The Role

Do you see yourself promoting and elevating children’s voices in every service that Wandsworth Children’s Services department deliver?

Does the sound of joining a new participation service who can support Wandsworth Council to be the best that we can be appeal to you?

Would you like to join a council that is passionate about promoting positive outcomes for children and young people?

If yes, we have the perfect role for you!

We are recruiting for a Participation Development Lead within our new Participation service in Wandsworth.  

The team will consist of a number of practitioners who work to increase opportunities for children, young people and their families to actively participate in the decisions that affect their lives, in the delivery of the services they receive and in the development of the policies that impact on them.

Location is flexible and you will be jointly working between Town Hall Extension (SW18 2PU) & Falcon Grove (SW11 2ST).

About the role

You will be passionate, driven and an experienced advocate of children, young people and their families looking to expand your experience joining an innovative new participation team.

You will have the ability to work closely with the team, service manager and multi-agency partnership to drive the Participation strategic vision forward while being innovative and creative in your approach to service delivery. As a Participation Development Lead, you will work collaboratively with the team and senior managers to drive our priority to nurture and facilitate relationships with children, young people, parents and carers so that their wishes, feelings and voices are listened to, respected and taken into account at all levels of the organisation.

To be considered for interview your CV and personal statement will evidence the following:

• Experience of advocating on behalf of children, young people and parents/carers.
• Experience of engaging with diverse communities
• Experience of leading and developing participation work
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills
• An ability to engage and build strong positive relationships with a diverse team of professionals who provide statutory and non-statutory services to vulnerable children and families    

Contact details

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Beth Kelly (Head of Participation) by email at beth.kelly@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk

Benefits

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including, working from home, compressed or part-time hours, term time only, job shares and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.

We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 39 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities. In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.

Indicative Recruitment Timelines

• Closing Date: 11:59pm on Wednesday 4th January 2023
• Shortlisting Date: Thursday 5th January 2023
• Interview Date: Tuesday 10th January 2023

Useful Information: 

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the advertised dates for interviews may change due to the current Covid-19 situation. If they do, we will let you know as soon as possible. Your health and wellbeing is our top priority. Should you become unwell due to Covid-19 during the recruitment process we would very much appreciate receiving an update from you as soon as possible.

We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams.

Equality Statement

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

We are pleased to be Disability Confident employer.

Important Information

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

How to apply?

To be considered for interview your CV and supporting statement must highlight your knowledge, skills and experience listed in attached Job Profile located at the bottom of the advert.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils