Placements Officer

As a Placements Officer you will play a vital role in supporting us to make those changes happen. You will:

• Build relationships with Local Authorities and be the first point of contact for referrals
• Get to know our foster carers and manage the matching process between our foster carers & the children referred
• Be key to supporting our children and families by coordinating short break care arrangements
• Support changes to arrangements such as placement moves and ends
• Update Carer Profiles and market the agency's services to the local authorities
  
  We are looking for a passionate individual, with a drive to improve outcomes for children and young people. We would welcome applications from skilled professionals, preferably with experience of working in a social care setting who are able to demonstrate the following:
• Ability to work in a fast paced, often pressured environment, working to tight deadlines and with competing demands
• Excellent written and communication skills with internal and external colleagues
• Ability to maintain a professional, positive and solution focussed approach
• Excellent negotiation skills with foster carers and local authorities to influence decision making
• The ability and resilience to deal with sensitive information
• A proven ability to work effectively as a team player, whilst also able to work unsupervised, using own initiative
• Proven ability to prioritise and manage own workload
  
  Salary: £16,247.11 to £18,850.43 per annum (£27,078.51 to £31,417.39 per annum fte) starting salary is dependent upon skills and experience.
Part time: 22.5 hours per week covering Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We offer blended/office working arrangements to allow for a good work life balance for all staff. This will be a minimum of one day per week working within your agreed office base, although staff are actively encouraged to attend the workplace more frequently. Team Fostering is an ethical not for profit fostering agency with a strong reputation and track record for providing high quality, value for money fostering placements for children in care. We pride ourselves on our values and our commitment to making positive changes for children and young people., In return we offer an exceptional range of employee benefits including:
• Monthly supervision
• Annual appraisal
• 30 days annual leave plus 8 days bank holidays (Pro rota)
• A blend of home and office working
• A wide range of flexible working arrangements to support a good work life balance
• Flexi time
• Company sick pay scheme
• Pension scheme
• Staff loyalty bonus
• Employee assistance programme
• Retail discount scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Life assurance cover
• GP Helpline
• Learning & development opportunities to support your continuous professional development
Team Fostering are wholly committed to our ongoing investment in our staff's professional training and development, health and wellbeing. We are immensely proud of our recognition as a Living Wage Employer, an Investors in People Employer which we have held since 2006, our accreditation as a Mindful Employer and the achievement of our Better Health Award at Continuing Excellence level. Team Fostering is an equal opportunity and Disability Confident Committed employer that is committed to equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging at work. As we continue to grow, we know that we must have the most talented employees with diverse backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, and experiences to support our children and young people. Team Fostering strives to be diverse and inclusive - a place where we can ALL be ourselves. We particularly encourage applications from people who identify as Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background, who are underrepresented within the agency.