Kinship Carer Voice & Participation Officer

The Opportunity

Do you have a passion for listening to others?
Do you enjoy communicating with a variety of people?
If this sounds like you then you could make a real difference to Kinship carers and families.

Salary: £29,540 to £32,061 per annum

Contract Type: Fixed Term

Working Pattern: Full time - 37 hours per week

Location: Countywide - Based out of County Hall North, Horsham. (This is a diverse role where there will be some community work, some work from home and some days required in office.)

Closing date: Sunday 12th October at 23:59

Interview date: WC 20th October 2025

The West Sussex Kinship Support Service seeks to understand the needs of the children and carers living in Kinship arrangements through robust assessments and support planning with Kinship carers and families. Support plans are created collaboratively and tailored to the needs of the children and carers.
Whilst access to the support service is voluntary, within West Sussex Kinship families are able to access a range of informal referral-based interventions.

Through meaningful engagement with the Kinship community, you will play a key role in ensuring that the experiences of Kinship carers are valued and listened to. You will be an enthusiastic, motivated person who has the ability to communicate easily with a range of different people. You will have a good understanding of the Kinship carer role, and the needs of the children placed in
their care. Ideally, you will have worked in a childcare or social care setting previously - but most importantly you will have a passion for ensuring the best outcomes for children.

Within this exciting and diverse new role there will also be opportunities for innovation and creative thinking, so it is essential that you have a positive and proactive approach to your day-to-day work and share our passion for insisting upon the best outcomes for Kinship families.

Our ideal candidate would be a highly motivated individual who is able to work using their own initiative as well as be an active member within the WSCC Kinship Service teams.

Just some of the skills and experience you will need include:

• A passion for ensuring the best outcomes for children. You'll be able to demonstrate an understanding of the Kinship carer role, and the challenges associated with being a Kinship carer.
• A working knowledge of research and good practice in supporting Kinship care, for example therapeutic parenting.
• An understanding of trauma-informed practice, and the impact of early life experiences of the children living in Kinship families.
• Knowledge of, and a commitment to, equal opportunities, anti-discriminatory practices, and diversity issues.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, able to work with people in all settings.

Experience and Skills

Key Skills:
1. Good communication skills with the ability to organise and present information clearly, concisely and accurately to a range of audiences in ways that promote understanding, both verbally and in writing.
2. Great interpersonal skills with the ability to persuade and successfully convince others of the need to take a specific course of action as well as the ability to manage complex and sometimes challenging conversations.
3. Ability to analyse and interpret data, including assessing the needs of the service, setting objectives and finding solutions in an evidence-based approach.
4. Ability to prioritise and manage own workload, co-ordinating a range of tasks in a clear and logical way to meet agreed deadlines, whilst working towards clear goals. Able to reflect on own practice and learn from experience, taking responsibility for proactive professional development.
5. Excellent organisation skills, with the ability to manage projects successfully and ensure deadlines are met.
6. Ability to work autonomously, use initiative and be proactive.

For more information on the Key Skills, Qualifications and/or Experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached. Please refer to the key skills in your cover letter as these will be used for shortlisting criteria.

Benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance, and are rewarded for the work they do.

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including the following:

Employer Pension Contribution: 18.70% (this alters per annum on the 1 April each year).

Annual leave: 25 days holiday + Bank Holidays = 33 days

Further information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE05989.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Kerry Boltwood (Team Manager) at For issues or queries regarding your application please contact

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check, five years referencing, and an occupational health check.

Equity, inclusion, and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.