Family Support Worker EDTJobsGoPublic

This role has a starting salary of £17,330 per annum, based on an 18 hour working week (pro rata to £34,660 FTE).

We are recruiting a new Family Support Worker (part time – 18 hours per week) to join our dynamic team at Surrey Emergency Duty Service, part of our CSPA service. Joining the service as a Family Support Worker will be an opportunity to be part of a culture in which children and families are supported in the spirit of partnership that encourages them to develop their own solutions while receiving the help and support they need to address their needs from professionals.

Our Offer to You

26 days’ holiday (prorated for part-time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years’ service

Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave

A generous local government salary related pension

Up to 5 days of carer’s leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year

Paternity, adoption and dependents leave

An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing

Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping

A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About the Team

The Emergency Duty Team (EDT) operates to respond to emergency situations out of office hours, from 5pm until 9am Monday to Friday, and providing a 24-hour service at weekends and bank holidays (including Christmas).

We respond to critical situations that are unable to wait until the next working day, these relate to children's safeguarding (Section 47), potential placement, or family breakdowns and any other Children's Services related emergency work.

About the Role

Our working environment is outcome focused, you will be working in a fast-paced setting ensuring that cases allocated are resolved in a timely manner and in line with legislation/policies and best practice. The ability to work under pressure and multitask confidently across various IT systems is key to the role.

As an EDT Family Support Worker, you will be responsible for receiving incoming calls and emails and distributing tasks to the appropriate member of staff to respond to. You will be required to undertake visits to family homes, police stations, hospitals etc as the need arises to support children, young people and families in crisis.

We want to be honest with you; the nature of some of the calls and correspondence we receive can be sensitive and at times upsetting. We recognise it can be challenging to take calls about abuse, neglect or from someone who is at risk or in crisis, but it is so important that we provide this service to people who need it. As such, robust personal resilience is essential. You will receive a comprehensive induction program on starting with us; you will receive supervision on a regular basis and will be supported on shift by the Duty Manager in a cohesive and supportive team environment.

Although this role involves working as part of a well-supported team, you will be given the tools to work independently to allow you to deliver work to a high standard.

Shortlisting Criteria

In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

A sound understanding of social care issues, with a basic awareness of public sector and voluntary agencies

Experience of working in a social care setting (children or adults)

Experience of providing high levels of customer care and professionalism in a busy environment

Able to quickly build rapport and effect successful relationships with customers and partner agencies

Excellent IT skills and ability to use databases to a high standard of accuracy

Able to work autonomously with initiative and as part of a team

Able to travel to Leatherhead and work from home in a confidential space, including access to secure Wi-Fi

As part of the application process you will be asked to upload your CV and answer the following application questions:

What has motivated you to apply for this role?

Describe your experience of working directly with children and young people.

How do you approach engaging with families, carers, and children—especially in situations where there may be resistance or risk?

Give an example of a time you used motivational techniques or similar approaches to help a family make meaningful progress.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to upload your CV and demonstrate that you meet the shortlisting criteria above, as well as highlighting your motivation in applying for this role.

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description & Our Life at Surrey handbook to get an insight into working at Surrey.

An enhanced DBS ‘Disclosure and Barring Service’ check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children’s and Adults’ Barred List checks will be required for this role.

Contact us

Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment.

For an informal discussion please contact Nova Nunes by e-mail at [email protected].

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 1st November 2026 with interviews to follow.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation and will move to new authorities in April 2027. This role is currently employed by Surrey County Council and will remain so until then. If you are employed by Surrey County Council on 1 April 2027, your employment will transfer under TUPE arrangements to one of the new councils, with your current terms and conditions protected. The provisional allocation for this post is East Surrey Council, subject to final confirmation through the wider transition process later this year. Please see more information here: Information for applicants on Local Government Reorganisation - Surrey County Council.

Our Commitment

We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we’re committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.