Pause Practitioner

Pause is a dedicated service to support birth parents in West Sussex. The focus will be to work with women who have experienced, and are at risk of, repeat pregnancies that result in children needing to be removed from their care who do not currently have children in their care. As well as offering a core model of intensive, relationship-based support to women at most risk of repeat removals, the service is developing to consider how we offer support to more birth parents. As a Pause Practitioner, you will provide intensive support to women taking part in Pause West Sussex to ensure the implementation and delivery of an integrated package of health, therapeutic and social support. This is specifically designed to address the complex needs of women to enable change in their lives and ultimately reduce the numbers of children being removed into care. There is extensive training on the approach and support from working together with other pioneering practices, to enable sharing of practice across the UK. You will be part of a small team of practitioners, that will coordinate and develop effective partnerships, develop and influence a team of support around the woman with other agencies and stakeholders, and facilitate the successful delivery of our By Your Side offer. Through a trauma informed approach, you will empower and enable this vulnerable and marginalised group of women to make change in their lives and ultimately reduce the numbers of children being removed into care., For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Bernie Mullett (Pause Practice Lead) at and for issues or queries regarding your application please contact . To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to Social Work England registration, an enhanced DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check. Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contact . We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our page. Available documents

• Ability to effectively engage and empower vulnerable people to undertake direct work and use a range of interventions to achieve change
• Ability to work effectively with vulnerable people in crisis and manage conflict, containing own and others' anxieties and working within the boundaries of the role
• Ability to work in partnership with carers, colleagues, and a variety of external agencies in order to deliver the most effective service, including the ability to facilitate and coordinate multi-agency meetings and plans
• Ability to work professionally, to reflect on own practice and learn from experience
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in both written and verbal format, including the ability to explain complicated and contentious information to a wide range of people and negotiate and persuade others to adopt a particular course of action
• Ability to recognise the limits of own accountability and responsibility, and to seek appropriate support, advice and supervision, Substantial demonstrable experience, in a paid or unpaid capacity, of supporting complex and vulnerable people to process, manage and overcome trauma and challenges in their lives.
• Evidence of working with those who access or need the service to identify goals, collaboratively agree specific steps and influence engagement in actions to achieve goals by means of creative and pragmatic solutions.
• Experience of working in partnership with those who access or need the service to maintain a focus on achieving goals and making changes in the lives of the individual whilst managing challenges and handling crisis/conflict/disagreement.
• Experience of working in partnership and networking with external bodies or agencies to achieve inter-agency working and holistic support for individuals.
• Evidence of supporting individuals who access or need the service through non-clinical therapeutic interventions and groupwork.
• Knowledge and experience to understand the needs of the women who use the service, and analyse this information, drawing appropriate conclusions and achieving successful outcomes.
• Evidence of effectively prioritising work and meeting deadlines
• Experience of managing levels of risk within a caseload
• Sound and accurate IT knowledge and keyboard skills
  
  Here at West Sussex County Council, we are ambitious for our children and our workforce. We have made great improvements in our service for the children and families in West Sussex over 5 years. You will join us as at a key time on our continuous improvement journey; the service you would be joining has a stable workforce with manageable caseloads and a fully permanent management team. We are proud of the work we do and we are proud to be a supportive and inclusive employer.
That's why we need professionals, like you, who really want to be part of the positive change that is happening for children. Be part of an ambitious ongoing improvement plan and make a significant difference to children and families in West Sussex. There has never been a more rewarding time to join.

For full list of Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached. Rewards and Benefits As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where you can achieve your full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work you do. Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including: For a full list this can be found at our