Missing Support Workers

Are you passionate about making a real difference to children, we are looking for dynamic, motivated individuals to join our Empower U team as Missing Support Workers. This is a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a focused engagement with children who have gone missing.

As a Missing Support Worker, you’ll be offering, high-quality return home interviews with children who go missing sometimes as a one off or sometimes more regularly. You work will help in reducing future missing episodes, address contextual safeguarding risks and assess safeguarding concerns. Your reports will make recommendations to prevent further missing episodes based on your visit with the child.

It is integral every contact is underpinned by strong engagement skills so children feel safe to talk to you and you are able to engage children who may not find that easy. You will need good people skills and experience of engaging young people effectively in creative and non-judgemental ways. You will have a caring nature and be professionally curious about why a young person has gone missing and the impact of missing on the child(ren). You will have awareness of why return home interviews are undertaken and the themes and trends around missing children. Also, your approach will be trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, and culturally competent, to ensure these responsive visits are impactful and supportive even when you may only engage with this child on a one-off occasion.

While you will receive good support you will work independently, mostly carrying out visits on your own. You will be required to manage your own schedule and caseload, often under tight timeframes.

The role requires extensive travel across the region, so flexibility and self-motivation and self-resilience are essential.

While you’ll work autonomously, you’ll also be part of a multi-agency Exploitation Hub, collaborating with professionals and local organisations to address the root causes of missing episodes and wider contextual safeguarding concerns and contributing to making the lives of Birmingham children safe, fun, happy and full of opportunity.

Why Join Us?

* To make a tangible difference in the lives of vulnerable young people—one engagement at a time.

* To be part of an innovative, city-wide approach to contextual safeguarding.

* To embed trauma-informed and culturally competent practice in everything we do.

* To work in a large, diverse and vibrant organisation which offers upward progression opportunities.

About you

* Experience in engaging young people in creative, non-judgemental ways.

* Being able to engage children effectively without the benefit of a pre-existing relationship

* Strong safeguarding knowledge and the ability to identify and address risks.

* Confidence to work independently, prioritise tasks, and travel citywide.

* A caring, curious nature and a commitment to empowering children and amplifying their voices.

We have been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted, following a 2023 inspection. This is a fantastic achievement for Birmingham Children's Trust, with many positive highlights focusing on areas including the quality of staff leadership, partnership working, safeguarding and corporate parenting.

This is a hybrid role based in Birmingham so you must reside within a suitable commutable distance around Birmingham and have the correct right-to-work documents to work in the UK. Sadly, we do not support those who require sponsorship.

Benefits

Help us to change children and young people’s lives!

At Birmingham Children’s Trust, we are committed to making a positive impact on the lives of over 10,000 children and young people in our city every day. Our mission is to support the most disadvantaged children and young people in Birmingham, ensuring they are safe, happy, and healthy.

Why Join Us?

• Impactful Work - be part of a team that makes a real difference in the lives of the city’s most vulnerable children.
• Supportive Environment - enjoy a supportive and collaborative work culture where your contributions are valued.
• Career Development - benefit from tailored development programs, supportive supervision, and a range of learning opportunities to enhance your skills and advance your career.
• Generous Benefits - take advantage of our competitive reward package including generous leave allowance, Local Government pension scheme, and additional benefits.

Our Values

We approach our work with care and compassion, actively listening to the needs of the children and young people we serve. We involve them in the decisions that affect their lives, ensuring their voices are heard and respected.

We are committed to using our resources wisely, ensuring that every penny is spent where it counts the most. We foster collaboration among schools, health professionals, and the police, working together to create a supportive network for our young people.

We believe that when we work as one cohesive team, the children and young people of Birmingham are more likely to thrive. Our unified approach ensures that we provide the best possible support and opportunities for their growth and development.

Join us and together, we can create a brighter future for all.

Safeguarding

At Birmingham Children’s Trust, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

Depending on the role, you may be asked to undergo the appropriate level of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check to assess your suitability for working with children and young people.

The level of check (Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List) is determined based on the specific responsibilities of the role and the level of contact with children and young people.

We are committed to the fair treatment of all applicants, including those with criminal records. Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of the offence.

Please note that we reserve the right to close the job early should we reach the required number of applications, therefore please ensure you submit your application and supporting statement early to avoid any disappointment.