Home-Start District

and Quedgeley

February 2018

Introduction

Home-Start is in the exciting position of looking to develop more Home-Start services across the of county of . We have been funded by the Clinical Commissioning Group and the Peter Lang Trust for one year to develop interest and financial support in order to do this.

For this reason we are recruiting a development officer (one year contract) to support the Scheme Manager and our Board of Trustees to help with this project.

Home-Start has a long and proud history of delivering home and community based early intervention services for children and families across the UK. Our work in Stroud began in 1999 when local social care and health professionals identified the need for early support in the home to prevent statutory intervention, family crises and breakdown. Since then the scheme has supported over 2000 families and expanded into the Quedgeley area of providing both home visiting support and groups. Further information about the work of the scheme can be found on our website.

We are at an important point in our development where we can help make it possible for more families across the whole of the county to be offered timely non-judgemental support that we know can make such a positive difference. The successful candidate will have the chance to work with a great board of trustees and experienced staff at a key point in the organisation’s development. We are seeing a marked growth in demand for our services, together with increases in the numbers of families facing multiple, complex, often entrenched problems.

The difficult financial climate has seen a huge reduction in statutory funding for Home- Start’s across the UK and it will be challenging but crucial to help develop a viable long- term way of supporting the development of Home-Start early intervention support across the whole of the county.

We thank you for your interest in this opportunity and look forward to hearing from you.

Alex Corgier, Scheme Manager

Job Description

Home-Start Development officer Gloucestershire

One Year fixed contract

Salary: (£26,822 full time equivalent, ncj scale 30) (+ expenses) 24 hours per week

Location: GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Reports to: Scheme Manager Home-Start Stroud District and Quedgeley

Main purpose

To assist the Scheme Manager in developing Home-Start family support across the County of Gloucestershire. This will include raising the profile of Home-Start in , Gloucester Central, and the Forest where there are currently no Home-Start services and recruiting Trustees to help develop our family support in these localities whilst mapping what already exists and supporting partnership working where possible. This development work will then be evaluated and written into funding bids, particularly the Big Lottery, in order to secure three to five year core funding for the project.

Duties and responsibilities

Assist the scheme manager to develop project outcomes and outputs through a countywide mapping of what is currently available and how countywide Home-Start provision could add to this.

Support the manager to develop an evaluation report and a 3 year National Lottery funding bid with possible match-funding from more local funders.

Help develop and co-ordinate a project steering Group, enabling it to have effective oversight of project performance and the ability to shape the project.

Help to establish an effective Project Representative Group in each locality in order to build a strong trustee group of local people and professionals to help build the project.

Support and manage communication and PR, ensuring that all professionals and locality hubs are well informed of the development and the possibility for them to collaborate either through partnership working, becoming a Trustee or a volunteer or advisor. e.g. through information materials and via web based and social media.

Help foster a culture of understanding and enthusiasm about the benefits of a countywide Home-Start network in Gloucestershire, for example using webinars, workshops and presentations, evaluation findings, local champions and blogs to develop understanding of the impact of developing Home-Start across the County.

Support the scheme to apply to the Home-Start UK Power Up Fund and work closely with new Home-Start UK officer to develop this project.

Liaise with our funding partners (Peter Lang Trust and Clinical Commissioning Group) and Home-Start Cotswolds to ensure the future provision of tailored packages of support particularly in early intervention and parental mental health which will best meet the needs of all localities across Gloucestershire.

Help the scheme consider and develop the future shape and structure of an extended service across Gloucestershire that takes into account the independence of the two existing schemes in the County.

Person Specification

Essential Proven experience of working and/or volunteering in the community sector Excellent written and spoken communication skills; demonstrable experience of writing concise persuasive text for a range of different audiences Excellent interpersonal skills and Excellent networking skills Driven, and task-focused, with the ability to work independently to agreed workplan and targets Computer literate and experience of using social media. Great organisational skills and understanding of systems to support effective marketing, development fundraising and reporting Experience of researching and pursuing development and/or funding opportunities Experience of project planning Numerate, with an understanding of budgeting principles Driver and car owner as the post is countywide and will involve a lot of travel Ability to work on own but also to be a team-player Affinity with the aims and ethos of Home-Start

Desirable Experience developing relationships with local organisations/businesses/partners Experience of public speaking and presenting to groups and meetings A good understanding of family support and the importance of early intervention, parental mental health issues, perinatal mental health and infant mental health. Experience of working with trustees and volunteers Experience of working on/submitting bids to the Big Lottery and/or other funders Experience in or knowledge of the Family Support sector Experience of working with and/or supporting vulnerable people Experience of volunteering

Local knowledge of Gloucestershire

How to apply

To apply for this role, please send your CV along with a supporting statement which fully addresses the appointment criteria set out in the person specification. Please ensure that any gaps in employment are accounted for and telephone contact numbers are included. Please also include the name and contact details of two referees.

Home-Start Stroud District adheres to safe recruitment policy and practice as an important part of safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Completed CVs and supporting statements should be emailed to: [email protected]

Applications can also be posted to Michelle Smith at our registered office:

Annexe 3, The Wheelhouse, Bond’s Mill Estate, Rd, Stonehouse, Glos, GL10 3RF

If you would like to have an informal discussion about the role, please email Alex Corgier at [email protected]

Timetable

Closing date: Wednesday 14 th of March 2018, 12 midnight

Panel interviews Monday 26 th of March 2018

If you know that you will be unable to attend an interview on the 26 th please make sure you state this in your application.