Family Support Lead

Role: Family Support Lead – needs to be within commuting distance of Inverness.

Hours: Part-time – 20 hours per week (Wed/Thu/Fri)

Salary: £33,670 (£18.50 per hour) pro rata (full time = 35 hours per week)

Holidays: 37 days/259 hours per annum including public holidays (pro-rata)

Pension: 3% employer contribution

Place of work: Hybrid – predominantly working from home (equipment will be provided). There is also an expectation of travel to fulfil aspects of the role, predominantly to Inverness, but also across the Highland region when required.

Contract: One year initially, with the expectation of renewal on a permanent basis.

Reports to: Chief Executive

Closing date: Wednesday 18 March 2026 (midnight)

Interview dates: Wednesday 1 or Thursday 2 April 2026, in person, in Inverness.

Application notes:

Applications should be sent to sarah.fowler@thrivingfamilies.org.uk with the subject line

‘Application for employment’ and include the following:

A CV, not more than two sides of A4 with two referees, including your current or most recent employer.

A Letter of Application to include

• What attracted you to the role (maximum 200 words)
• A general statement in support outlining how your knowledge, skills and experience meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification (maximum 1000 words)

All applications will be acknowledged, and candidates will be kept informed on the progress of their application.

Please note: When we shortlist the applications to see who we will interview, we will score the applications against the criteria in the person specification, looking for evidence that the applications meet the essential criteria. Please evidence how you meet the person specification in your application.

Our charity (previously known as Chip+) has been supporting families in the Highlands for over three decades. Our goal is to be the ‘go to’ organisation known for improving the lives of families in the Highlands by giving them confidence, empowering them to know their rights, know what questions to ask and have their voices heard.

We are currently commissioned to provide holistic family support services for families with children (up to age 25) with additional support needs, and the caring circle around them. An additional support need is anything which means a child needs more, or different, support to another child the same age to make the most of their lives.

About Thriving Families

This new part-time Family Support Lead will join our existing part-time Family Support Lead to ensure we have full-time service coverage across the working week (Monday to Friday), with a crossover day on a Wednesday.

The Family Support Lead assists the Chief Executive (CE) by ensuring all staff members are fully supported to undertake their duties, provide a high quality service and have their needs met. The Family Support Lead plays an integral role in coordinating operational delivery, supporting with working practice guidance, policies and processes. The role is integral to the smooth and successful running of operations within the charity. As an
organisation who takes pride in supporting families to a high standard, it is essential that we offer the same level of support and care to our staff members.

In addition to this, Family Support Leads will support a small caseload of families in the same way as our Family Support Workers. These cases may be more complex in nature than our typical cases. In your Family Support Worker capacity, you will provide one-to-one holistic, information, advice and support to families across Highland via phone/email/online, supporting and enabling them to improve their lives by building their confidence,
empowering them to recognise their personal expertise and value, implement practical support strategies, access services, know their rights, and have their voices heard.

All staff work in line with the ‘how we work’ guidance documents which outline our approach on how we work with families, how we work with professionals and how we support each other as a staff team.

About the role

Thriving Families is working towards the following outcomes for families:

• Reduced isolation – building relationships with others
• Improved resilience – enabling coping mechanisms at a time when the usual strategies and services may not be available
• Improved access to information, support and advice
• Improved recognition of own strengths
• Improved mental health and well-being
• Increased confidence to make positive changes

The Family Support Lead is responsible for:

• Providing one-to-one (and team-based) support and supervision for all the service delivery team, including Family Support Workers, Family Links Workers, and Coordinators.
• Developing and delivering internal staff training and coordinating external training and development opportunities for the team.
• Managing and directing the service delivery team.
• Ensuring a smooth and ongoing delivery of service/operations.
• Ensuring staff are aware of, and working to, policies, procedures and guidance agreed by the Board.
• Undertaking and reviewing work-based support assessments with all employees.
• Working with the CE to ensure any relevant HR systems, policies and procedures are in place to assist in the management and support of the team, service delivery and governance of the charity.
• Involvement in recruitment and selection processes as necessary (including interview and induction processes).
• Quality assuring the service delivered by all Thriving Families’ staff.
• Liaising with professionals from external organisations, services and agencies.
• Undertaking ‘Designated Child and Adult Protection Lead’ role with other senior staff.
• Undertaking all aspects of the Family Support Worker role (most complex cases) as detailed below.
• Reporting to the Board of Trustees.
• Any other duties required by the CE.

Family Support Workers support service users by:

• Providing emotional support and a ‘listening ear’.
• Answering enquiries in a confidential, caring, professional and supportive manner.
• Informing service users about the rights of children and young people in line with appropriate legislation including the Additional Support for Learning Act, the Children and Young People Act, the Carers Act and the UNCRC.

Responsibilities and duties

• Providing service users with information and advice which develops their knowledge and understanding about the needs of their children and young people who have additional support needs (ASN).
• Signposting/referral to relevant and appropriate sources of information and support
• Empowering service users by building their confidence, giving them the reliable information and supporting them to advocate for themselves and their family.
• Improving resilience and enabling self-confidence to challenge the system at a time when the usual strategies and services may not be available.
• Providing support timeously by telephone, email, online and face-to-face.
• Attending and delivering outreach events relevant to the charity’s work e.g. face-toface support groups, roadshow events.
• Keeping up-to-date and accurate records in line with GDPR requirements and best practice, for both case management and monitoring/evaluation purposes.
• Sharing information with families via social media/other digital platforms.

Person specification

Essential

• Educated to degree level or equivalent, relevant professional experience
• Experience of successfully managing and motivating teams, and leading staff development.
• Experience of developing and delivering training materials.
• Understanding and experience of service development and quality assuring.
• Experience of working alongside children, young people and/or families.
• Ability to travel to and from Inverness (and across Highland) to fulfil requirements of the role.
• Knowledge and understanding of the workings of statutory and third sector providers, specifically education and health and social care.
• Experience of monitoring and evaluation.
• Knowledge and experience of using a case management system.
• Knowledge and understanding of the strengths and pressures within families with additional support needs.
• A strong value base with a commitment to a person-centred, solution-focused, outcomes-based approach.
• Knowledge, understanding and commitment to GIRFEC, child protection and trauma-informed practice.
• Good listening, verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience and commitment to working in partnership and build relationships with a wide range of individuals and groups to achieve positive outcomes.
• Organisation and planning skills with the ability to work autonomously and manage and prioritise a diverse workload.
• Confident in presenting to a variety of stakeholders including families, professionals, colleagues and Board of Trustees.
• Competent and confident in the use of new technologies, including mainstream software packages, email and internet.
• Must hold a current full driving licence with access to own transport.

Desirable

• Experience of working within the Third Sector.
• Experience of working within Highland.
• Knowledge of GDPR, data protection legislation and good practice.

We recognise that many people who have no formal qualifications find a path to working in the Third Sector. In keeping with our commitment to equal opportunities we wish to remove unnecessary barriers to those who can demonstrate their ability to meet all criteria for this post..