IFA Manager - Foster Carer Recruitment and Retention

This role offers an exciting opportunity for you to join our Independent Fostering Agency and play a key role in its future growth and development.

Role responsibilities:
Working under the guidance of our IFA Registered Manager and in partnership with our IFA Assistant Team Manager, you will hold accountability for the day-to-day operational management of a number of staff specialising in the recruitment and retention of foster carers.

This is a leadership role which will require the post holder to demonstrate good leadership and the ability to positively influence the professional development of staff and the experience of children, young people, and carers and their families., We want Brighter Futures for Children to be a great place to work and to ensure that our children, young people and families are represented in leadership roles and positions of power. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and those of Other Ethnicities, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our children, young people and families so that equalities and justice remains at the heart of everything we do.

Asking for Adjustments:
Brighter Futures for Children is committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and as accessible as possible for everyone. This includes making adjustments or changes for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions.

Educated to degree level.
Qualifications through the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) or at least 5 years' equivalent, relevant experience.
Computer literate with good keyboard skills.
Knowledge around placement support for children in substitute family care arrangements and their carers.
Excellent organisational skills.
Experience of recruitment activity - ideally with carers or volunteers.
Skilled in working with Comms/Marketing teams and providing accurate campaign briefs.
Skilled in key messaging and working with Comms teams on marketing plans.
Ability to write in a concise and accessible way for digital web and social media content.
Experience of managing staff and/or volunteers.
Good Interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills, including the ability to establish positive and helpful working relationships with professional colleagues and carers.
Confident in speaking to strangers and making unsolicited contact with other agencies and organisations.
Able and confident to lead the development of specific services.
A positive, enthusiastic, balanced, and professional approach., Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

Brighter Futures for Children is a not-for-profit company, owned by, but independent of, Reading Borough Council. Although we are independent, we are very much part of the Reading Family.

We work closely with partners in the local community and key organisations including Reading Borough Council, policy, public health and voluntary groups. We are responsible for the delivery of children's social care, early help & prevention, education services (including SEND).

Brighter Futures for Children's Independent Fostering Agency (BFfC's IFA) sits within our Children's Social Care Service and was first registered with Ofsted in January 2019. Five years on we have reviewed our services in the light of the changing expectations of the Government and the Courts and we are restructuring our IFA in order to create a more effective and forward thinking in-house fostering service which is able to better meet the placement needs of BFfC Children Looked After.

As part of this service restructure, we have created three new non-social-work roles which will help us to ensure a comprehensive focus on carer recruitment and retention and support the ongoing development of the service. We are now recruiting to these roles

Post specific training will be made available to successful applicants dependent on previous experience.

Training will also be made available around:

Relevant BFfC policies, procedures and practice guidance
The BFfC Mosaic records system
The IFA's CHARMS system

Professional supervision will be available and Individual professional objectives will be set as part of your continuous professional development and will be reviewed through professional supervision and annual appraisals (with six monthly review).

Our offer:
We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition are strongly encouraged, and you'll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.

A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:
Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contribution
Incremental holidays starting with 26 days plus public holidays (rising to 33 after 10 years' service)
Discounted Child Care (on site nursery)
Remote/Agile working