Would you like to be part of an innovative therapy programme making a real difference to young people and families?

Barnardo's is leading the delivery of the UK's first trial of Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) in Newport and Cardiff.

We are seeking a passionate and experienced practitioner to support young people aged 11–17 who are facing complex challenges, including substance misuse, risk of offending, and mental health difficulties. This work offers a unique opportunity to help prevent family breakdown and reduce the risk of exploitation, creating meaningful, lasting change in young people's lives.

You do not need prior experience of MDFT. Full training and ongoing coaching will be provided by our partners in the USA who developed the model, with support for you to achieve certification within your first six months in post.

MDFT is a well-established, evidence-based approach with over 30 years of research across the USA and Europe. It focuses on strengthening the young person, their family, and their wider environment—helping to build trust, improve communication, and create positive change through honest and supportive family relationships.

Ideally, we are looking for a therapist who can travel between Newport and Cardiff basing themselves in one of the two cities each day. If this is not possible we can consider people who want to focus on delivery in Newport.

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 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 require colleagues to be UK residents, based in the UK and to complete their roles from within the UK (with the exception of colleagues providing Barnardo's services in Jersey and colleagues who live in the Republic of Ireland providing services in Northern Ireland)

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
Service related sick pay from day 1
Cycle2work scheme
Interest free season ticket loans
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:23296
Job Title:Multidimensional Family Therapist (In Training)
Location:Newport Civic Centre
Contract type:Fixed term
End date:31/12/2027
Hours:37
Salary:£28,124.46 - £37,117.07 (FTE)
Closing Date:20 July 2026
Interview Date:30th July & 31st July

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Multidimensional Family Therapist (In Training)

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