Key Worker Brighter Futures
| Posting date: | 13 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 15 March 2026 |
| Location: | leicestershire, LE3 8RA |
| Company: | Leicestershire County Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 7077 |
Summary
Organisation: Leicestershire County Council
Work Location: County Hall Glenfield LE3 8RA
Salary: £35,451 - £39,165 (pro rata for part time)
Working Hours: 37 Hours
Contract Type: Permanent
Closing Date: 1st March 2026
Interview Date(s): Parent Panel 10th March 2026 and Interviews on 12th and 13th March 2026
About the Role
Brighter Futures is a pilot service launched in September 2024, designed to break the cycle of recurrent child removals by supporting parents following care proceedings, following the successful pilot stage it is becoming a permanent service in Leicestershire from April 2026. We are expanding the capacity and remit of the team and are looking for Key Workers to join the project team as the work grows and develops as a permanent service offer.
Brighter Futures provides intensive, collaborative, and goal-oriented support to address the complex needs of parents who have experienced the loss of a child/children following child protection and court proceedings. We provide intensive, relationship-based support to parents, helping them stabilise their lives, and make sustainable change to prevent future removals, supporting parents to navigate the unique trauma associated with child removal and helping them rebuild stability, resilience and hope.
This role is specifically designed to begin to address the complex needs of parents, to support positive change in their lives and to improve outcomes and life chances for parents, children, and families by breaking the cycle of recurrent removals and contributing to reducing the number of children entering care in Leicestershire.
Brighter Futures enables this through developing and delivering flexible and creative packages of support to address emotional, behavioural, and psychological challenges arising from childhood experiences and/or traumatic life events.
We understand and recognise the challenges parents face and apply creativity and determination to deliver a flexible, tailored approach that effectively engages and empowers parents and “extends a hand in the dark” to them.
An enhanced DBS check is required for this post.
For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.
About You
To apply for this post, you must be able to evidence in your application how you meet the following criteria:
- Level 3 qualification in a relevant subject, e.g. social care, health or childcare, OR substantial experience in providing direct support to families that clearly demonstrates the experience, skills, competencies and knowledge outlined below
- Experience of working with parents who have experienced loss or separation and the unresolved trauma response to this, demonstrating a good understanding of recurrent care proceedings and associated trauma, grief, and loss.
- Experience of providing direct support to adults/families with complex needs which may include mental health, offending, substance misuse, domestic violence and abuse, housing and/or employment/educational issues.
- An understanding of the impact of discrimination on the lives of those from minority communities and others that experience social exclusion, care experienced parents, and an ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds, recognising and understanding the importance of a parent's own journey, childhood trauma and the link to their own parenting.
- Awareness and understanding of the relationship between poverty and social deprivation and to be able to hold a compassionate position but still hold protection of safeguarding vulnerable adults and children as the priority.
- Ability to work proactively, persistently and persuasively with adults and families who may not be willing to engage with services, using a range of techniques that encourage active participation. Understanding the importance of being persistent and consistent in applying interventions, embracing new and creative ways of working.
- Ability to build professional confidence and resilience, good working relationships with adults, ability to over-come barriers to them engaging, recognising reasons for resistance to change, where tensions can exist. Ability to communicate sensitively and effectively focusing on hearing and capturing the parents’ voice.
In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process.
Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.
This post is covered by Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) and therefore the ability to speak fluent English is an essential requirement for this role.
Interested in Flexible Working?
We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.
For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:
Becky Ots – Brighter Futures Team and Partnership Manager
Tel: 0116 3059832
To contact me via email, please click here.
How to Apply
At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.
If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.
By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme