Practitioner - Willow Service
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
About this job
<p><strong>Practitioner - Willow Service</strong></p> <p><strong>The Willow Programme – Rooted. Resilient. Renewing.</strong></p> <p><strong>Be part of something new. Help change lives. </strong></p> <p>Barking & Dagenham is launching an exciting new service – The Willow Programme. A specialist, trauma-informed team designed to support women who have experienced the removal of a child from their care and care leavers at risk of future child removal. The programme will provide intensive, relationship-based support over 18–24 months, helping women build stability, improve wellbeing and create lasting positive change.</p> <p>This is a rare opportunity to join a new service from the very beginning and help shape its culture, practice and impact. We are recruiting two Willow Practitioners who are passionate about working alongside women facing some of life's most complex challenges and who believe that with the right support, people can achieve meaningful and sustainable change.</p> <p><strong>About the Role</strong></p> <p>As a Willow Practitioner, you will hold a small caseload of approximately seven women, providing intensive, tailored support through assertive outreach, practical intervention and multi-agency partnership working. You will build trusting relationships, coordinate access to specialist services and support women to achieve their goals around health, housing, safety, wellbeing and family relationships.</p> <p>You will work closely with colleagues across Children's Social Care, and alongside partners in mental health, domestic abuse, sexual health, adult services and community organisations.</p>
Special requirements for this post
<p><span>This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and a comprehensive screening process will be undertaken on successful applicants including an Enhanced Children’s Department of Barring Services check</span></p>
About you
<p><strong>Who We're Looking For</strong></p> <p>We are seeking experienced and compassionate practitioners from backgrounds such as social work, health, mental health, youth work, education, early help, therapy or related fields. You will bring:</p> <ul> <li>Experience of working with adults and families facing complex needs.</li> <li>Knowledge of trauma-informed, strengths-based and relational practice.</li> <li>Strong assessment, planning and review skills.</li> <li>Excellent relationship-building and communication abilities.</li> <li>A commitment to equality, inclusion and anti-oppressive practice.</li> <li>A belief in people's capacity to recover, grow and thrive.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Why Join Willow?</strong></p> <p>This is more than a job. It is an opportunity to help establish an innovative service that aims to break cycles of trauma, reduce repeat care proceedings and improve outcomes for women, babies and families across Barking & Dagenham.</p> <p>If you want to be part of a small specialist team where relationships matter, practice is purposeful and your work can have a lasting impact on people's lives, we would love to hear from you.</p> <p><strong>Come and help us grow something new.</strong><br><strong>Come and help women build a different future.</strong></p>
About us
<p><strong>Barking & Dagenham is changing. It Starts Here.</strong></p> <p>Think you know Barking and Dagenham? Think again. While this small corner of east London might have a reputation for needing development, scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find active communities and a place that consistently punches above its weight. The borough is changing – and changing for the better. And It Starts Here.</p> <p>Yes, the borough has its challenges. But it’s on the cusp of something exciting. With one of the youngest populations in the country, ambitions are high and rightly so. 98% of our schools are rated Good or Outstanding and every year more of our talented teenagers get into Russell Group Universities and hotly sought after apprenticeship schemes.</p> <p>We have award winning parks, centuries old manor houses full of relics and artifacts you can go and see, and the ruins of one of Anglo-Saxon England's most powerful and wealthiest religious sites. We’re even bringing beavers and white storks to the borough to help rewild the local landscape and boost biodiversity.</p> <p>Over the past few years, we’ve been working hard to improve how we deliver services and support our community. From tackling inequality to making sure our services are the best they can be, we’re focused on what matters most to local people. </p> <p>We’re creating the conditions for people to thrive - so everyone can enjoy a good quality of life, feel proud to call this place home, and be part of something bigger. </p> <p>#ItStartsHere - with our streets, our schools, our neighbourhoods. And with your application to join our determined team who are passionate about doing what’s best for the future of Barking and Dagenham. </p> <p>As an Investors in People Gold Award employer, we’re serious about supporting our staff. From flexible working, professional training and career development to wellbeing initiatives, we want our people to feel valued and supported in everything they do.</p> <p>Our values, known as</p> <ul> <li>DRIVE, shape how we work: Deliver our best every day – and do what we promise</li> <li>Respond in a prompt, positive way to our community’s needs</li> <li>Inspire others with our attitudes and actions</li> <li>Value people for who they are and what they can do</li> <li>Engage with others to improve our resilience and flexibility We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences.</li> </ul> <p>We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences.</p>