Location: Children's Homes, Croydon

Contract Type: Permanent/ Part time/15 hours a week

Salary: Equivalent of £ 40,000 per annum for full-time (40 hours/week). Part-time role of 15 hours/week will be paid pro rata at £ 15,000 per annum.

Specific Hours: Flexible (Mondays to Fridays)

Looking for fantastic career progression, excellent training and therapeutic support? Join our committed and professional team and make a difference to young people living in residential care, where no two days are the same!

Watch our short video to gain an insight into our working life here at St Christopher’s

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.

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.

About the role

As a Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner, you will play a key role in supporting and guiding our staff teams to deliver high-quality, person-centred behaviour support for the children in our care. You will carry out functional assessments, develop tailored PBS plans, and deliver both direct and indirect interventions to ensure each child’s individual needs are met. In addition, you will provide advice, coaching, and training to staff and carers, working collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to promote consistent, safe, and effective support.

Applicants should have

• A higher-level qualification (university degree) in a relevant field such as Psychology, or a Health and Social Care vocational qualification.
• Do you have a recognised qualification/training in Positive Behaviour Support (PBS), or be willing to undertake this training.
• Strong knowledge of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) theory and its practical application.
• An understanding of current best practices and guidelines for managing challenging behaviour, including approaches that promote restraint reduction.
• A basic understanding of safeguarding regulations and procedures.
• Previous experience supporting children and young people to reach their full potential.
• Proven experience working with children with learning disabilities, autism, and complex behavioural needs.
• Experience implementing physical interventions appropriately and safely and using PBS in practice.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with experience of working within multidisciplinary teams.
• The ability to respond professionally and effectively to challenging behaviour.
• A genuine commitment to supporting children and young people, with the ability to build trusting relationships while maintaining professional boundaries.
• Strong teamwork skills, flexibility, creativity, enthusiasm, and energy to inspire and encourage young people to achieve their goals.
• Flexibility to work outside office hours where applicable.
• A commitment to undertaking mandatory training (via e-learning or in-person courses) and to ongoing continuous professional development.
• Willingness to attend regular supervision.

What you should expect from us

• Competitive Salary.
• 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.
• UK Life Assurance (Death in service) to the value of 3 times your annual salary.
• BUPA employee assistance programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Bluelight card; 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 fully committed to safeguarding all children and young people in our care. As part of the recruitment process, you will be required to complete an online application form so we can gather the information needed to meet legislative, best practice, and vetting requirements. Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; however, if this is not the case, St Christopher’s will carry out a DBS check prior to your start date.

Your online application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria outlined in the Person Specification. CVs will not be accepted.

To view the full Job Description and Person Specification, please click here.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview at our Head Office in Putney, SW London.

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

Please note:

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
• This post carries a minimum age requirement of 21 for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and supported accommodation settings, in line with the Equality Act’s occupational requirement provisions.
• It is illegal to apply for any role involving work with children or young people under 18 if you are barred from working with children.
• All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be required to complete a Self-Declaration and Disclosure form, which must be returned before an interview can be scheduled.