Duty Support Worker - Team around the child

Job Description

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield, LE3 8RA

Salary: £35,451 - £39,165 per annum

Working Hours: 37 hrs Per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 19th April 2026

Interview Date(s): 7th May 2026

Are you passionate about working with foster carers and helping to improve the outcomes for our children in care through careful and considered matching to their foster carers?

Are you interested in supporting the well-being of foster carers and their children?

Do you want to work within a busy and supportive team which is committed to ensuring that our children in care receive a high standard of care and our foster carers feel well supported and have the necessary skills to care for children?

About the Role

We are looking to recruit a Duty Support Worker to join our busy team which focusses on supporting mainstream foster carers care for our looked after children. As a Duty Support Worker your primary responsibility will be attending to the referrals for our looked after children and matching the children to our in-house mainstream foster carers.

You will work within a dedicated duty team to ensure that children are placed with foster carers that have the skill base and knowledge to meet their needs and ensure that any matches are made in a trauma informed manner.

As a Duty Support Worker you will need to develop good working relationships with our foster carers so excellent communication skills are essential.

You will develop positive working relationships with other service areas and teams to ensure that placements are made in the best interests of the child / carer.

Placement matching to carers approval and skill set is fundamental to safer placements, you will work as part of the team around the child to support this.

We also collate data against our utilisation and you will provide this information to our Improvement Cycle Meetings.

Our Duty Support Workers are also expected to hold additional responsibilities within the team such as working with our birth children, supporting carers in a more direct manner or taking responsibility for a service area such as EDI. This will be agreed once you are in post and in line with your skills and interests.

As a team we hold a number of events throughout the year and it will be part of your role to help to arrange and facilitate these, some of which are outside of the normal office hours.

The role is a full-time position and there is 1 permanent post available.

An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.

About You

To apply for this post, you must be able to evidence in your application how you meet the following criteria:

• NVQ level 3 in Childcare or equivalent and relevant experience.
• Demonstrate an awareness of working with foster carers and Children in Care alongside an understanding of Fostering Regulations, National Minimum Standards and safeguarding procedures
• Have knowledge of the triggers, factors and barriers faced by children and young people in care and we can support them and their carers to overcome these barriers.
• The ability to communicate clearly and accurately, both orally and in writing, with a wide range of people, including representatives from other agencies, using skills of negotiation and persuasion.
• In addition you must have the ability to prioritise effectively across a wide range of competing demands to meet deadlines.
• The ability to report and analyse data within a service to evidence compliance with aims and objectives.
• The ability to use information technology applications e.g. Microsoft Outlook, Word and database applications as relevant to the department.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion

Rachael Young - Team Manager - Team Around the Child

Telephone: 0116 305 4482

Email: Rachael.Young@leics.gov.uk

How to Apply

At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.

About us

About Leicestershire County Council

At Leicestershire County Council, we're committed to making a real difference in people's lives. Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone.

Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire. Whether you're starting your career or looking for your next challenge, you'll find a place with us where your ideas are valued, and your work has purpose.

For further information on what it’s like to work for us and the benefits we offer, please refer to the following:

Our Recruitment Process
Our Organisational Values
Our Employee Benefits
Working for Us