Early Help Professional

About the role

This is a part-time, fixed-term post (22 hours per week, 12 months) within Bracknell Forest Council's Early Help department, working with children, young people and families across the borough who have a wide range of needs. The role is based across the Family Hubs, with a hybrid working arrangement that includes agreed days at the Time Square office alongside remote working.

Early Help at Bracknell Forest is built around a multi-disciplinary team approach. You will work closely with partners across children's social care, schools, housing, health and community services, holding a caseload of families with complex and varied needs and linking them to both universal and targeted support. The team's 'can do' approach means being flexible, responsive and focused on the individual needs of each family.

Key responsibilities include:

• Managing a caseload of families with complex and unique needs and connecting them to a range of universal and targeted services, taking into account their individual and cultural experiences.
• Undertaking and overseeing comprehensive family assessments and developing supportive interventions that reflect identified needs, including safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.
• Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with statutory and voluntary agencies to ensure a consistent and high standard of service for families in the borough.
• Delivering programmes and group work where appropriate, and co-ordinating a Team Around the Family approach that enables children, young people and families to be resilient and make positive life choices.
• Working within established procedures for handling and assessing information, including confidentiality, safeguarding and health and safety, and undertaking risk assessments where appropriate.

This role works 22 hours per week on a flexible basis, with an expectation to attend the Time Square office on agreed days in consultation with your line manager. Specific shift times and days are to be agreed with the service.

To apply, please submit your application online. CVs submitted without a fully completed online application form will not be accepted. For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Emily Cannell or Laura Branchett, Hub Team Leaders, on 01344 354382. For reasonable adjustments or accessibility queries, contact recruitment@bracknell-forest.gov.uk. Interviews will be held on 8th July 2026.

Please note: any successful internal candidate will be offered the position as a secondment and must consult with their manager before applying, in line with Section 8.1 of the Secondment Policy.

About You

We are looking for someone who builds positive, engaging relationships with children, young people and families, and who responds to complex needs with empathy, professionalism and a solution-focused approach. You will be confident working both independently and collaboratively, and comfortable representing the service in multi-agency settings.

The ideal candidate will:

• Have experience working directly with children, young people and families in an Early Help, children's social care, health, education or related setting.
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of safeguarding, risk management and the needs of vulnerable adults and children.
• Have experience working across agencies, contributing to multi-agency meetings and supporting positive outcomes for families.
• Be able to maintain accurate case records and develop individual and family support plans in line with service standards, case recording protocols and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) requirements.
• Hold the ability to manage a complex caseload in an organised and prioritised way, keeping the voices of children, young people and families central to the work.
• Have knowledge of the range of universal and targeted services available to families, and the ability to make effective use of these across different cultural and individual contexts.

Bracknell Forest Council is committed to working for equality and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. If you have indicated a disability, are an armed forces veteran, or are a care leaver on your application form, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification.

All successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check as part of the pre-employment process. Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects everyone employed with the council to share this commitment. We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK. This role does not meet the minimum requirements for sponsorship under current UK Visas and Immigration regulations.

Bracknell Forest's Offer to You

Everything we do is about changing families' lives for the better. Bracknell Forest is a stable and well-managed council where employees can thrive in a supportive environment, with genuine flexibility built into how the team works. The Early Help department brings together multi-disciplinary professionals who are focused on making a lasting difference, and you will join a team with a genuine 'can do' culture.

Bracknell Forest's core values are inclusive, ambitious and always learning, and these shape how colleagues work with each other and with the communities they serve. Benefits include:

• 28 days annual leave (pro rata), rising to 33 days after three years' continuous service, with options to buy up to 10 or sell up to 5 days.
• Local government pension scheme with life insurance cover.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and fostering leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing.
• Paid employee volunteering scheme.
• And more, including career development through internal and external training, a variety of staff networks, and a sports and social club.