Lead Partnership Practitioner

Overview

Are you dynamic, passionate and dedicated to bringing about positive change for Children and Families across Buckinghamshire?

Are you able to build and sustain positive relationships with colleagues and key partner agencies whilst supporting a reflective culture in the team?

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Family Hub Service who are recruiting a Fixed Term Lead Partnership Practitioner to work with the service to develop our Parenting Programme offer.  This is a full time position based in Chiltern and South Buck running until March 2026.

This position is being advertised for Buckinghamshire Council internal and agency employees only.

About us

• Our ambition is to use the Family Hub Network to deliver effective, impactful early help to those who need it, in local areas and responding to local need. This will increase accessibility, build confidence and grow community capacity, so together we can identify emerging issues and offer support early, look to resolve appropriately and reduce escalation, long term or recurring need and improve outcomes for children and families.​
• Family Hubs in Buckinghamshire – The Early Help Partnership Board wants to develop a family hub network, utilising existing Family Centres and developing a Family Hub network through affiliation and co-production with a wide range of agencies and community-based delivery partners.

Early help is provided through a range of different services: universal which are open to all; targeted provision and specialist services. The support is timely, flexible (to the families needs) and focussed on working collaboratively with families and professionals to overcome the issues they face, build their resilience and empower them so they are better able to manage future challenges.

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally. 

Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK and yet it is incredibly well connected– only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.

We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey. You will be entitled to a range of different benefits to make sure you are happy both at work and at home.

About the role

This role works alongside fellow Lead Professional Practitioners in the Chiltern and South Bucks area; that cover from Amersham/Chesham through Beaconsfield and down to Burnham and the Ivers.  You will have a responsibility of 1 or 2 centres and their Family Hub Network in their corresponding areas.  Delivery in the centre is from 0 to 25 with SEND but you would have a strong understanding of the need for U5 support as this will be the thematic lead for the role.  There is an expectation of a minimum of 2 days per week in the centres with course delivery as an essential part of the role and evening delivery is up to 8:30 pm scheduled termly.  

Mobile:

A ‘mobile’ role gives you the flexibility to schedule your own diary, so you can meet with colleagues and clients in a variety of locations. You’ll access digital folders and resources on your laptop and be able to use the network wherever you are based. Working from home will be common, as well as meeting your team in the office where necessary.

About you

You will have knowledge and understanding of the Family Hub Network agenda both locally and Nationwide.  The evidence base of choice is the Centre for Emotional Well-being Nurture Programme, and you will be trained as a parent group leader as a minimum. 

You will contribute to the service planning, development, and delivery of the Family hub Service, working from a clear action plan, keeping abreast of best practise, and cascading relevant knowledge and resources, using initiative to drive work forward and improve delivery across the Service.  There will be evaluation and reporting expectations so the ability to capture outcomes, analyse data and complete succinct reports is essential.

You will need to be able to demonstrate an understanding of relationship management and have the capacity to establish and maintain effective communication within the team to enable each team member to maximise their contribution to service delivery.

You must have significant experience of multi-disciplinary and partnership working to achieve the best outcomes for children, young people and their families.

You will be Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy in line with Buckinghamshire Council’s core values. These PACT values will be role modelled and embedded throughout this approach.

Other information

Closing date: 23:59 Thursday 10th April

Interview: Tuesday 15th April 2025

Contact for informal discussions or questions on the post: Jayne Foster CSB Team Manager, Family Hub Service [email protected]

This is a fixed-term contract for 1 year.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Business Unit

Ensuring that children and young people in Buckinghamshire reach their potential is a primary focus within our Education service. It’s essential that we provide inclusive and life-long learning opportunities for all of our young people - so we look to raise standards, attainment and aspirations in a number of ways.

Our key priorities include: improving the quality and timeliness of Education, Health and Care Plans and the support families of children with SEND receive; reducing the number of exclusions both permanent and fixed term; and providing the children of Buckinghamshire with the highest quality education possible.

We aim to provide the right support, at the right time for families requiring non-statutory intervention, and provide sufficient, high quality early years and school places for children in Buckinghamshire. Despite Buckinghamshire having a higher percentage of good or outstanding Early Years providers and schools than national averages, we are not complacent.

We are keen to strengthen the services we deliver to provide the children of Buckinghamshire the highest quality education possible.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/