Community and Family Engagement Officer (School cluster)

Salary: GBP 30,559.00 - 32,654.00 per year

Details
Job Advertisement

This is a temporary post until 31/08/26 in the first instance.

We are seeking to grow the Community and Family Engagement team and are looking for an individual who is passionate about making a difference to the lives of the counties children and young people to join us as a Community and Family Engagement Officer in the Meirionnydd area.

If you enjoy a dynamic working environment and are passionate about supporting young people to overcome their barriers and achieve their potential, then we'd love to hear from you.

The successful post holders will have experience of working with and have a good understanding of the local education system and the Services that support children, young people, and families.

Gwynedd Council offers an attractive employment package, for more information please click on this Information Pack

Gwynedd Council operates internally through the medium of Welsh and offers all its services bilingually. The applicant will be required to reach the linguistic level noted as one of the essential skills in the Person Specification.

We encourage everyone who applies for a job with Gwynedd Council to submit job applications in Welsh or bilingually.
(Applications submitted in English only or Welsh only will always be treated equally, but we ask applicants to consider carefully what the linguistic requirements of the job in question is and if it would be more appropriate to apply in Welsh.)

For further information about this post please contact Ellen Rowlands, Inclusion Service Manager, on 01286 679007 or via e-amil: ellenrowlands@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

Application forms and further details available from, Support Service, Gwynedd Council, Council Offices, Caernarfon, LL55 1SH
Tel: 01286 679076
E-Mail: swyddi@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

CLOSING DATE: 10.00 AM, Monday, 21/07/2025

If you are successful to be short listed for an interview you will be contacted by E-MAIL using the address provided on your application form. You need to ensure that you check your email regularly.

Person Specification
Personal attributesEssential
Excellent communication skills, (written, aural and presentation)

Able to present information clearly and produce succinct reports to inform, support and challenge colleagues thinking constructively

Ability to form constructive working relationships with colleagues from a range of backgrounds and organisations

Able to link agendas to see how service delivery develops within a strategic framework. Is open to challenge and accepting of new ideas and new ways of delivering services - looking forward not back and can constructively challenge others

Ability to work independently, use own initiative and be proactive in implementing agreed plans.

Ability to be flexible and work collaboratively Able to deliver in a variety of meetings and to a range of audiences.

Able to work to deadline
Desirable
-
Qualifications and relevant trainingEssential
A relevant professional qualification in education, parenting, behaviour or social work (or other relevant professional qualification) at advanced/specialist level.

An understanding of the specialist support services available to children and families in Gwynedd

Proven specialist experience of supporting children with pastoral needs

Experience of trouble shooting school-wide pastoral issues

Experience of working in a multiagency setting
Desirable
Qualified to NVQ level 3

Experience of working in an educational setting and/or demonstrable experience of working with young people and families

Experience of working in a role requiring excellent

Safeguarding knowledge and skills.

Evidence of continuous professional development.
Relevant experienceEssential
Ability to communicate effectively with children, both individually and in a group setting

Excellent communication skills both written and oral

Ability to communicate effectively with parents and families, partner agencies, professionals and staff at all levels.

Ability to assess the needs of children and their families and to work with other agencies to formulate packages of support

Ability to build constructive relationships with parents, carers and staff.

Ability to develop and maintain close links and work effectively with staff from other agencies

Ability to gather information and produce reports.

Good planning and organisational skills and a flexible approach to the management of work.
Desirable
-
Skills and specialist knowledgeEssential
Experience of working with families to improve outcomes for children

Knowledge of a range of issues relevant to education and child development.

Has attended a range of relevant specialist training courses to develop own knowledge of issues affecting children and their families and best practice in the management of these issues

Thorough understanding of Child Protection Legislation and trained in Child Protection issues.
Desirable
Behaviour management training

Counselling skills
Language requirementsListening and Speaking - Higher
Able to follow a conversation or discussion through the medium of Welsh and English on a professional level and discuss general day to day topics in the field in order to present information and express opinions.Able to give a pre-prepared presentation and respond to any comments and questions on it in Welsh or English.
Reading and Understanding - Higher
Able to understand standard written Welsh and English; both formal and informal.Able to gather information from various sources such as letters, reports, articles through the medium of Welsh and English in order to fulfil the post.
Writing - Higher
Present written information confidently by letter, more detailed and technical report formats, and respond to written requests conveying information, ideas and opinion in Welsh and English (help is available to check the work).

Job Description
Purpose of the post
• Ensure that the people of Gwynedd are at the heart of everything we do.

• The role of the Community and Family Engagement Officer is to assist in tackling underachievement by working in partnership with families, parents, carers, pupils and other agencies where appropriate to enable pupils, particularly the most disadvantaged, to have full access to educational opportunities and to support families to overcome barriers to learning and participation in school life and in the life of their communities.

• The Community and Family Engagement Officer will focus their work on preventative and early intervention activities. They will work with where presenting needs are below the thresholds that trigger the involvement of Statutory services. The coordination of services will be a key focus developing an integrated model with partners with schools as the central point.
Responsibility for functions
• Laptop

• Mobile phone
Main duties
• Work with Family Liaison Officers within individual schools to identify hard-to-reach families and those disengaging from the education system or who are disadvantaged through poverty including at key transition stages

• Host meetings with partners to integrate approaches across organisational boundaries and to support partners, to improve engagement and outcomes for families.

• Represent schools as part of the partnership approach and maintain accurate picture of the progress of families as a central point of contact interlinking with agencies and dedicated officers engaging with families e.g. (FLO/Keyworker/Lead worker)

• Develop over time shared approaches to ensure families are having joined up messaging between schools and external partner interventions and that these are being utilised

• Work with partners to identify the impacts on individual families/young people of the interventions received through developing shared impact measures.

Parenting support and information:

• Understand the primary rights and responsibilities of parents to raise their children, and support parents by helping them to improve their parenting skills for example by providing appropriate information or referrals to a wide range of community based services.

• Work with school based FLOs to identify community support for parents of children with early signs of social, emotional, health or behavioural issues, and work with support agencies to prevent problems worsening and interfering with the child's ability to engage with school and learning.

• Provide impartial information or referrals to parents about relevant local services available to parents, children and families including those provided by education, social care, youth justice, childcare providers, the voluntary sector and others.

• Parental engagement with their child's learning working in partnership with the Community Focused Schools Manager to identify ways in which to support parents to building their engagement with their child's learning

• Support parents and their children through transitions to ensure continual engagement with learning.

• Ensure parents feel confident to engage with their child's learning by facilitating and arranging family learning opportunities within the community such as English as an additional Language (EAL) and computer literacy classes in partnership with local providers.

• Carry out home visits where appropriate to support parents in encouraging their children to maintain full and regular engagement in learning

Reporting:

• Keep records and all documentation pertaining to meetings/contact with children and young people and their families.

• Work closely with Community Focused Schools Manager to ensure good record keeping and that information is shared in a timely manner. Liaison with other agencies

• Participate in internal and cross-organisation working groups as appropriate for exchange of information and 'best practice'.

• Attend such meetings as may be required to further improve attendance, help to inform other services, or further develop the role.

• Keep up to date on the range of agencies working locally in order to maintain knowledge of services that parents might be signposted to.

• Responsibility for self-development.

• Ensure compliance with Health and Safety rules in the workplace in accordance with the responsibilities noted in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Council's Health and Safety Policy.

• Operate within the Council's policies in relation to equal opportunities and equality.

• Responsible for managing information in accordance with the Council's information management guidelines. Ensure that personal information is treated in accordance with Data Protection legislation.

• Commitment to reducing the Council's carbon emissions in accordance with the Carbon Management Plan, and to encourage others to act positively towards reducing the Council's Carbon Footprint.

• Undertake any other reasonable duty which corresponds to the salary level and responsibility level of the job.

• Responsibility to report any concern or suspicion that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused.
Special circumstances
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