A family support service, here for parents when they need us most, because childhood can't wait.

At Home-Start Cymru, we are passionate about supporting colleagues to achieve their full potential.  We’ll support you and give you all the tools you need to continually challenge yourself, take pride in what you do and enjoy your career with us. We help support your growth by providing:

• An induction when you join us.
• Development conversations with your line manager that happen at least quarterly.
• A programme of workshops and resources on core skills for the workplace.

We are here for you and your wellbeing, providing extensive support and when you need it.

We do this by providing our staff with:

• Occupational health and mental wellbeing support are accompanied by online health assessment tools.
• confidential employee assistance programme is available to all to provide support for any concerns in your work or personal life for ongoing everyday support or free counselling if you need it.
• a team of Mental Health First Aiders supporting across the organisation.

As an organisation, we’re on a journey to create a culture where we can all bring our best and true selves to work every day. We do recognise, however, that there’s always more to do, and so we’re committed to continuing listening to our colleagues, volunteers and supported families to help us get things right.

We want all of our employees to feel valued and well rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we’ll recognise your efforts:

• By providing you with a competitive salary – based on defined roles and grades.
• By offering you 29 days holiday a year, plus bank holidays. You can choose to use the religious bank holidays flexibly.
• By supporting you and welcoming new additions to your family – flexible maternity, adoption and paternity packages.
• By offering everybody a pension. We currently operate a range of competitive pension schemes.

JOB SPECIFICATION

Title: Home-Start Family Support Coordinator

Employer: Home-Start Cymru

Location: Home-based with regular travel across the Swansea region required for home visits and team meetings

Responsible to: Family Senior Support Coordinator

Responsible for: A caseload of families and volunteers

Hours: 32

Salary: £20,540.54 (FTE £23,750)

Home-Start Cymru

Children need happy, healthy homes in order to thrive. Being a parent of young children is challenging at the best of times. Families face more pressures than ever, with many parents finding the practical and emotional demands overwhelming. That is when Home-Start Cymru can help. A carefully selected volunteer visits regularly to offer emotional and practical support.

Home-Start Cymru works with families with young children through a volunteer-led, home-visiting model of support. We combine the strengths of our network of community-based volunteers across Wales with our professional expertise in the early years. We are there for parents when they need us most, because childhood cannot wait.

Our volunteers are drawn from the communities in which they support, and the work we do not only helps parents and children, but makes a vital difference to strengthening communities.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Purpose of the Role

The Family Support Coordinator will work closely with the Senior Family Support Coordinator and the Locality Manager/Project Manager to appropriately manage a team of volunteers to deliver support to a dedicated caseload of referred families.

Job Summary:

To ensure:

• To uphold and comply with all Home-Start Cymru policies, procedures, behaviors, and values, ensuring effective day-to-day operations of the team in accordance with HSC guidance and standards.
• To maintain high standards of practice in supporting families within the Home-Start model.
• To ensure equality of opportunity, fairness and diversity in all aspects of work.
• Implement and adhere to good safeguarding practice in all areas of work.

Key Responsibilities

Service Delivery & Safeguarding

• Receiving referrals and assessing needs of families.
• Ensuring all relevant documentation regarding the family’s journey is recorded appropriately.
• Introducing families to appropriate support.
• Ensuring support to families is reviewed at regular intervals and at the end of Home-Start support, in line with current Home-Start guidance.
• Documenting the reviews and closures of families in accordance with Home-Start Cymru’s policies.
• To coordinate and support on additional complementary support if applicable e.g. groups
• To undertake designated responsibilities to safeguard and promote children’s welfare.

Volunteer Coordination, Development & Support

• Matching and introducing volunteers to families.
• Providing support, supervision and initial and on-going training opportunities for volunteers.

Collaboration & Networking

• Ensuring appropriate liaison with referrers and other professionals.
• Attend multi-agency meetings when necessary or requested to do so.
• Support Senior Coordinators and Project/Locality Managers in promoting the organisation, its profile, ethos and practice through presentations and participation in meetings, networking and local/regional events when required.
• Supporting Senior Coordinators and Project Managers in the development of Home-Start locally, regionally and nationally.

Additional duties

• To meet regularly with the management team, and participate in other relevant internal meetings.
• Work co-operatively with the Locality Manager and staff members to ensure project activities are delivered and targets/outcomes are met in line with funder’s requirements.
• Work to the organisation’s administration, including providing data and statistical information for reports.
• Any other additional duties that fall within the nature of the role and responsibilities of the post as detailed above.
• To understand and act in accordance with our agreed behaviours framework in everything they do in the course of their employment
• Assist to actively engage with families to capture their feedback, thereby ensuring family voices are heard and integrated into the development and improvement of services and policy objectives.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

At Home-Start Cymru we are committed to shaping an environment where everyone is valued and respected. As part of our team, you will be expected to understand and support the principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in all aspects of your work. This includes promoting fairness and equality of opportunity, respecting and celebrating differences, and actively contributing to ensuring we consider each other’s experiences and views. By embracing EDI principles, we can better support each other, and the families we serve and create positive change together.

In consultation with the post holder, this job description is liable to variation by Home-Start Cymru to reflect actual, contemplated or approved changes in/or to the job.

The job holder may be required to undertake any other duties that fall within the nature of the role and responsibilities of the role as detailed above.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Education and Qualifications

• ‘A’ levels/NVQ – equivalents: Essential
• Experience
• People management and development experience: Desirable
• Demonstrable experience of working with families and volunteers: Desirable
• Ability to work on own initiative: Essential
• Ability to communicate, negotiate and influence: Essential
• Ability to work as a member of a team: Essential
• Strong administrative skills: Essential
• Ability to inspire trust: Essential
• Aware of and sensitive to equal opportunities issues: Essential
• Passion for working in the voluntary sector: Essential
• Ability to engage with people through digital platforms: Desirable

Essential Skills and Attributes

• Empathic, calm and non-confrontational: Essential
• Energy, enthusiasm, flexibility, commitment, integrity, motivated: Essential
• Commitment to work in a non-judgemental and anti-discriminatory way: Essential
• Commitment to Home-Start Cymru’s vision, mission and purpose: Essential
• Commitment to personal and career development: Essential
• Car driver with current licence, business use motor insurance, and use of road-worthy vehicle: Essential
• Evidence of training adults: Essential

Skills and Knowledge

• A commitment to modelling the behaviours which exemplify the values of the organisation: Essential
• An excellent understanding of the Voluntary Sector and Local Authority structures: Essential
• Understanding of the Family Support and Children’s Services Sector in Wales: Essential
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, both written and orally, able to adapt style in various situations and with a range of audiences, considering the differing needs of people: Essential
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to identify, establish and nurture productive internal and external relationships, partnerships and networks: Essential
• Good oral and written bilingual (Welsh/English) communication skills (essential/desirable depending on location): Desirable

Other

• Understanding of the management of information technology in the workplace: Essential
• Demonstrable commitment to the values and principles of the UNCRC: Essential
• Demonstrable understanding of and commitment to equality and diversity, health and safety and safeguarding: Essential
• A flexible approach to work, with the willingness to work some evening or weekend work and occasional residential training: Essential

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications or find a suitable candidate before the closing date. We encourage interested applicants to apply as soon as possible.

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: £20,540.54 per year

Expected hours: 32 per week

Work Location: On the road