Job Description

With the recent publication of the first national Kinship Care Strategy, this is an exciting time to join our growing and impact driven charity. Importantly, you’ll be committed to our mission to improve recognition and support for kinship families, and you’ll be ready to play an integral role in creating a system that works for kinship families so they are more able to find the support they need, when they need it.

Kinship is seeking to recruit an experienced individual to lead on developing strategic relationships with partners to support the successful delivery of our new national Kinship Carer Training and Support Service, funded by the Department for Education.

This role will suit a proactive and dynamic individual with the ability to plan and deliver a national approach to map organisations and services that are in contact with kinship families, develop effective relationships, and create referral pathways into the Training and Support Service. Working with a range of stakeholders including schools, healthcare providers, national and local charities, and cultural and faith organisations, you will help connect the ecosystem of support for kinship families across England. 

Excellent communication and presentation skills, accurate and timely use of our Salesforce CRM, effective collaboration across teams within Kinship and excellent attention to detail will be key to achieving our goals. 

What you'll be doing: 

• Working with the Head of Network Development to plan and execute a new strategic approach to developing partnerships with relevant organisations 

• Building an up-to-date and accurate picture of the organisations in contact with kinship families 

• Leading on the development and ongoing management of partnerships across a wide range of organisations including education and health, charities and cultural and faith groups 

• Establishing connections between partner organisations, the Training and Support team, peer support groups, Kinship’s services, and the wider ecosystem of kinship support 

• Proactively using our Salesforce CRM database to record, collate, and analyse information to inform delivery and evidence effectiveness of your work 

• Collaborating effectively with internal colleagues and external partners to collect and share information and to develop and deliver effective plans to reach and engage kinship carers 

• Collaborating with the marketing team to develop integrated plans or reaching and promoting Kinship to key organisations 

• Being a credible and knowledgeable face of Kinship, including preparing and delivering high quality presentations, in person and online, to raise awareness about the Training and Support Service and other services and programmes 

• Promoting available resources including the online information hub, Kinship Compass to kinship carers 

• Collaborating with partners to attend awareness raising workshops on the Training and Support Service, establish referral pathways, and improve signposting to support

• In collaboration with the training team, supporting the development and delivery of high quality and engaging training and support roadshows and events for kinship carers

What you’ll need to demonstrate: 

Essential Requirements include:  

• Experience of delivering a strategic engagement plan to develop strong, collaborative relationships with a range of stakeholders, ideally in a relevant role and organisation

• Experience of proactively and successfully identifying and securing new relationships, managing a pipeline, and account managing relationships 

• Excellent project management skills with proven ability to work across teams and coordinate work and activity to achieve organisational objectives

• Ability to respond quickly and effectively to external opportunities and developments 

• Excellent communication skills, with an ability to present information clearly, accurately, and persuasively 

• Ability to represent Kinship confidently and effectively with a range of audiences

• Experience of using databases to manage and build relationships (ideally Salesforce)

• Experience of working in a fast-paced environment, responding with flexibility and agility to changing and competing priorities and emerging opportunities 

• Able to work on own initiative and take responsibility for own area of work 

• Ability to apply Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion Principles in all areas of work 

• Empathetic, with an understanding of the lived experience of kinship carers and the children and young people they care for. 

• Confident user of Word, Excel and PowerPoint 

• Ability to travel to meet the needs of the role 

Desirable 

• Experience of kinship care 

• Own vehicle and clean driving license 

Kinship is an  equal opportunities employer. We warmly welcome applications from appropriately qualified people from all sections of the community and aim to promote diversity.