Family Group Conference Lifelong Links Co-ordinator

Are you passionate about empowering families, strengthening relationships, and helping children and young people build lifelong support networks? We are looking for a motivated, skilled, and compassionate Family Group Conference & Lifelong Links Coordinator to join Durham's innovative Family Group Conference Service. This is an exciting opportunity to work directly with children, young people, families, carers and professionals to create sustainable family-led plans that promote safety, stability, belonging and positive long-term outcomes. You'll be joining a supportive team committed to:

• Strengthening families and communities.
• Delivering restorative and relationship-based practice.
• Preventing unnecessary admissions to care.
• Improving permanence, belonging, and lifelong connections for children and young people.
• Supporting professional development and continuous learning
WHAT IS INVOLVED? As a Family Group Conference (FGC) & Lifelong Links Coordinator, you will work independently with children, young people, and families to identify, strengthen, and reconnect family and community networks. You will coordinate and facilitate Family Group Conferences and Lifelong Links interventions, supporting families to develop their own plans that address safeguarding concerns and enable children and young people to remain safely within their family networks wherever possible. What You'll Be Doing
• Lead and coordinate Family Group Conferences and Lifelong Links interventions.
• Work directly with children and young people to capture and represent their views, wishes, and feelings.
• Explore family and community networks to identify potential support systems.
• Prepare families and professionals for meetings, ensuring all participants can engage meaningfully and safely.
• Facilitate meetings that enable families to negotiate and agree robust, future-focused plans.
• Ensure plans are realistic, evidence-based, and address identified safeguarding concerns.
  
  Has a Level 3 Health & Social Care or equivalent
• Has experience working with children, young people, and families with complex needs.
• Has experience of promoting the use of family networks.
• Is passionate about relationship-based and restorative practice.
• Has excellent facilitation, engagement, and communication skills.
• Can work independently while managing a diverse and demanding caseload.
• Is confident coordinating meetings involving multiple agencies and family members.
• Has experience of mediation or restorative approaches.
• Can build trust quickly and work effectively in challenging and emotionally sensitive situations.
• Is committed to achieving positive outcomes for vulnerable children and young people.
  
  We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years' continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website
Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions.