Request for Support Officer

This role has a starting salary of £27,897 per annum, based on a 36-hour working week.

We are excited to be hiring a new Request for Support Officer to join our fantastic Request for Support team, based in Weybridge, KT13 0YP. This role is open to hybrid working, with the expectation to be in the office 3 days per week once training has been completed.

Are you passionate about delivering excellent customer service? Do you have transferable skills from working with children and families? We have an exciting opportunity to work in our Children's Request for Support Team that could be just what you're looking for!

Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources

About the Team

The Request for Support Team is embedded within Customer Services, where you will find a supportive and innovative culture along with the ethos of providing an excellent standard of service to our residents and partner agencies. The Request for Support Team is one of the three teams that form Surrey Children's Services Single Point of Access (C- SPA), the 'front door' to Children's Services. You will be working in a fast-paced environment, where the diverse experience and backgrounds of children and families are recognised and respected.

About the Role

As the public voice of the Council, you will have an extremely important role to play, which demands a positive and proactive attitude. You will provide high quality and efficient support to enable the smooth running of the Request for Support Team.

You will handle calls from members of public and professionals who are requesting support for children, taking accurate information to identify risk, to signpost where necessary and to progress to the most appropriate services in a timely manner. You will triage all incoming requests from partner agencies identifying appropriate pathways based on detailed operational guidance and Surrey's Effective Family Resilience Levels of Need Threshold. Additionally, you will input referrals onto databases and provide information to professional agencies where appropriate, adhering to internal data protection policies.

You will be operating in sometimes challenging and emotionally charged situations; therefore, you must have the resilience to cope with sensitive and at times disturbing information and be able to prioritise and remain calm whilst working under pressure.

You'll have a responsibility to safeguard confidential information and respect the privacy of families.

Shortlisting Criteria

To be considered for shortlisting for interview your CV and personal statement will clearly evidence:

• Experience of providing high levels of customer care and professionalism
• An understanding of safeguarding procedures and an ability to follow the surrounding processes, procedures and identify the risks
• Excellent IT skills and ability to use databases to a high standard of accuracy and a strong eye for detail
• Ability to work effectively and flexibly and as part of a team
• Excellent spoken and written English with effective communication and interpersonal skills particularly with both families and fellow professionals.

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 Cara Skinner by e-mail at .

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 14/05/2024 with interviews to follow. We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.