Key Worker

We are seeking to recruit a highly skilled Key Worker for our Key Worker Service in East Berkshire. The role will be diverse and service user centred and would suit someone with significant experience in supporting young people and young adults with Autism and Learning Disabilities and their families.

The day to day work will involve a flexible approach to coordination and direct support for the young person and their family, as well as providing responsive communication at times of increased need. This is an exciting role which allows for the Key Worker to support families to navigate the system whilst advocating for them and ensuring that their voice is heard.

There will be opportunities for collaboration and co-production and our vision is to provide young person and family centered support, whilst influencing system change to achieve better outcomes for more children, young people and adults under the age of 25.

The service will be provided across the entire East Berkshire footprint covering: Slough, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Bracknell Forest. Although the team will be virtual , there will be frequent (weekly) travel within and across the East Berkshire area, therefore being a car driver with access to a car is essential, as well as being based near the local area.

The Key Working Function has been developed as a response to the NHS England & NHS Improvement Long Term Plan (LTP) commitment that by 2023/24, children and young people with a learning disability, autism, or both, with the most complex needs will have a designated Key Worker, applying the recommendations made by Dame Christine Lenehan in These are our Children'. The East Berkshire Key Worker Service has been established since 2023 and has developed and evolved over this time.

We are looking for someone who:

• has significant experience of working with individuals with Learning Disabilities and/or who are Autistic and their families.
• has an understanding of mental health and how this may impact this service user group
• Is tenacious and passionate about advocating for our families, whilst respectfully challenging professionals and working collaboratively with other agencies
• Able to complete frequent visits to service users and have the ability to be flexible to complete visits/meetings at short notice within working hours across the East Berkshire area

A Barnardo's Project Worker 3 job description and person specification is attached to the advert for this role. This is a generic role description in use throughout the organisation to cover all roles at the given salary band. The Additional Information Sheet outlines the specific responsibilities, skills and experience required and it is important that you read this carefully before you apply.

When completing your application form, please refer to the skills, knowledge and experience required as detailed in the Person Specification and also in the Additional Information Sheet. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

Pay & Reward Framework

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.