
Request for Support Officer
Surrey County Council
Dakota House, 11 De Havilland Drive, Weybridge, KT13 0YP£15,829.50 per annum (pro rata to £31,659 FTE)Permanent18 hours per weekCloses: 2026-10-11
Job Introduction
We are committed to the development of our workforce.
This position is only available to applicants who already work for Surrey County Council.
We thank you for your interest in our roles and would encourage you to review our vacancies which are open to all.
This role has a starting salary of £15,829.50 per annum (pro rata to £31,659 FTE) based on an 18 hour working week.
Are you passionate about delivering excellent customer service and supporting our goal for all children to be safe and seen? Do you have transferable skills from working with children and families?
We have an exciting opportunity for a new Request for Support Officer to join our fantastic Children’s Request for Support Team that could be just what you’re looking for!
This role is based within Surrey’s award-winning Contact Centre at Dakota, 11 De Havilland Drive, Brooklands in Weybridge.
The role is open to hybrid working which means that, following your induction, you will spend two days working in our office and three days working from home, although flexibility is required to attend the office for training, meetings, and service needs.
Our Offer to You
26 days’ holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years’ service, plus bank holidays (prorated for part time staff)
Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
A generous local government salary related pension
Up to 5 days of carer’s leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents
About the Role
The Request for Support Team is embedded within Customer Services where you will find a supportive and innovative culture, along with the ethos of providing an excellent standard of service to our residents and partner agencies.
The Request for Support Team is one of the three teams that form Surrey Children's Services Single Point of Access (C- SPA), the 'front door' to Children's Services. You will be working in a fast-paced environment, where the diverse experience and backgrounds of children and families are recognised and respected.
As the public voice of the Council, you will have an extremely important role to play, which demands a positive and proactive attitude.
Your key responsibilities as a Request for Support Officer will include:
Providing high quality and efficient support to enable the smooth running of the Request for Support Team
Handling calls from members of public and professionals who are requesting support for children
Taking accurate and relevant information in order to identify risk, to signpost where necessary, and to progress to the most appropriate services in a timely manner
Triaging all incoming requests from partner agencies identifying appropriate pathways based on detailed operational guidance and Surrey’s Continuum of Support Threshold
Inputting referrals accurately onto databases and providing information to professional agencies where appropriate, adhering to internal data protection policies
In this role you will be operating in sometimes challenging and emotionally charged situations. Therefore, you must have the resilience to cope with sensitive and at times disturbing information and have the ability to remain calm and professional whilst working under pressure. Throughout, you’ll have a responsibility to safeguard confidential information and respect the privacy of families.
Your Application
In order to be considered for shortlisting, your application will clearly evidence the following skills and align with
our behaviours:
Experience of providing high levels of customer care and professionalism
An understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures and an ability to follow the surrounding processes, procedures and identify the risks
Excellent IT skills, ability to use databases to a high standard of accuracy and a strong eye for detail
Ability to work effectively and flexibly and as part of a team
Excellent spoken and written English with effective communication and interpersonal skills particularly with both families and professionals
Ability to travel to Brooklands, Weybridge
A basic DBS ‘Disclosure and Barring Service’ check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) will be required for this role.
Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description.
Contact Us
Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment. Please contact Ellie Verge via email.
The job advert closes at 23:59 on 11/10/2026 with interviews to follow.
We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.
Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)
Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation and will move to new authorities in April 2027. This role is currently employed by Surrey County Council and will remain so until then. If you are employed by Surrey County Council on 1 April 2027, your employment will transfer under TUPE arrangements to one of the new councils, with your current terms and conditions protected. The provisional allocation for this post is West Surrey Council, subject to final confirmation through the wider transition process later this year. Please see more information here:
Information for applicants on Local Government Reorganisation - Surrey County Council.
Our Commitment
We are a disability confident employer which means if you have shared a disability on your application form and have evidenced you meet the minimum shortlisting criteria as displayed on the advert, we guarantee you an interview.
Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we’re committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need, we value inclusion and warmly welcome you to join and help build a workplace where everyone belongs.