Salary:  Up to £34,700 per annum depending on experience

Working hours 37.5 per week

Permanent/ Full Time

Location: Putney, SW15 with home working and travel across London.

We have presently a fantastic opportunity to join our Return Home Interview Service and make a real difference to our Young People’s live.

About Us

Our vision is for every child and young person to be safe, loved and happy, to achieve their potential and have a bright future.

St Christopher's is a leading charity for children and young people. We are proud of our history of providing fostering, children's homes and innovative leaving care services across the UK & Isle of Man.  We have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do.  We provide positive life experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental or foster home.

We are an equal-opportunity employer keen to develop an inclusive workforce where people feel they belong.  We hope to attract applications from under- represented groups, including people from different cultures, nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, disabilities, religions, faith, sex, orientation, childcare responsibilities, and gender-diverse identities.

About the Role

As Return Home Interview Manager, you will support the team to provide independent, high quality face-to-face support for vulnerable young people who have been missing from care, whether this takes place for first time and or if this happens regularly in order to minimise risk and reduce the number of incidents of young people going missing from home and care.

You will work closely alongside the Local Authority and wider professional network to understand the reasons that young people may be missing from home or care and identify strategies to minimise the risk.  Your working time for this role is split 50% as a Senior Family Support Worker and 50% undertaking management responsibilities.

St Christopher’s Academy

At St Christopher`s we can provide more than just a care job. We can offer you a career where you can develop your skills and knowledge while making a difference to young people’s lives.

When you join St Christopher’s, we will set you up in your career with a tailored development plan. Whether you want to move across to a different service, become a Manager or just explore further your current role, we will support you to map out your career trajectory and help you achieve your professional ambitions. If you want to learn more about St Christopher’s Academy, please click here

We are proud that 84% of all our Team Leaders, Deputies and Managers are internal promotions. 

The successful candidate will have:

• A relevant vocational qualification at NVQ level 3 or above (DipSW, CQSW, CSS, Youth & Community etc).
• At least two years’ experience of working with young people and their families in a social care setting.
• An understanding of the Children Act 1989 and knowledge of good safeguarding practice.
• A good understanding of the social issues and challenges that young people face in society
• Awareness of the risks facing young runaways, with particular regards to exploitation and trafficking (i.e. CSE and CCE)
• Knowledge of agencies and resources relevant to supporting families and young people in crisis.

In return we offer:

• Salary of up to £34,700 per annum depending on experience.
• A friendly working environment, a fun, open and honest culture.
• 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years’ service, plus Bank Holidays, pro-rata.
• Industry Leading training programme including access to level 3 qualifications, children’s right and participation, CSE, empowerment, mental health and Social Pedagogy,
• Contributory pension scheme, Enhanced Maternity and Company Sick Scheme.
• BUPA Employee Assistance Programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support.
• Interest-free season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme.
• Discount shopping scheme at hundreds of retailers across the UK.
• Discretionary Funded Training Programs.
• Employee Awards based on performance and length of service.
• Fantastic opportunities to develop your career within our range of services. 

Recruitment Process

At St Christopher’s we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements.

Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; if this is not the case St Christopher's will carry out a DBS (police) check prior to starting.

Your online application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification.

For further details about this role, please download the Job Description and Person Specification here.

For more information or assistance during the application process, please contact recruitment@stchris.org.uk

We advise to apply as soon as possible as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and this opportunity might be filled before the stated closing date.

Please note:

• This post has a minimum age restriction of 21 year for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and supported accommodation Homes in line with the Equality Act ‘occupational requirement’.
• It is illegal to apply for any role that involves working with children and young people under the age of 18, if you know you are barred from working with children.
• All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be asked to submit a Self-Declaration and Disclosure form which will need to be returned prior to an interview being booked