Job Purpose
To work as part of a team in a residential and community based setting to create a safe and caring environment for infants and their parents. To undertake key working where you will be responsible for the coordination of the parent’s and infant’s placement from start to finish with the support of your line manager and assist in the reintegration of the service users into the community. To take responsibility for individual sessions of therapeutic work with families to promote positive parenting. You will assist in completing individual family assessments in line with Framework for Assessment of Children in need and their Families and the Parenting Under Pressure Framework. You will contribute to Multi-disciplinary Parenting Capacity Assessments ensuring that reports are completed to a professional standard.

Key Objectives of the Post Holder
To assist management and co-workers in the smooth operation of the Parent and Baby Unit and in the completion of Parenting Capacity Assessments.
To coordinate the placement of service users from pre-admission to discharge, with the support of the management team, writing up plans, key working sessions and discharge reports.
To drive the placement of parents and infants forward, motivating the staff team to remain focused on supporting and challenging parents and to provide appropriate advice and guidance in accordance with placement plans both to the staff team and to parents.
To promote the significance of attachment and parent-infant relationships, providing the space for reflective functioning and process-related work when engaging with parents while demonstrating reflective practice among co-workers.
To provide quality evidence-based observation records and to take responsibility for the writing assessments of individual service users.
To be flexible and provide a high quality and dependable standard of service which meet our organisations values and standards and uphold the reputation of the Bessborough Centre.
To represent the Bessborough Centre in a professional manner at all times including at Court, providing written and verbal evidence as required.

Duties and Responsibilities
Effectiveness Areas

Working with Parents and Children
Organisational
Developmental
Working with Parents and Children
In the residential Unit there is a strong focus on reflective thinking in practice. The Family Care Worker is encouraged to think about every interaction as an opportunity to promote learning and reflective functioning of the parent.Parenting as both a practice and process task is a core component of the running of the Centre.

Work directly and compassionately with service users to ensure that they feel accepted, respected, secure and valued so as to strengthen their personal and family resiliencies
Keep parents in mind and by doing this model how they might keep their babies in mind, thus increasing reflective functioning.
Be sensitive in a professional manner to the concerns of parents; show the ability to facilitate reflective functioning, problem solving and methods of learning and processing information with the service user.
Promote and partake in therapeutic initiatives for service users.
Exhibit professional and mature responses in dealing with parents under personal pressure and behaving in a difficult fashion. Work towards enhancing the skills parents have to cope and self-regulate by working with them and avoiding doing the task of parenting for the parent.
Promote educational opportunities to parents both on a day-to-day basis and in your strategic planning in the work. You will assist in facilitating personal educational plans with parents which can include both formal and informal educational opportunities.
Administer medication in line with the Centre’s policy and monitor service users’ use of medicines and adhere to all Health and Safety requirements for the Service.
Assist in the comprehensive assessment of the needs of service users.
You will develop and implement aspects of placement plans, personal support and individual care plans and provide structured feedback to parents.
Undertake key worker role as required writing up key work plans which take into account both learning and process aspects of engagement with vulnerable parents. As key worker you will be an advocate of a parent while also working with them in a realistic and honest fashion.
To take responsibility for planning service user’s placement taking into account their immanent transition to the community and the continuum of care required. You will be charged with the task of supporting them in accessing supports at a community level.
To monitor parents and keep records in accordance with protocols for observation, evaluation and case review.
To assist parents in maintaining the hygiene of their rooms and communal areas. This will be undertaken by primarily assisting, role modelling, teaching and praising parents and relating this model of behaviour to expectations that will be made of them when in the community.
Debriefing – as a family care worker you will be alert to the benefits of debriefing and reflective practice in the day to day shift practices. You will promote this type of learning and working during the handover and throughout your shift.
To communicate effectively and comprehensively at changeovers at the end of your shift and ensure information is shared within the staff team.
Raise concerns in relation to any parent – accurately, efficiently and in an honest manner with the line manager
Be sensitive to the needs of all individuals taking account of race, culture, language and religion.
Organisational:
To assist the Centre’s management in the smooth operation of the Centre.
To develop and promote, under supervision of the Centre’s management, a safe, structured, learning and therapeutic environment which is based on the values and standards of behaviour of the Bessborough Centre.
To ensure that the physical environment of the Centre is at all times kept to highest standards, primarily, by checking and assisting in the daily and weekly hygiene and safety procedures and by assisting service users in maintaining the hygiene of their rooms and communal areas.
To maintain a consistently high level of observation, recording and interaction, communication and assessment of families’ interaction, their needs, parental motivation and daily events within the Centre.
To take responsibility for the daily food requirements of service users.
Be available to participate in a 24/7 roster, (day, evening and night shift) and to respond flexibly to short term requirements.
To participate in staff review meetings and other meetings as may be required.
To represent the Bessborough Centre in a professional manner at all times and maintain appropriate liaisons with other professionals and agencies.
Where appropriate to represent the Centre at Court, providing written and verbal evidence as required.
Developmental:
Be fully familiar with and contribute towards the Bessborough Centre Policies and Procedures
To participate actively in the ethos of a skilled professional team, attending and participating in team meetings, regular supervision meetings and actively consider personal development and training opportunities.

Person Specification:
Minimum is a Degree in Social Care, Psychology, Childcare, Professional Social Work qualification or degree in a related discipline.

Experience

Knowledge of child protection and welfare principles and practices is essential.
Previous experience in a therapeutic environment and experience of working in a residential setting are highly desirable
An understanding of parenting programmes and the multi-faceted nature of parenting are desirable
Understanding of family dynamics and child development
Ability to respond to the competing demands of parents and children in a mature and structured fashion, keeping physical and emotional safety of the child at the forefront.

Essential Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

Commitment to mission and values of the Bessborough Centre
Strong powers of observation, record keeping and report writing skills
Good communication skills (written, verbal and IT), ability to empathise, good organisational skills, flexibility, team worker.
Partnership working and Multi-agency working
Able to work on own initiative
Able to deal with challenging behaviour

This job description indicates the main functions & responsibilities of the post & is subject to review & amendment in the light of service developments & changing circumstances & may include other duties & responsibilities as may be determined from time to time by the Bessborough Centre Management.

The above position is subject to the availability of funds & will be subject to a satisfactory performance assessment.

Salary available on request

Please submit two copies of your CV and covering letter to:

moriordan@bessborough.ie

Alternatively, you can drop these into Reception between 8:30 and 17:30 Monday-Thursday or 8:30 and 17:00 on Fridays.

Closing date is: Wed 8th November, 2017.