Senior Social Care Officer, COPE Team, Strathmooor House, Perth

Main Purpose of the Role

Working within Perth & Kinross Council is more than a job, it's about being part of an organisation that puts people at the heart of all we do and provides opportunities to make a real difference by enhancing every life we touch.

We currently have the following opportunity:

Senior Social Care Officer (COPE) - PKC14128
£36,288 - £40,022 (34.1 Hours per week)
Strathmoor House, Perth

An exciting opportunity has arisen in Children, Families and Justice Social Work to be part of our COPE team. COPE stands for:

C – Children and Young People who are
O – Open cases to Social Work and need
P – Planned intervention during
E – Early mornings, Evenings and weekends

COPE offers a blend of planned work and rapid crisis response with a strong focus on keeping families safely together.

COPE provides planned input and support to children, young people and families who are working with our service. In line with the Independent Care Review, The Promise, we have listened to children, young people and families’ requests for support to be available to them at times when they need it.

We are also looking for one COPE Worker to work 34.1 hours per week, from approximately 12:30/13:30 until 22:00 during the week and from 11:00 until 21:00 on alternate weekends.

COPE staff work closely with the Lead Professional to undertake directed pieces of planned work, which may include providing parenting support for families, spending individual time with a child or young person, and completing any other suitable tasks identified within their Child or Young Person’s Plan.

Alongside planned pieces of work, COPE Workers respond to the urgent needs of children, young people and families as required, in conjunction with our Out of Hours Service, including undertaking welfare visits.

A rotating two-week shift pattern will be in place for the worker on the evening rota. Both shift patterns require working alternate weekends. These will be the primary working hours; however, workers will be required to be flexible and may be asked to cover early or late shifts when colleagues are on leave.

Staff may also be required to attend Children's Hearings, Child Protection Meetings, Child or Young Person’s Plan Meetings and Interagency Referral Discussions.

At PKC, our values and behaviours influence our work and support us in the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Offer. In your application, and should you be invited to interview, you will be asked to describe situations that demonstrate the criteria required for the role and our values and behaviours.

Find out more about PKC and you could soon be joining our team!

Please note, we are currently unable to offer sponsorship for this post.

Skills & Experience Required

You will have experience of working with children, young people and families who are experiencing significant difficulties in their lives and require sensitive and non-judgemental support.

You must be able to demonstrate excellent communication skills, the capacity to work independently and as part of a team, and the ability to manage competing demands successfully.

You must be flexible in your approach, able to think quickly on your feet, and able to demonstrate a positive attendance record at work, with high levels of reliability and punctuality.

Relationship-based practice is key to positive interventions with children, young people and families. It is important that you have the skills and qualities to provide nurturing support whilst being honest and transparent with families about risks and concerns. Having a strengths-based approach will be beneficial, enabling you to help families identify their strengths and build upon them. Experience of undertaking home visits and working with children, young people and families within their own communities would be advantageous.

You should be familiar with Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), the My World Triangle and the SHANARRI indicators. Children, young people and families may be experiencing multiple adversities, including poverty, addiction, domestic abuse and mental health issues, therefore the ability to work collaboratively with other agencies is essential.

You must hold a valid UK driving licence and have access to a car, as this post requires travel to a variety of locations across Perth and Kinross to support children, young people and families.

Candidates will need to promote positive values and anti-discriminatory, non-judgemental practice, treating colleagues and customers with dignity and respect in line with the Employee Code of Conduct and SSSC Codes of Practice.

Working at Perth & Kinross Council

Our values and behaviours influence our work and support us in the delivery of our key priorities. In your application, and should you be invited to interview, you will be asked to describe situations that support the criteria required in the role and which also demonstrate our values and behaviours. Find out more about Perth & Kinross Council and you could soon be joining our team!

Here's what we can offer you:

• A generous annual leave package
• 6 days public holiday and an additional discretionary day
• Eligibility to join our pension scheme
• Family friendly and positive work/life balance policies such as Flexible Working, Maternity, Paternity & Adoption leave, time off for volunteering and our Wellbeing Framework
• Flexi time 
• Access to a range of benefits

We recognise there can be benefits to flexible working and where individual jobs allow, we seek to support this. You are encouraged to discuss potential options with the recruiting manager, if this is of interest to you. A healthy work life balance is important to us and we provide supportive management and, where possible, flexible working arrangements to help you achieve that balance. You will have access to training and support for continued professional development.

For purposes of connection and collaboration with colleagues and with the community we serve, our full-time employees work on site for a minimum of 2 days per week with the arrangements for part time employees being agreed on a basis which will ensure that they benefit to an equivalent degree.

Our FAQs on hybrid working can be found here Hybrid working FAQs.

We are committed to being a more inclusive employer - to ensure we can consider any reasonable adjustments, please either contact the recruiting manager to discuss any individual circumstances, discuss at interview or, if you prefer, after any conditional offer is made.

Next Steps

We would love to hear from you and would encourage you to get in touch with Lesley Allan, Team Leader on 01738 459601 or via LAllan@pkc.gov.uk to find out more.

Click “APPLY NOW”

External candidates are required to provide contact details for 2 referees, including email addresses. One of these must be your current or most recent employer.

We welcome applications from everyone and as a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview applicants who declare a disability and meet the essential requirements of the post. Please contact the hiring manager above or the Recruitment Team on (01738) 475555 or recruitment@pkc.gov.uk to discuss any reasonable adjustments. Appointments are based on evidence supplied during the selection process.

Diversity is important to us and although some of our jobs may be perceived to be traditionally gender specific, we welcome applications from everyone and would encourage you to apply if you meet the job requirements. That includes welcoming applications from former armed forces personnel/reservists. Many of the skills picked up during your military career could be transferred directly into a role with local government.

Working with children and/or protected adults is regarded as a regulated role and under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 you will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update check and maintain your membership.

If you have lived overseas for a period of 12 months or more (continuous or total) within the last 10 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check is required. You are required to provide this check.

A confirmed offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of the above mentioned mandatory pre-employment checks (including references) and will also include eligibility to work in the UK, qualifications and fitness to undertake the post.

All new employees have a four-month probationary period. Further details are available in the FAQs at “How to apply for a job or apprenticeship with us”.