At Barnardo's, we believe every child deserves the help they need to thrive. We work with children, young people and families to overcome challenges, build resilience and achieve positive outcomes that can be sustained into the future. The service funded by Families First supports children and young people aged 0–25 and their families. You will work closely with a range of agencies and organisations to help families overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

We are looking for an organised, motivated and compassionate Keyworker to join our service in Merthyr Tydfil.

This role centres on building positive relationships with children, young people, families and other professional workers. You will coordinate support from different services, helping families access the right help at the right time, by bringing services together in a Team around the Family approach. Our referral route is via the Early Help Hub, and this means that a comprehensive assessment of needs and what matters to the family has already been undertaken.

The Key working service operates Monday to Friday and has bases in Treharris and Calon Las. Flexibility is essential, as the role involves working in a responsive and family-centred way to meet the needs of our families.

As a Keyworker, you will develop a good understanding of local services across Merthyr Tydfil. You will build strong partnerships with agencies including CAMHS, Citizens Advice, community policing teams, counselling services, domestic abuse services, food and clothing banks, Home-Start, housing providers, Primary Mental Health Services, schools, and universal health services.

Working closely with partner agencies will help ensure families receive coordinated, timely and effective support tailored to their individual needs.

What does the role involve and are you up for a challenge?

Coordinating support for children, young people and families with multiple needs.
Working closely with partner agencies to ensure families receive the right support at the right time.
Developing and maintaining strong relationships with local services and community organisations.
Supporting families to access education, housing, financial advice, domestic abuse services, health and wellbeing support, food banks and other community resources.
Completing and contributing to family support plans.
Helping families identify their strengths, goals and priorities.
Monitoring progress and adapting support when needed.
Maintaining accurate case records and reports.
Identifying safeguarding concerns and taking appropriate action.
Supporting children, young people and parents to build confidence, resilience and independence.

We would love to see the following in your application form:

Experience of working with children, young people and families with multiple and complex needs.
Knowledge of working within a multi-agency environment.
Knowledge or experience of safeguarding processes
Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage a varied caseload.
Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
Able to engage and motivate families to achieve positive change.
Experience of maintaining accurate records and reports.
The ability to work independently and as part of a team.
An understanding of the impact of poverty on children and families

Additional Information

The successful candidate will receive a full induction and ongoing support from a designated line manager and colleagues.

You will also have access to a range of learning and development opportunities through Barnardo's and our partner agencies.

Travel expenses for work purposes will be reimbursed in line with Barnardo's expenses policy, currently 55p per mile.

When applying, please tell us how your experience from employment, education, training, volunteering or personal makes you a suitable candidate for this role.

Barnardo's is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. We welcome applications from all sections of the community.

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

Although this contract has a permanent status, please be aware that this post is subject to funding currently to 31 March 2029 and therefore should this funding not be extended further, you may be subject to a redundancy consultation or a TUPE arrangement.

Need More Information?

Please contact:

Gemma.Davies@Barnardos.org.uk Christine.Short@barnardos.org.uk

Please note; due to high volumes of applications, some vacancies may close before the advertised closing date. We therefore encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

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)

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:23344
Job Title:Project Worker 1
Location:Merthyr Tydfil
Locality:Valleys
Contract type:Permanent (Fixed term funded post)
End date:31 March 2029
Hours:37
Salary:£26,003
Closing Date:29 July 2026
Interview Date:To be confirmed

Connect with a cause that needs you!

Project Worker 1

Benefits

Vacancy Alerts

Additional Info