Job Description

Overview of the area of work

The aim of this post is to provide support for families who are interacting with the Youth Justice Service and to receive referrals from Youth Justice colleagues or via Complex Safeguarding for families who need tailored support, including connecting them into community support offers – whether for advice, mental health support, practical support such as food / clothing, and access to community activities. The role encompasses elements of both advocacy and social prescription.

Community Connectors are at the heart of our approach to Social Prescribing in Salford and we are looking for an enthusiastic and person-centred individual with experience of working with children, young people and their families to join the team.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities

• Develop positive working relationships with Salford City Council’s Youth Justice Service, ensuring you have an understanding of the youth justice system and working closely with the team to identify families who may benefit from support
• Develop and maintain good communication with people accessing the service to ensure that their strengths, goals and preferences as individuals are met and connect them to relevant services and opportunities within their community to achieve these
• Manage an active caseload and regularly visit families in person at home, at community venues or at the Youth Justice Service office
• Attend Child Protection / case conferences and other key meetings as required, including building relationships with other relevant professionals
• Work in collaboration with Wellbeing Matters’ Community Connectors to identify opportunities to connect families into, as needed
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with key relevant community-based service providers to ensure effective and smooth onward referrals e.g. other local voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations
• Undertake research to understand how housing services operate in Salford and ensure a working knowledge of the benefits system
• Monitor and record key information regarding individual’s participation in the programme including tracking their experience and outcomes and provide timely feedback to referral partners
• Support and assist with the monitoring and evaluation of the programme including producing relevant monitoring reports as well as collecting broader qualitative and outcome data from case studies, focus groups and interviews to understand how or why the delivery approach is impacting on people and the local community
• Support project development by raising awareness of the service through training, presentations and events