Family Hub Connector

In Sutton, there is much for us to be proud of both as a council and as a borough. This includes high levels of resident satisfaction, the quality of our services, our success in addressing our financial challenges to date, the way that we involve and engage with residents on key issues facing the borough, and the enthusiastic and motivated staff that we employ. 

Looking ahead, there are plans for the delivery of new homes and new schools and the London Cancer Hub is being developed, while the Council is also seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment.

All of this demonstrates a good track record and an authority that is ambitious and set to deliver more improvements for the borough. We've set out our vision for the future of Sutton in our corporate plan - Ambitious for Sutton. This strategic plan will shape the outcomes we achieve, the services we provide, and the impact we have on residents, to make Sutton a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Situated in Zone 5, Sutton is less than 30 minutes by train from central London, and south and south west London are easily accessible by public transport. There are 10 train stations which serve key neighbourhoods within the borough providing direct connections to London Victoria, London Bridge, London Blackfriars and St Pancras International. Sutton also has direct rail connections with Epsom, Dorking, Guildford and Horsham, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and West Croydon for the London Overground. There’s also an extensive road network which provides close and easy access to the M25 and M23.

Family Hub Connectors are the go-to people for advice and information about local services for families and professionals. It is about caring for each individual and family, being responsive, proactive, visible, and always aware of what services are available in each area. This role is unique in that it supports all professionals working across Sutton. So you are pivotal in joining up services for children and families.

In this role, you are crucial to the running of the Family Information Service in the borough. You will be keeping information updated from Childcare Providers, to debt advice and community support groups.  The Family Information Service is a busy service, who are often the first point of contact for a family looking for support or information. You do not need to have all the answers, but you need to know where to find them.

The Family Information Service is part of the Early Intervention Service in the borough.  It is an exciting time to join our team as we move towards Family hubs and joining services up to best support families at the earliest possible stage.  We work closely with Health services, voluntary sector, childcare providers.  Our work is part of the boroughs Helping Early Strategy to provide the right support at the right time, to help children achieve the following outcomes

• Have better health and well-being
• Access help and support at the earliest opportunity
• Feel ready for school, work and life have more stability at home
• Thrive

We have a core set of values that inform the way we work with families and each other. 

Kindness, Respect, Trust, Non-Judgement, Reliability

We are looking for someone who is an excellent communicator and can help families to identify their needs and strengths.  You will be able to build relationships quickly.  You will need good IT skills to enable you to keep the information you collect about services upto date. You will need to have a good understanding of the different challenges families face and some of the support available to them. 

But you will also need to be:

• An excellent listener and communicator.  
• Be able to think creatively and help families find the solutions to problems, through talking and reflecting with them.  
• Be willing to give things a go, learn from mistakes and cope with change.
• Be able to challenge circumstances and environments that marginalise, exclude or oppress
• Demonstrate critical reflection and a desire to keep learning.
• Be able to relate to professionals across all sectors (GPs, teachers, youth workers, social workers, health visitors etc)
• Be able to work and model the key values we hold as a service
• Be able to present information clearly

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across - however big or small - will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition, we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff, supported by our IT infrastructure, including Google Chromebooks and Google Apps.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Flexi-time (Please note, this applies to roles at grades 1-9 only)
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Local and national discounts for shopping, eating out and leisure activities
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Car parking scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

To support our diversity agenda and reduce the risk of bias in our recruitment activities, our short listing process completely anonymises personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc. Our hiring managers review and short list applications based on the information provided as part of your application as to how well you meet the requirements and criteria for the role, as outlined in the job profile.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce. As part of our Disability Confident Committed status, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.