and adaptable, particularly in relation to working hours and location.

At Barnardo's we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and we expect all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. Our safer recruitment processes mean that the safety and welfare of the child is paramount at every stage of the process and therefore, we adopt rigorous scrutiny in our pre-employment checking. This post is subject to a range of pre-employment checks including a Criminal Records Enhanced Disclosure for the successful candidate.

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. Barnardo's is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce for staff and volunteers. We actively encourage applications from disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and male candidates as they are under-represented within Barnardo's.

When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Job Addendum. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.

Should you require any further information regarding this role, please email Kelly Doleman, Recruiting Manager: kelly.doleman@barnardos.org.uk

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.

We do not accept CV's.

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 in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

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 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.

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

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, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

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.
Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our Buy Your Leave 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

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

Reference number:22554
Job Title:Family Support Worker
Location:Northfield
Locality:Birmingham
Contract type:Fixed term
End date:31/03/2027
Hours:37
Salary:£25,492 - £29,755 per annum
Closing Date:20 March 2026

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