Trainer Consultant

The Association for Fostering, Kinship and Adoption Scotland (AFKA) is an independent charity that promotes and facilitates evidence-informed best practice in fostering, kinship care and adoption, through advising, training, and influencing practitioners and policymakers, and supporting them to improve outcomes for children and families.

Our Vision is a future where every practitioner working with children, young people and their families is knowledgeable, skilled, confident, and empowered to support the safe, secure, and loving care to which every child has a right.

Right now, we are seeking to recruit a highly experienced and talented practitioner to the role of Trainer Consultant. This is a permanent, part time role (17.5 hours per week – hybrid working)

Job summary and purpose

Purpose of the role will be to:

• Provide informed advice and support to member agencies, practitioners and individuals involved in kinship care, fostering, adoption and permanence with children, young people, and their families/carers - promoting evidence informed best practice that promotes a good childhood and the best outcomes for children and young people.
• Provide supportive forums for practitioners from a range of professional disciplines and to facilitate their participation providing support and the opportunity to share practice development.
• Provide a range of direct services to agencies and practitioners within the social work, education, legal and health professions. This will include creating and delivering training courses both face-to-face and online on a variety of topics related to AFKAs specialisms. The role can also include providing consultancy (which may involve direct contact with children and young people), independent chairing of meetings and panels, learning from disruption meetings and service and case reviews.
• Participate in the development of the service provided by AFKA Scotland and to support its role in providing an independent voice on policy and practice at a local and national level in kinship care, fostering, adoption and permanence.

The main duties and responsibilities will be to:

• Design and deliver workshops to a range of professionals involved in providing services to children and young people, their families of origin, and within kinship, fostering, adoption and permanence both in-person and online.
• Develop resources and materials for use by practitioners working with children and young people, their families of origin, and within kinship, fostering, adoption and permanence.
• Support AFKA Scotland’s contribution to the development of practice and policy at local and national level, to #keepthepromise and work alongside colleagues in our hosted service, Scotland’s Adoption Register (SAR)
• Contribute to AFKA Scotland projects which may involve connecting, developing and delivering training and developing practice guidance with our partner agencies.
• Organise and facilitate one or more of AFKA’s Forums, Community of Practice Forums. and / or local practitioner meetings. .
• Provide informed advice and support to member agencies responding to enquiries timeously.
• Provide independent consultancy to agencies including unplanned endings, service reviews and other complex case work.
• Attend and facilitate relevant meetings across Scotland or online, and to be engaged in the development of local and national policy and practice.
• Support AFKA Scotland events including Conferences and Adoption Week Scotland.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Professional Qualification in UK social work.
• Evidence of post qualifying training and/or research.

Desirable

• Registration with SSSC or other UK Social Services registration body.

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of childcare practice in Scotland particularly in relation to kinship care, fostering, adoption and permanence and work with care experienced children and their families/carers.
• Clear understanding of the relevant legislation and the legal issues relating to childcare practice and permanence.
• Familiarity with key research in relation to childcare, fostering, adoption, kinship care and whole family support.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the Promise and current change planning…