JOB DESCRIPTION

DIRECTORATE: ACE

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DEPARTMENT:Family Information Service

JOB TITLE: Information Officer

/ POST NUMBER:
REPORTS TO: Family Information Service Manager / Grade 5
1. / MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB
To provide a high quality effective frontline service to the public and other professionals regarding all aspects of family life. A very wide and diverse range of information needs to be delivered as the service supports all parents and carers of children aged 0-19 years old (25 with additional needs).
The post holder is responsible for providing impartial information on services for children and families by telephone, email and face to face. The aim of the role is to support families and professionals to understand their options and empower them to make informed choices for themselves. The post holder is also expected to support priorities from the Children and Young People’s Plan such as early intervention, prevention, poverty etc.
This role operates alongside other information officers. Each Information Officer is expected to handle enquiries to the service, discreet project work to support the development of the service and also to be a subject matter expert. The areas of expertise for this role is:
  1. Childminder and childcare recruitment
  2. Parenting support
  3. Support for disabled children and young people
A Family Information Service is a statutory duty under the Childcare Act (2006) and is an essential element of Early Intervention. The service is delivered in line with national guidance and legislation as well as meeting the standards laid out by the Families First national quality award.
2. / KEY TASKS:
1 / To deal with customer enquiries from parents, carers and professionals by phone, email, social networking tools and in person by offering advice and information on the full range of services available to families locally and nationally. The aim of the role is to understand families’ information needs and empower families to make informed choices on the options available.
2 / The complexity of enquiries is unpredictable and varies from simple to complex. The post holder is expected to use a range of systems, knowledge and professional networks to identify solutions before putting these to the family in the most appropriate way.
3 / To carry out childcare brokerage for vulnerable families or those facing difficulty in accessing childcare. This involves assessing the needs of the family and providing an appropriate level of support, which can extend to attending face-to-face visits with the family.
4 / To operate as part of a team in developing and delivering a planned programme of outreach (including information sessions for prospective childminders) to improve access to FIS for parents and carers who otherwise may not have taken up the service.
6 / To proactively develop their knowledge, skills and networks in their area of expertise. To ensure other information officers are supported to be able provide an appropriate level of cover for their subject area.
7 / To develop online and printed materials for the service and in particular to meet the needs of the subject matter expertise.
8 / To work with the Service Support Officer to ensure appropriate venues are booked for information sessions/parenting programmes/FIS outreach and that candidates are booked onto and supported to attend these sessions.
9 / To support the development of information to families registered with the service through myFIS and myFIS+ with a particular focus on information for communities of interest.
10 / To support good quality information available to families online through the YorOK website by identifying gaps in content and updating information through the Content Management System.
11 / To ensure that data quality standards for the Enhanced Childcare Directory entries are met and that data supplied from Ofsted is acted on within a defined framework.
12 / To play an active part in the evaluation and development of the service through gathering feedback from families and partners, reviewing policies and procedures, identifying best practice and other discreet projects. The post holder is expected to play a role in developing the future strategies of the Family Information Service.
13 / In partnership with the Service Support Officer to pro-actively identify and gather information on new services and groups that may be of use to families.
14 / With the FIS Manager to provide a key point of contact and support for FIS Community Champion volunteers.
15 / To deliver information sessions to partner teams and agencies to improve awareness of the service and identify opportunities for more integrated working.
16 / Represent FIS at local or regional meetings as required.
17 / To assist in the carrying out of Childcare Sufficiency Assessments to identify gaps in childcare services.
18 / To assist the FIS team as required.
3. / SUPERVISION / MANAGEMENT OF PEOPLE
With the FIS Manager provide support to FIS Community Champion volunteers through regular telephone, email and face to face contact.
4. / CREATIVITY & INNOVATION
The post holder is the key access point for public and professional enquiries to the Family Information Service by phone, text, email, web or via outreach. The remit of information provided is anything that could be of use to parents or carers of 0-25 year olds. Each call should have an empathic approach so it is adapted to the needs of the parent/carer; always ensuring impartiality and empowering the parent/carer.
The Family Information Service operates on an “ask anything” basis. Because of the range of potential enquiries it is not possible to predict exactly what will be asked. The post holder is expected to work closely with others inside and outside of the service to ensure they develop the systems, knowledge and professional networks they will require to successfully handle enquiries. Enquiries may range from the simple to the complex where the solutions may not be readily available. The post holder is expected to use creativity and all the tools and networks at their disposal to piece together the options available for the family. The post holder must then impartially and clearly present these options to the family by the most appropriate method.
The post holder is expected to use active listening skills and identify an appropriate communication technique to assess all the areas of support an enquirer may require. The post holder will tailor, where appropriate, the methods of communication to suit the needs of the customer (i.e. respecting their need for privacy and offering a private room; seeking an interpreter for British Sign Language customers or for those where English is not their first language).
In childcare brokerage cases, the post holder will have to consider all alternatives and develop solutions for the parent. A parent will often require brokerage where they need additional support in finding childcare. Often there are complicated logistical and personal arrangements that may mean the family needs additional support. A key example is requiring childcare at short notice to enable the parent to work. The post holder must find creative and innovative solutions to unique situations where there may be no clear or easy solution.
The post holder is expected to play an active part in the development of the Family Information Service through gathering feedback from families and partners, reviewing policies and procedures and identifying best practice. The post holder is expected to undertake discreet project work to develop the operation of the FIS and in particular in relation to the area of Subject Matter Expertise..
5. / CONTACTS & RELATIONSHIPS
  • The post holder is the first point of contact for families and will be expected to build relationships with parents and carers and prospective childminders. The post holder provides impartial information to empower families and does not tell families what to do.
  • The post holder must be able to communicate effectively with families where some situations are inherently stressful as the enquirer may be distressed, angry or has an emergency.
  • The post holder is expected to build relationships with FIS Community Champions who volunteer with the service.
  • The post holder is expected to build strong relationships with teams across the council including the Children’s Front Door, the Customer Advice and Assessment Team, children’s centres and childcare support services.
  • The post holder is expected to develop relationships with a large range of local services across Children’s Trust arrangements. Key partners include Health Visitors, Future Prospects, Home-Start, CANDI (forum for parents of children with disabilities or additional needs), Jobcentre Plus, community and voluntary groups and many more. There are over 1,000 agencies locally that form the Children’s Trust.
  • The post holder will be expected to build strong and positive relationships with local childcare providers in the Maintained, Voluntary, Independent and Private sectors. This relationship relates to answering questions, encouraging flexibility and ensuring information on their services, facilities or vacancies are accurately communicated to parents.
  • The post holder will handle complaints, which may be of a confidential and sensitive nature.
  • The post holder is expected to build relationships with regional and national agencies such as Ofsted, and other Family Information Services.

6. / DECISIONS – discretion & consequences
Discretion –
a)The post holder is responsible for giving information to parents, carers and practitioners by phone, text, web, email or in person. The post holder must be impartial and is setting out options for families to decide what is right for them. Enquiries will range from the simple to the complex and the post holder must decide on the most appropriate method for delivering information. For complex enquiries the post holder must decide on the best course of action to identify potential solutions and options for the family. The post holder has a large degree of discretion over how to do this but should function within standard behaviours for City of York Council, the Family Information Service and requirements outlined by the Families First national quality award.
b)To carry out childcare brokerage for parents or partner agencies on behalf of parents facing difficulty in accessing childcare or more vulnerable families who would otherwise not access childcare. This involves identifying which childcare providers will be most able and appropriate to meet the family’s needs. The post holder has a large degree of discretion over how to do this but should function within standard behaviours for City of York Council, the Family Information Service and requirements outlined by the Families First national quality award.
c)The post holder is responsible for the quality of the Enhanced Childcare Directory data held in the FIS database.
d)Deals with Ofsteddata and for ensuring that complaints about childcare or any other matter are appropriately handled and referred to the correct authority.
Consequences –
a)Providing accurate information, in an appropriate and timely way, will support the family from needing further, intensive and costly support at a later point. Failure to deliver this information may result in a parent or carer not making a properly informed decision resulting in negative outcomes for their family. This may:
  1. affect a parent’s ability to return to work or training
  2. affect the well being of the parents, carers and children
  3. result in families missing out on key financial entitlements
  4. have a detrimental impact on a child’s learning and development that may result in needing further intervention and support at a later stage.
b)If a parent contacts the service and is in need of further support the post holder needs to make sure that the parent is referred as effectively as possible to an appropriate service. If this isn’t communicated or is communicated poorly the parent is less likely to engage with the longer term support available. This will potentially impact on many different aspects of family life.
c)High quality data is essential as information is provided to the public and also to a wide number of partner agencies delivering information.
d)Families need to access childcare for a variety of reasons. Brokerage is carried out where without childcare parents or carers would be unable to return to work, undertake training, access parenting programmes or services of great importance to their family dynamics.
e)Ensuring Ofsted information is correctly managed is of great importance. Not only is this used by families to decide on childcare choices but is used by other teams within the council to allocate support and funding. Because of the nature of childcare complaints these must be handled sensitively and appropriately to ensure the appropriate bodies are made aware and manage reputational risk to the council.
7. / RESOURCES – financial & equipment
(Not budget, and not including desktop equipment.)
DescriptionValue
8. / WORK ENVIRONMENT – work demands, physical demands, working conditions & work context
Work demands
  • The demand across the working day varies and is unpredictable. Depending on the volume of contacts via all channels, and the post holder must be able to prioritise workloads accordingly.
  • The post holder must be able to prioritise certain cases, which can cause interruption in their planned programme of work pattern. Some cases, such as brokerage referrals often have very urgent response times (e.g. relating to family breakdown or social care).
  • Supporting families in difficult circumstances where there may not be easy answers or options.
Physical demands
  • Mainly working in the office. Occasional need to transport equipment and resources to outreach venues.
Work conditions
  • Mainly working in the office. Regular outreach work.
Work context
  • Mainly working in the office. Regular outreach work.
  • Potential risk of exposure to angry or emotional parents or carers

9. / KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS
  • Excellent communication skills and a proven ability to talk to parents in a variety of different situations and deliver information effectively are critical to this role. The postholder should have a Level 3 in Information, Advice and Guidance or equivalent relevant experience.
  • Strong focus on customer care in a situation that involves contact with the public.
  • Active listening skills are essential, as is an empathetic approach.
  • A strong ability to interpret a user needs and use systems and a high level of initiative to identify solutions.
  • Ability to use personal initiative and take responsibility for day-to-day work decisions and the implications around giving information assistance and guidance.
  • Strong IT skills required. Experienced user of word processing, excel, Content Management Systems and presentational software.
  • Must have strong experience of using database systems as this is a key part of this role.
  • Sound knowledge of the Local Authority environment, and the roles of the public, voluntary and private sectors.
  • Relevant experience of working in partnership with a diverse range of organisations.
  • Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage a range of conflicting demands.
  • An understanding of the local and national legislative and policy framework relating to families.
  • An excellent working knowledge of support available to families both locally and nationally.
  • Ability to work alone and as a team member in a supervisory role.
  • A strong commitment to self-development and learning new skills.
  • A commitment to public services equalities duties.

10. / Position of Job in Organisation Structure

Job Description agreed by: / Name: / Date:
Job Holder
Manager
Job Analyst

22/10/2018