Family Practitioner

Acorns Childrens Hospice are now looking for a Family Practitioner to join our Family Services Team in Our Walsall Hospice. Our Family Practitioners provide specialist psychosocial support to families both pre and post bereavement.

About the Role

At Acorns Children’s Hospice we offer specialist palliative care and support for children and their families across the West Midlands. We are there wherever and whenever they need us, in the hospice, community and at home. Our aim at Acorns is to help families feel equipped to cope at every stage of their child’s life with dedicated teams offering psychological, emotional and practical support. 

As a Family Practitioner, you will:

• Provide ongoing holistic psychosocial, bereavement and end-of-life support to families at home, hospice or other appropriate environment.  
• Carry out initial holistic needs assessments 
• Provide a range of face-to-face therapeutic work (including group work) 
• Co-ordinate additional support for parents, siblings, and relatives as they face the grieving process
• Work collaboratively with other professionals to ensure an integrated approach
• Maintain your own professional development and professional registration

The role is as wide reaching as it is rewarding. You’ll liaise extensively with external providers and experts across Acorns, supporting families from diverse cultural and social settings across the region. Some, you’ll get to know over several years. Others could be suddenly admitted for an all-too-brief stay with us. Irrespectively, meeting their needs will be professionally invaluable and personally unforgettable.

Championing the needs of children with life-limiting conditions and their families is challenging and intense work. This role isn’t for everyone, but, if you’re looking for an engaging setting for the professional skills you’ve gained in the community, there is no better place than Acorns to work.

About You

This is an ideal role for someone in family-centred social care or nursing in the community. You may have experience of working as a social worker, Bereavement Counsellor, Psychologist, Nurse, or Family Support Worker.  You must:

• Be professionally registered with a degree 
• Have experience of managing caseloads in a complex multi-agency environment 
• Have a broad, varied background or work in a community setting
• Have up-to-date child protection knowledge, good assessment skills and the emotional resilience to support families going through loss and bereavement
• We’re driven by children’s needs, so you should be able to travel independently across the region, be flexible about hours and ready to join an on-call rota.

What We Offer

• £32,000- £42,000 per annum (FTE)
• 37.5 hours per week
• Employee discounts from leading retailers
• Employee gym discount scheme
• Bike-to-Work scheme
• Generous contribution to group personal pension plan or continuation of current NHS pension scheme
• NHS pension scheme life assurance or Acorns group life assurance scheme

You need to be eligible to work in the UK to be considered for this role. We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and therefore any successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check for children and will be asked to provide two satisfactory references.

As a UNICEF Gold Rights Respecting organisation, we are committed to ensuring that the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child is embedded into both culture and practice within the organisation. As an employee you will be a Duty Bearer for Children’s Rights and support all children to be Rights Holders.

If you have any questions, please contact us at recruitment@acorns.org.uk

Find out about our culture, career development, benefits and more here: Why Work for Acorns?

To apply, you must include additional information about how your skills and experience meet the requirements of the role.   

Closing date 29th October 2024

Interview Date 08th November 2024