Children and families development worker jobs in birmingham, west midlands

Job Title: Domestic Abuse and Housing Support Worker

Location:  Pathway Project Lichfield Office Based

Salary: £ 24,347 Full time equivalent – Actual salary is £19,478

Hours of Work: 30 Hours per week (over 4 or 5 days)

Responsible to :  Team Leader – Outreach Team

This role is open to women only

The postholder will require a driving licence and access to a vehicle to undertake this role.

This post is open to women only  under the Equality Act 2010 pursuant to Schedule 9, Part 1.  We value diversity and are committed to ensuring that our organisation is an inclusive place to work. We encourage applications from women from all backgrounds and communities and actively welcome applicants from Black, Asian, or other ethnic minority backgrounds and women with a disability 

 About Pathway Project

We are a domestic and sexual abuse service based in Lichfield & Tamworth, Staffordshire.

We offer a range of support services and run two refuges in confidential locations.

We have been operating for over 30 years helping adults and children overcome domestic abuse, and to build a future where they live in safety and are free from fear.

Since our founder, Kathy Coe MBE, created Pathway Project, we have helped over 25,000 people, with 5,814 hours of support provided in the last year.

We offer a wide range of services, including adult and children outreach and community support, mental health, wellbeing and financial advice.

We support victims in their journey to become survivors and offer specialist counselling, advocacy and care to all who need us.

Pathway Project believes in working as a cohesive team and are service user led.

Our helpline is access to all and is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Why work for us?

Pathway Project is an inspiring and caring place to be, we are a charity with big ambitions and huge energy.

We have a string belief in staff development and are currently evolving a bold new strategy and a passion  for excellence in service delivery.

Supported by a driven and energetic board of trustees the new Chief Executive is leading Pathway Project through their ambitious plans.

It’s a really fantastic time to join our amazing charity as we move into the next phase of our exciting journey.

We are a flexible and supportive employer, committed to the personal and professional development and wellbeing of our employees. We welcome applications from women with lived experience of domestic abuse and from minority  or under-represented groups.

We offer the following benefits:

• 25 days paid leave plus statutory holidays (pro rata)
• A competitive pension scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme delivered by Health Assured which offers incredible support to staff and their families

We value our colleagues and are constantly reviewing our policies and practice, looking for ways in which we can better demonstrate this. We also recognise the potential impact of working in this field and provide clinical supervision to all of our employees, whatever their role.

JOB SUMMARY

She will be responsible for the co-ordination of an effective support plan for clients dealing with issues around domestic abuse and housing.

She will  provide emotional and practical support from the point of crisis, meeting their immediate needs and working towards a holistic, multi-agency approach to their long term safety, risk reduction and recovery.

She will  be responsible for the co-ordination of an effective support plan for adults dealing with issues around domestic abuse.  She will provide emotional and practical support from the point of crisis, meeting their immediate needs and working towards a holistic, multi-agency approach to their long-term safety, risk reduction and recovery. 

She will ensure that they are informed of the full range of emotional, practical and referral options that are available to them, and to facilitate access to this support, both internally and externally. 

This support will be based in the community, including client’s homes where risk appropriate, and the Hope Centre and will involve utilising all of Pathway Projects available services, as well as referring into other appropriate agencies. 

.MAIN DUTIES

· To work as part of the outreach team in providing information, support, guidance, advice, signposting, emergency accommodation and resettlement help for adults experiencing or escaping domestic abuse. 

· To support the aims and principles of Pathway Project in empowering and supporting adults who have experienced domestic abuse to make their own decisions and take control of their own lives. 

· Take all possible steps to ensure the safety and confidentiality of the users, staff and management of Pathway Project. 

· To take referrals for people affected by domestic abuse and housing issues, and provide preventative and risk reducing work with regards to both the domestic abuse and housing. 

· To provide a multi-agency approach to support and wellbeing for clients. 

· To provide non-judgemental, one to one emotional and practical support to clients accessing the service. 

· To provide advice and guidance on the full range of services, options and legal remedies open to them. 

· To complete risk assessments, and develop risk management plans to address the risk of harm, including referral into MARAC where appropriate. 

· To undertake safety planning with clients, that addresses all areas of risk, with the focus on risk reduction. 

· To complete needs assessments and individual support plans with the client to ensure their emotional and practical support needs are being met 

· To provide support to clients, alongside colleagues around registering as homeless, bidding on properties, attending appropriate meetings, applying for grants, budgeting for necessary items and necessary life skills for maintaining a property. 

OUTREACH DUTIES

· To provide support to adults in the community, at the centre and their own homes, around physical, emotional, financial, sexual and social abuse. 

· To provide emotional support and, where necessary, signpost to appropriate counselling provisions. 

· To provide practical support and advice around welfare benefits, housing, debt relief, substance misuse, training, employment, mental health and legal issues, including the use of signposting to other appropriate members of staff and agencies. 

· To provide advocacy and liaise with other agencies on behalf of the client where appropriate and necessary. 

· To attend multi agency and professionals meetings to represent the needs of the client and Pathway Project. 

· To attend appointments with the client where required, and if necessary help with the completion of paperwork, including legal documents. 

· To attend court with the client where required. 

· To promote the work of the project through training, presentations and representation at meetings. 

· To assist with the setting up and maintaining of local support networks. 

· To assist with the delivery of client support groups where appropriate. 

GENERAL

• Manage a caseload of appropriate to the number of hours worked. 

• Maintain, update and keep accurate and factual case records. 

• Follow procedures and protocols with other services so that the safety of the service user is kept central to any process. 

• Keep other relevant agencies informed about important changes in service user’s situations, within information sharing protocols. 

• Develop and maintain effective communication systems with key partners including housing, Police, CPS, court service, social services, education, health, victim support, witness service, voluntary sector organisations, CAFCASS. 

• Contribute to the development of service policies, protocols, guidelines and strategies within area of practice as necessary. 

• To ensure that the security of sensitive data is maintained and complies with the policies, procedures and guidelines of the organisation. 

OTHER

· Any other duties the  CEO  or  Board of Trustees consider appropriate.

· The post holder must have a commitment to the aims of the Pathway Project, and uphold all agreed policies and procedures.

Person Specification

Essential

Ability to drive  with a clean driving license and access to a vehicle.

Confident  and eloquent speaker and networker.

Ability to write clear and concise reports and case notes.

Experience of Housing issues and supporting adults with Housing queries.

Experience of or the ability to work with challenging individuals or situations.

Experience of supporting clients in any form.

Has an understanding of the issues facing domestic abuse victims.

Experience of working with vulnerable clients.

Experience of multi-agency working.

Experience of and an understanding of Safeguarding practice.

Desirable

Confident presenter.

Ability to write and deliver workshops to groups of adults.

Ability to manage a diverse caseload and manage competing priorities.

Experience of Domestic Abuse  or worked in the domestic abuse field.

Knowledge of working in the third sector.

Ability to manage a crisis situation and remain calm and in control.

The ability to use initiative and be self directed in their work.

The ability to maintain professional boundaries and yet still build a rapport.

Being self motivated and able to generate connections and network locally to further the work of Pathway Project.

About the role

As one of two Regional Programmes Manager, you’ll inspire and lead a team of Senior Programmes Officers and Kinship Family Workers to effectively deliver high quality support services for kinship families across Greater London, the South of England and the Midlands.

You’ll do this by working in close collaboration with local authority teams who have commissioned our services and other funders where appropriate.

You’ll have accountability and ownership for ensuring we deliver impactful services for kinship carers and that we meet targets for our commissioned services. Working collaboratively with our other managers in other services, you’ll ensure we’re delivering high impact programmes.

You’ll ensure your team have real clarity and direction on their role and responsibilities - encouraging curiosity, learning and solutions-focused thinking. As a leader in the organisation, you are a key model for the team.

Your team will deliver the following programmes:

• Kinship Connected – in-person one-to-one support and support groups in the community
• Kinship Reach – remote one-to-one support and virtual support groups
• Kinship Ready – online workshops to prepare new and prospective special guardians for their role, as well as wraparound one-to-one support (in one local authority)

You will also manage a new role of Grants Officer - London, funded by the Aviva Foundation.

As one of our deputy safeguarding leads, you’ll be part of our key safeguarding structure.  This means you’ll take ownership to make sure our people feel confident and well supported to demonstrate best practice and making sure safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

Key responsibilities include:

• Oversee the day-to-day running of programmes, supporting mostly home-based Senior Programmes Workers and Kinship Family Workers to ensure high quality, consistent and impactful programme delivery.

• Meet performance targets as directed.

• Create and keep developing processes and systems which support consistency across all programmes, ensuring good quality documentation and manualisation on Notion.so

• Develop quality assurance frameworks with other service managers and directors.

• Support your team to establish and deliver in-person and virtual peer support groups regionally and generate engagement with kinship carers.

• Line management and supervision of Senior Programmes Workers and Kinship Family Workers as required.

• Actively encourage personal development and support staff to deliver key targets and outcomes and ensure high levels of wellbeing.

• Work with the Director of Services and Digital, Head of Programmes and the Business Development team to develop proposals and present to local authorities to secure commissions.

• Manage the delivery of commissioned contracts through collaborative relationships with local authorities, ensuring targets are met.

• Manage the programmes and services within budget, in accordance with Kinship’s financial procedures and ensure the reporting of progress in line with funder requirements.

• Work actively and positively with other managers within Kinship to ensure sharing of best practice, problem solving, relevant connections and consistency of delivery across England and Wales.

• Act as a deputy safeguarding lead at Kinship

Essential requirements include:

• Substantial experience in managing a regional service or programme with high quality outputs (national experience desirable but not essential).
• Substantial experience of managing, developing and evaluating effective and innovative services for families experiencing crisis and experience in reaching ‘hidden communities’ and a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Experience of leading and managing continuous improvement in changing contexts.
• Experience of governance and managing risk on high profile service delivery.
• Experience of ensuring that services are designed and led with user needs at the heart, ensuring that the voices of our kinship carers inform ongoing design and development of our programmes.
• High quality digital and data literacy and using technology to help us to be better in our processes. You’ll have to own Salesforce and be a massive champion for the team. You will be accountable for ensuring they use it well.
• Substantial experience of leading high-performing service teams including managing wellbeing, development and performance.

How to apply

In place of a cover letter, you will be asked to answer the following five questions, alongside providing your CV. Please keep your answers to a maximum of 250 words.

1. Tell us why you’re interested in working for Kinship in this role and what experience you bring that would make you successful? This is an opportunity to tell us about you, your experience and your values.
2. Please give an example where you have managed a successful regional programme or service (this could also be national). Please include scale, key performance indicators and outcome. What made it a success?
3. What makes you a great team manager? Give one example of how you have supported teams and individuals to flourish and one example when you have had to step in to address behaviour or performance issues. (This is an opportunity to share your enthusiasm for supporting others to develop and deliver to a high standard. You can share evidence of how your approach has worked and how you’ve tackled challenges and difficult conversations along the way).
4. Quality assurance and consistency is key to making sure our programmes deliver impact for our kinship carers. This includes ensuring your team are following processes, using our case management system effectively and have the tolls to do their role. Please describe how you would approach this at Kinship using a previous example.
5. In this role you will be a deputy safeguarding lead at Kinship. This is a key role, the lives of kinship carers are incredibly complex.  Give one example of a safeguarding situation that required your response in a previous role. Explain what your rationale and thought process was. How did you hold appropriate boundaries and progress actions to effectively safeguard vulnerable children and adults?

Key Dates

• Application deadline: Wednesday 30 April, 9am
• First interview: Online – Tuesday 6 May
• Second interview: In person (Vauxhall, London) – Tuesday 13 May (travel expenses covered if required)

About Kinship

We are Kinship. The leading kinship care charity in England and Wales. We’re here for kinship carers – friends or family who step up to raise a child when their parents aren’t able to.

We are made by and for our community of kinship carers. Like family, relationships run deep. And we hear their experiences; for too long they have been isolated without the help they need.

We support, advise and inform kinship carers. Connecting them so they feel empowered. Because a child needs the love and warmth of a thriving family.

We develop research, campaigns and policy solutions. Creating positive change across society. Because for kinship families, love alone is not enough.

Through our work we harness frustrations to fuel passion for change. And tough experiences to inspire ideas that transform lives.

And as we see momentum building, we keep using evidence to demonstrate the value of kinship care. Helping kinship carers navigate challenging circumstances. Believing in a child’s potential.

Join us. Together, let’s commit to change for kinship families.

Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week​

Location:​Home-based with frequent travel to projects across Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool​

Contract:Permanent​

Do you want to work with multiple award-winning charity, FoodCycle? As Regional Manager you will represent, manage and co-ordinate FoodCycle for your allocated regional Projects. Our Projects are spaces where volunteers are empowered to run their own community meals using surplus food.​

You will manage local relationships with supermarkets, volunteer recruitment channels and venues to enable this to happen. As an excellent communicator, you will manage the volunteers at each Project ensuring they are trained, supported and on-message with FoodCycle strategy, ensuring that volunteers are confident enough to self-organise and make a success of their Projects.​

You will have experience of programme planning and delivery, and working with volunteers. You will be experienced in building relationships with a range of stakeholders, and be passionate about food and cooking.​

There will be frequent travel to our projects in the North East, with some evening and weekend work needed to cover our projects. A full driving license and access to a vehicle for work purposes is essential for this rewarding role.​

Benefits: We offer 26.5 days holiday plus bank holidays, and additional holiday for length of service (pro-rata for part-time). Our healthcare package allows staff to claim money back on healthcare bills and includes access to telephone counselling and online GP appointments.​

How to apply:Please upload a CV of no more than two sides, and a covering note/letter of no more than two sides explaining why you are suitable for the role, via our vacancy website.

Deadline for your application:We will be shortlisting and interviewing for this post on an ongoing basis and the vacancy will close once we have found the successful candidate.  Please apply as soon as possible if interested, and no later than 11.59pm on Thursday 8th May.

Interview process: Shortlisted candidates will need to complete a 30 minute task prior to being invited to interview.

Inclusivity: FoodCycle is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from individuals of all backgrounds. We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. We are a Disability Confident Scheme member. 

Safeguarding: Safeguarding is Everyone’s business – FoodCycle is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare / wellbeing of children, young people and adults at risk. This role will therefore require a satisfactory Enhanced DBS check.

Please note that you will need to have existing Right to Work in the UK to apply for this role. We are unable to provide visa sponsorship.​

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Research Associate - National Youth Agency

Contract: 12-month Fixed Term Contract (with potential to extend)
Hours: Full-time - 37 hours per week 
Salary: £30,000 – £35,000 per annum, dependent on experience
Remote: This role is 100% homebased with occasional travel for staff residentials and other events.

What we do

As the national body for youth work, the NYA has a dual function. We are the professional statutory and regulatory body (PSRB) responsible for qualifications, quality standards, and safeguarding for youth work and services in England. In line with our charity mission and aims, we also champion youth work through research, advocacy, campaigns, and programmes.

We work in partnership and believe in collaborative leadership, listening to youth workers and the youth work sector so that we can understand their needs and respond to the challenges they face. We are ambitious for youth work and for young people and integrate youth voice and influence across our work

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Knowledge Team, working alongside two existing Research Associates and a Data Analyst. 

You will be integral in delivering research, data, and insights that support organisational development and programme delivery across NYA.

We are looking for an experienced mixed-methods researcher with a strong understanding of social research and evaluation approaches. Ideally, you will have experience working in or alongside the youth sector and be confident using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

You’ll need to be flexible, proactive, and a strong communicator, able to explain complex ideas to varied audiences. 

This role is ideal for someone looking to make a tangible difference through evidence-led approaches that shape policy, practice, and impact in youth work.

Key responsibilities for this role will include:

• Designing and delivering research projects using a range of methods including surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
• Supporting the development of the NYA research and data hub, including external research collation and data visualisation.
• Leading on evaluations to meet funder requirements and contribute to NYA’s growing evidence base.
• Analysing data from NYA programmes to support impact measurement.
• Promoting evidence-based practice across NYA and the wider youth sector.
• Communicating findings clearly through reports, briefings, and presentations.
• Managing research projects and collaborating with internal and external partners to deliver on time and to quality.
• Responding to internal and external research enquiries.

The ideal candidate will have experience in social research, familiarity with various research methodologies, and the ability to communicate complex findings to diverse audiences. 

Please refer to our Candidate Pack for more information on the role and the requirements.

Why Work for NYA?

NYA operates as a people-first organisation, prioritising the well-being and needs of its employees.

NYA offers an exceptional flexible working approach which encourages our team to balance professional responsibilities with their personal life.

A remote based team, spread across England, fostering inclusivity and diverse talent. Despite geographical distances between team members, NYA maintains a highly motivated and connected team through the optimisation of digital tools.

NYA is committed to supporting the continual personal and professional development of our team and helping them achieve their ambitions.

We provide 25 days leave plus 8 days, life assurance scheme, 5% employer pension contribution and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme via Spectrum.life with unlimited specialist support available to all NYA employees.

How to Apply:

Please download our applicant pack to find out more about the role and requirements

To apply, please submit the following via our online application platform by 11:59pm on Monday 12th May 2025:

A detailed CV setting out your career history, with responsibilities and achievements in line with the person specification in the About You section. 

A covering letter (maximum two sides) highlighting your suitability for the role and how you meet the requirements in the

About You section. 

We will request data for our EEDI monitoring purposes, providing this is optional.

Please note: the covering letter is an essential part of the application process and will be assessed as part of your full application. We use AI detector software, so cover letters or CV’s with over 30% AI generated content with be disregarded. We understand that AI tools can offer support to candidates who have learning differences, which is why we will accept applications with some AI assistance. CV’s will not be accepted without a cover letter.

The National Youth Agency is an equal opportunities employer. 

At NYA our inclusive culture means that we embrace individual differences and understand that we need a diverse team to achieve our organisations mission. 

We wish to recruit candidates from all backgrounds to ensure our team reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We encourage applications from anyone regardless of disability, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sexuality, religion, socio-economic background and political beliefs but we particularly welcome applications from global majority candidates and those from other minoritised ethnic groups in the UK as they are currently underrepresented in our team.

Youth Work changes lives

Which is why we’re committed to ensuring that as many young people as possible get to benefit from it. As the national body for youth work in England, the National Youth Agency (NYA) exists to champion its transformative power.  We believe all young people should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing impact of extraordinary youth workers and trained volunteers.

We help to grow youth work provision in ways that keep it effective, relevant, safe and engaging, to help millions of young people reach their potential and thrive. We do this by providing guidance, support, advice, training and staff development opportunities for youth workers and youth work organisations. At the heart of everything we do are young people themselves. We work hard to ensure their voices are integrated into all our work, to develop provision that truly meets their needs.

REF-221126

About us

We are National Energy Action (NEA) – and our vision is to end fuel poverty. Our work to improve and promote energy efficiency brings social, environmental, housing and employment benefits.  We believe everyone should be able to afford to keep their homes warm and safe. However, low incomes, high energy bills and poor energy efficiency currently deny this to millions of households across the UK.  Never has this been more important than today. 

NEA’s teams are friendly, knowledgeable and are dedicated to what we do.  We are proud of our expertise and proud of the service we deliver to our clients. 

We offer colleagues a friendly, rewarding workplace and the chance to build a worthwhile career with a not-for-profit organisation that makes a genuine difference to people’s lives each and every day.

The role

NEA has an exciting opportunity for a Training and Education Officer to support with the delivery of our accredited training and qualifications to stakeholders across the United Kingdom as well as develop and deliver our expanding education programme nationwide.

You will work across both the training and education teams to develop and deliver training courses and education workshops to frontline workers, volunteers and young people from a wide range of organisations, including local authorities, housing associations, voluntary and community groups, and commercial organisations.

Our training courses and workshops cover key issues associated with fuel poverty, fuel debt, affordable warmth, low-carbon technologies and practical energy efficiency advice. You will work alongside the training team to develop, design and deliver these engaging online and face-to-face courses and qualifications.  You will act as an examiner for all NEA qualifications, assist in the development of future assessment-based qualifications; and have the ability to identify new opportunities for training and assessment product development.

You will work closely with the existing education team to enhance the current education provision of the charity; you will develop and deliver education sessions in line with programme and funding needs. Delivery will include both Primary and Secondary school sessions as well as bespoke education sessions for care leavers, young carers, youth offenders and children soon to be attending university or college.

We are accepting applications from across the United Kingdom however, we are particularly interested in hearing from applicants in the Midlands, Yorkshire, and the North-East of England.

What you will need to succeed

You will possess a relevant training or education qualification and have recent, demonstrable experience in delivering adult training and or primary / secondary school sessions. Ideally, you will also bring experience in one or more of the following fields: energy, community development, debt or money advice, consumer issues, or housing.

With excellent communication skills and IT skills, you will be adaptable and bring a lot of energy to the team.  You’ll be brimming with ideas and enthusiasm and have a passion to deliver training and education to people from diverse backgrounds and the desire to make a positive difference to people’s lives.

You will be expected to deliver training and education sessions depending on organisational need, as well as occasionally delivery in wider England and Wales. This will require overnight stays and flexibility on the part of the post holder.

The role of Training and Education Officer will be part of the Development and Partnerships Directorate and the postholder will report to NEA’s Training Programme Delivery Manager.

Hybrid working is subject to necessary H&S and GDPR checks. Post holders must be resident within the UK and be able to provide their Right to Work in the UK. 

The job description provides a list of the duties of the post and the person specification provides the list of essential and desirable criteria. 

We are offering:

• £31,068 - £35,836 (Points 18 -25) (plus £3,300 London Weighting if applicable). New appointments are usually made at the starting point of the scale.
• 11.5% non-contributory pension.
• 25 days annual leave plus 3 additional days in between Christmas New Year Period when our offices close; plus, all public holidays per annum.
• Flexible working arrangements including the opportunity for Hybrid working.
• Enhanced family friendly payments.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Employee benefits platform.

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 06 May2025 at 12 noon.  Interviews will be held Wednesday 21 May 2025.

Please be aware that National Energy Action is not a sponsoring organisation. Therefore, the successful applicant must already possess the right to work in the UK or be able to secure the right to work in the UK independently.

Please note CVs will not be accepted as part of the application process.  No agency or advertising enquiries please.

NEA aims to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all people with the necessary skills and experience for the post. Charity Registration No. 290511.  Company Registration No:  01853927