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We are looking for a Weekenders Journey Guide to support prospective Weekend Foster Carers from their first conversations with Now Foster through to the next stages of the recruitment and assessment journey.

This is a highly relational, candidate-facing role. You will be one of the main people helping applicants understand what Weekenders is, explore whether it is right for them, stay motivated through the process, and feel supported to take the next step.

Introductory conversations (our ‘intro chats’) will be a core part of the role. You will speak with people who are curious about fostering, but who may also feel unsure, nervous or are still working out whether they can foster. Your role will be to bring warmth, clarity and momentum: helping people feel welcomed, informed and confident, while also making sure the right people progress at the right pace.

You will use Now Foster’s digital platform (a bespoke CRM system) to manage the candidate journey, track progress, record key information and help the team understand where applicants are getting stuck or moving forward. You will play an important role in making sure we are attracting the right leads, supporting them well, and learning how to improve the journey as we grow.

This role would particularly suit someone with experience of fostering or working in fostering. It could also suit someone from a related background who is deeply motivated by innovation in this area and excited by what fostering could look like if it were designed around children, carers and relationships.

You do not need to be a qualified social worker, but you do need to be emotionally mature, reflective, organised and comfortable working closely with a social work-led team. You will need to understand safeguarding, and be confident holding thoughtful conversations with prospective carers.

What You’ll Be Doing

Supporting candidates through the journey

• Acting as a consistent, warm and encouraging point of contact for prospective Weekend Foster Carers.

• Carrying out intro chats with people who have expressed interest in the Weekenders programme.

• Helping candidates understand the Weekenders programme, what the role involves, and what the journey looks like.

• Supporting candidates to reflect on whether Weekenders is right for them.

• Keeping candidates engaged, informed and motivated as they move through the process.

• Helping people overcome practical barriers where appropriate, while being honest and clear about expectations.

• Making sure candidate communication feels relational, timely and values-led.

Helping the right people progress

• Helping identify candidates who are ready to move forward, as well as those who may need more time, more information or a different route.

• Support candidates to progress, pause or close, as advised by our fostering service colleagues.

• Using strengths-based and motivational approaches to help candidates reflect on their motivations, support networks and capacity.

• Working closely with social work colleagues to escalate questions, concerns or safeguarding issues appropriately.

• Supporting candidates to prepare for training, home visits and assessment stages.

• Helping ensure the process is clear, efficient and supportive.

Supporting groups, events and community activity

• Supporting information events, training sessions and candidate-facing events.

• Co-delivering sessions with social workers and other colleagues.

• Helping create a welcoming community for people exploring Weekenders.

• Supporting socials and community-building activity for applicants and approved Weekend Foster Carers.

• Helping candidates connect with the mission and feel part of something meaningful.

Administration, data and follow-up

• Keeping candidate records, notes and next steps up to date on Now Foster’s digital platform.

• Using Google Workspace, Trello and other tools to access key documents and manage your workload. 

• Making sure no candidate falls through the cracks.

• Supporting data capture so the team can understand what is working and where candidates are getting stuck.

• Helping improve templates, messages, prompts and workflows for the candidate journey.

• Supporting home visit admin and logistics where needed.

Contributing to innovation and learning

• Gathering feedback from candidates to help improve the journey and bringing this insight from candidate conversations into team discussions.

• Helping the team understand what motivates people to become Weekend Foster Carers, what worries them, and what helps them move forward.

• Supporting testing and iteration of new candidate journey approaches.

• Helping us build a process that is warm, efficient, inclusive and effective.

• Contributing to a new model of fostering that is relational, ambitious and designed around children and young people.

You’ll Thrive in This Role If You Are

• Warm and relational – able to build trust quickly and make people feel welcome.

• Emotionally mature – able to have thoughtful conversations about motivation, care, family life and uncertainty.

• A strong communicator – clear, encouraging and confident across phone, video calls, emails and written updates.

• Motivational and strengths-based – skilled at helping people see their potential while also being honest about what fostering involves.

• Organised and proactive – able to manage a busy candidate journey, track next steps and keep people moving.

• Tech-savvy – comfortable using digital platforms, Google Workspace and Trello.

• Confident in your judgement – able to decide when someone should progress, pause or close, while knowing when to seek advice.

• Safeguarding-aware – able to recognise when something needs to be escalated and comfortable working within clear safeguarding processes.

• Reflective and curious – interested in learning what works and improving the candidate journey over time.

• Comfortable with ambiguity – happy working in a small, growing charity where things are evolving.

• Committed to better outcomes for children and young people – motivated by Now Foster’s mission and the potential of Weekenders.

Experience We’re Looking For

Fostering experience would be highly beneficial. For example, this could include experience as a foster carer, working in fostering, supporting foster carers, working with fostering services, or working in a closely related part of children’s social care.

We are also interested in people with experience in:

• Volunteer management

• Children’s social care or youth work

• Community work

• Social prescribing

• Mentoring or coaching

• Recruitment, onboarding or candidate support

• Relationship-based support roles

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who understands the importance of relationships, can guide people through a meaningful decision-making process, and is excited by the possibility of building a different kind of fostering journey.

Bonus Points For

• Lived experience of the care system or fostering.

• Experience working directly with prospective or approved foster carers.

• Experience using motivational interviewing, coaching or strengths-based approaches.

• Experience supporting people through an application, recruitment, assessment or onboarding journey.

• Experience delivering or supporting information sessions, preparation groups, training or community events.

• Experience working remotely or in a flexible, fast-moving team.

An interest in innovation, service design or changing how fostering works.
 

About Us

Now Foster is a team of innovative social workers, designers, and entrepreneurs on a mission to change fostering in the UK.

We bring together social work, service design, public sector transformation and lived experience to create better outcomes for children and young people. Our overarching vision is to transform the fostering system by bringing many more wonderful people into it as foster carers, so that children and young people have the relationships, stability and support they need to thrive.

You will be joining a small, ambitious and passionate team, alongside our trustees, freelancers and advisors, all of whom play an active part in shaping our work. We partner with local authorities and not-for-profits who share our values and are ready to embrace change. As a registered charity, everything we do is driven by purpose, not profit.

About Weekenders

Weekenders is Now Foster’s flagship programme. It pairs children and young people in foster care with inspiring adults who can offer guidance, stability and encouragement on a regular basis. It is about showing up, making a difference, and being that person a young person can count on.

The programme is growing quickly. We are scaling Weekenders across London and beyond, testing new ways to support applicants, local authorities and independent social workers, and building the operational foundations needed for long-term growth.

A core part of this growth is making sure that people who are interested in becoming Weekend Foster Carers receive the right balance of warmth, encouragement, information and challenge as they move through the journey. That is where the Journey Guide comes in.

Working Pattern and Location

This role is offered at 4 to 5 days per week, with a salary of £34,000 pro rata.

The role can be based anywhere in England, with occasional travel to our Weekender delivery areas. Our Weekenders team is currently based across London and Manchester, and our wider organisational team is based in Oxford. Most work will be home-based, but there will be some in-person meetings, events, training sessions or bi-monthly co-working days.

The role will involve some work outside standard office hours. This is likely to include:

• Around one weekend day per month, which you would take back as time off during the previous or following week.

• Some evening work, for example around one information event per month.

• Some evening intro chats with prospective foster carers, where this helps people engage with the process.

We work flexibly and will support the successful candidate to manage their time in a sustainable way.

Safeguarding

Now Foster is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

This role will involve contact with prospective carers, rather than direct work with children and young people. However, you will need to understand safeguarding, work within Now Foster’s safeguarding processes, and escalate any concerns appropriately.

This role will require an enhanced DBS check.

What’s In It For You

Joining Now Foster means being part of something different. We are small, ambitious and innovative, and you will play a key role in helping Weekenders grow.

You will be close to the people exploring whether they could become Weekend Foster Carers, and your work will directly shape whether they feel supported, confident and ready to take the next step.

You will join a supportive, collaborative and values-led team. We work hard, care deeply about what we do, and are building something bold and lasting: a new way of fostering that blends social work, design, technology and relational practice.

We will provide the tools and technology you need, cover agreed travel and expenses, and support you to work flexibly within the rhythm of the programme.

How to Apply

Please send us your CV and a short cover letter explaining:

1. Why you are interested in Now Foster and the Weekenders programme.

2. The experience you would bring in supporting, guiding or motivating people.

3. Any experience you have of fostering, working in fostering, children’s social care, community work, volunteer management or similar.

4. What excites you about innovation in fostering and what fostering could look like.

5. Your availability, including whether you are looking for 4 or 5 days per week and when you could start.

You must have the right to work in the UK.

We recognise that some candidates may use generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to support the preparation of their application. While this is acceptable, applications must remain an authentic reflection of your own experiences and motivations. We ask candidates to let us know if and how they used AI as part of the recruitment process.

Our Commitment to Equality

Now Foster is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. We celebrate diversity and actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, identities and experiences.

Recruitment and selection decisions are made on the basis of fair, objective and transparent criteria. We will also make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process to ensure accessibility for all candidates.

Please Note: We are hoping to appoint as soon as possible and will close recruitment once we find the right person so candidates are advised to submit an application as soon as they are able.

Grade: NJC Point 19 - £32,061 per annum
Hours: 37.5 hrs per week (excluding breaks) 
Days: To be worked over 5 days 
Contract: Fixed Term 12 months (subject to the successful completion of a 6-month probationary period) 
Responsible to: Programme Manager (Wellbeing Matters) 
Place of work: Salford CVS’ offices in Eccles, Salford, M30 0FN 

WorkWell Community Connector (Social Prescribing Link Worker)

WorkWell Salford helps people with health conditions stay in or return to work by connecting them to local health, wellbeing, and employment support. As a Community Connector, you will work with the Wellbeing Matters team to support people referred by Primary Care and other local partners. You will meet with individuals, find out what matters to them, and link them to community activities, volunteering, and support that can improve their wellbeing, confidence, and independence.

You will also work with the wider WorkWell and Wellbeing Matters teams to share insights and support the local network of community groups. This includes promoting WorkWell services, identifying people who could benefit, and supporting employment and training opportunities. Full training and ongoing professional development will be provided, and you will be part of a collaborative team helping Salford residents connect with the right support.

The Benefits of Working for Salford CVS

• 28 days’ holiday - rising to 30 days (after five years), plus Bank Holidays (pro rata for part-time)
• Enhanced company sick and maternity pay, subject to terms and conditions of service
• Pension scheme - with 7% employer contribution (and 1% mandatory employee contribution)
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Membership of the Hospital Saturday Fund via an employer subsidised scheme (optional and non-contractual)
• RHS family membership (optional and non-contractual)
• Development opportunities - we support and encourage our staff to progress in their careers (including formal training)
• A supportive working culture - we respect and support one another to do the best we can

For more information and to apply, visit our website via the ‘apply’ button.

Closing date: 12 noon, Monday 29th June 2026

Interview date: Friday 17th July 2026

About Us

Health Exchange (HEx) charity and its trading subsidiary Living Well Taking Control (LWTC) are purpose-driven organisations committed to improving health, wellbeing and reducing health inequalities through prevention, behaviour change and community-based support.

Together, we deliver innovative health improvement, social prescribing and lifestyle intervention services that support tens of thousands of people each year. Working alongside the NHS, local authorities, Primary Care Networks, community organisations and national and international partners, we are helping to shape the future of prevention and population health.

With a combined annual income of approximately £7.5 million and a team of nearly 50 permanent staff, we are entering an exciting phase of transformation and sustainable growth.

As we continue to evolve, we are seeking an experienced and forward-thinking Head of Finance to provide strategic financial leadership across both organisations.

Job Purpose

The Head of Finance will lead and develop the finance function across Health Exchange and Living Well Taking Control, ensuring robust financial management, effective governance and long-term financial sustainability.

As a member of the Senior Management Team, the postholder will work closely with the Chief Executive, Director of Operations, Head of Growth, Service leads and Trustees to provide financial insight, planning and analysis that supports strategic decision-making, organisational development and future sustainability.

This role combines leadership with operational oversight and offers an opportunity to play a central role in shaping the future direction of two ambitious organisations committed to improving health outcomes and reducing inequalities.

Key Responsibilities

I. Strategic Financial Leadership

Lead the development of medium and long-term financial plans that align with organisational priorities and strategic objectives, providing high-quality financial advice and insight to the Chief Executive, Senior Management Team, Board of Trustees and relevant committees. Support strategic decision-making through robust financial analysis, forecasting and scenario planning, identifying financial risks and opportunities and making recommendations to strengthen organisational sustainability. Contribute proactively to organisational transformation, continuous improvement and the successful delivery of strategic initiatives across Health Exchange and Living Well Taking Control.

II. Financial Management and Reporting

Lead all aspects of financial management across Health Exchange and Living Well Taking Control, ensuring the production of timely and accurate management accounts, financial reports and performance analysis. Work collaboratively with budget holders and senior managers to develop and manage annual budgets and reforecasts, while monitoring financial performance, cash flow and reserves to ensure robust financial controls are maintained. Oversee payroll, pensions and financial administration, and lead procurement activity and value-for-money initiatives that support the effective and efficient use of organisational resources.

III. Business Partnering and Strategic Support

Work closely with the Chief Executive, Director of Operations and Head of Growth to assess the financial viability of new opportunities, partnerships and service developments, providing robust costing, pricing and financial modelling to support bids, tenders and contract negotiations. Support the mobilisation, delivery and performance monitoring of contracts through high-quality financial reporting and analysis, while developing business cases and investment appraisals to inform strategic decision-making. Ensure effective financial governance, transparency and appropriate financial arrangements across Health Exchange and Living Well Taking Control, supporting the efficient operation of both organisations.

IV. Governance, Audit and Compliance

Ensure compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements, lead the preparation of annual accounts and external audits, and act as the main point of contact for auditors and professional advisers. Maintain effective financial controls, policies and governance arrangements, oversee organisational risk and asset registers, and support the Board of Trustees and Audit & Risk Committee in fulfilling their responsibilities.

V. Systems and Continuous Improvement

Lead the development and continuous improvement of financial systems, processes and reporting tools, maximising the use of technology to enhance efficiency, accuracy and management information. Lead, motivate and develop the finance team, fostering a high-performing and supportive culture, while contributing positively to the Senior Management Team and promoting organisational values of collaboration, integrity, accountability and inclusion. Support organisational change and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen performance and effectiveness across both organisations.