JOB DESCRIPTION- Community Connector
Job Title: Community Connector
Job Type: 12 months fixed contract
Working pattern: Part time – 28 hours (four days a week)
Salary: £24,370
Reporting To: Community Connector Manager
Job Summary: The Community Connector will play a key role in supporting
children, young people, families and professionals by providing a triage function within
the Slough Children’s First Front Door.
The Community Connector’s role will be to provide information and guidance about
community services and activities to help improve the wellbeing of families in Slough.
The Community Connector will be the ‘link’ between professionals within Slough
Children First, requiring support and the voluntary sector offering services that would
enable families to access support. The purpose is to enable and empower families to
engage in relevant support from the voluntary and community sector at the earliest
point.
Core Responsibilities:
General
Providing information, advice and support to professionals contacting the Slough
Children First Front Door who are seeking support for children, young people and
families that could be met at a community / partnership early help level.
Liaising with community and voluntary sector partners to ensure a timely and seamless
provision of services, linking in professionals who are contacting or referring to Slough
Children First.
Raising awareness in Slough Children First, Front Door and the wider services in SCF
of the support on offer from the community and voluntary sector.
Contributing to the development of effective pathways into community services and
supporting relevant Community Voluntary Services to be able to respond to the needs
of children, young people and families in order to meet need at the earliest point of
presentation, undertake early help needs conversations and take on the Community
Lead Practitioner role.
Contribute to the CVS Directory of services, the Local Offer and the Family Information
Service to ensure that community and faith groups are mapped and are included in the
directories.
Maintaining up-to-date knowledge of the Slough Directory of Services and other
community resources.
Providing feedback to the Community Connector Manager and SCF on issues or trends
identified through contacts and referrals.
Engaging in Slough Community Forums and other community events to foster stronger
partnerships with both community and statutory organisations.
Operational
Provide advice, consultation and support to professional referrers to be able to
access community resources to support children, young people (aged 0-18, 25 if
SEND) and families following triage by the Slough Children First Front Door.
Support practitioners with information and knowledge about the VCSE local offer.
Conduct strength-based conversations with professional referrers to understand the
child and family situation and assess what community support and activities may be
beneficial.
Signpost and/or link professionals into relevant community-based activities and
support.
Where necessary, support individuals to contact recommended support/activities.
Enable Community and Voluntary Services to be able to have needs led
conversations and lead partnership and community early help approaches with
children, young people and their families.
Contribute to early help conversation training.
Record data and maintain accurate records of all individuals supported, advice and
guidance given.
People
Nurture professional relationships the CVS, schools, statutory services and Faith /
Community Leaders.
Attend and participate in regular team meetings, providing updates to the SCVS and
SCF teams.
Attend one-to-one meetings and annual performance appraisal meetings with line
manager.
Attend any relevant training agreed with your line manager to extend and update
your own knowledge and skills.
Engage in mandatory training, e.g. safeguarding, SCF STAR approach and any other
training that is deemed necessary.
Any Other Duties
Adhere to Slough CVS’s policies and procedures at all times including Equal
Opportunities, Health and Safety, Lone Working, Confidentiality, Data Protection
protocols and Safeguarding
Undertake any other duties commensurate with the role as required.
Core Competencies:
Communication
▪ Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a variety of diverse
communities.
▪ Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a wide variety of partner
agencies
▪ Ability to show empathy and understanding
▪ Ability to convey important information and messages and check
understanding
▪ Ability to respond to feedback and use it constructively
Personal Responsibility
▪ Work in a non-judgmental way
▪ Work in a transparent way
▪ Demonstrate motivation in all aspects of job responsibilities
▪ Adopt a positive attitude
▪ Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
▪ See solutions, not problems
Team work
▪ A strong commitment to team work and the ability to support a positive team
work environment within SCVS
▪ Ability to be flexible and where required, work occasional evenings/weekends
▪ Ability to work in an open, transparent and supportive way, with all colleagues
▪ Co-location within the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)service and
SCF Front Door
Knowledge
▪ Experience of working in a customer service or telephone support
environment.
▪ Experience of working with children, young people and their families.
▪ Knowledge and understanding of community and voluntary services and how
they can support wellbeing and health.
▪ Good understanding of local VCSE sector and what is available/missing
Creative Thinking
▪ Confidence to share ideas within team environment
▪ Ability to embrace change
▪ Ability to harness community and voluntary sector to support children, young
people and their families
Commercial Acumen
▪ Ability to drive the delivery of outstanding outcomes
▪ Awareness of cost control and project budgets
▪ Ability to maintain SCVS’s high reputation whilst continuing to promote our
profile
Planning and Organising
▪ Ability to maximise effectiveness and efficiency
▪ Applies a flexible and pragmatic approach to work and how to get things done
▪ Ability to work towards targets and objectives in a methodical way
▪ Effectively manage time and plan, prioritise own workload
Problem Solving/Analytical
▪ Ability to see things from others perspective
▪ Ability to listen and ask open questions
▪ Confidence to ask for help
▪ See solutions, not problems!
▪ Represent SCVS in a professional and positive manner at all times
▪ Set good examples to colleagues and provide support to outreach volunteers
Leadership
Physical & Technical Environment:
• Hybrid role – office and home based with outreach work across Slough (and
environs), co-location with the MASH / Front Door in the office for 3 days per
week
• Full, clean driving licence and a car.
• Some evening and weekend commitments.
Experience Requirements
• Experience of working in a customer service or telephone support environment.
• Experience of working with children, young people and their families.
• Knowledge and understanding of community and voluntary services and how
they can support children, young people and families.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex
information clearly and effectively.
• Ability to be empathic, whilst understanding boundaries and being resilient.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage a varied workload.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team and establish effective working
relationships with colleagues, partners and service users.
• Strong IT skills, including experience of using Microsoft Office and database
systems.
• Ability to work flexibly and adapt to changing priorities and demands.
• Demonstrate a positive and collaborative approach to effective teamwork.
• Commitment to delivering high-quality services to Slough residents.
• Bilingual skills in more than one language is desirable.
