Community Development & Family Support Worker

ARC Family Resource Centre is looking for an experienced Community Development & Family Support Worker to join our team.

The purpose of this job is to implement the objectives and programmes of ARC Family Resource Centre by developing a community-based response to the priority needs and issues relevant to the lives of people living in the target communities, thereby improving their quality of life. We work in Adamstown, Raheen and Clonroche and outreach in the surrounding area.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Minimum Level 7 qualification in Family Support, Community Development, Youth Work, Social Care, or relevant qualification
• Minimum 2 years’ experience, post qualification, in a community- based setting working with families to include:
  • Developing, leading and managing your own work and workplan
  • Starting where people are at and finding solutions to challenges in partnership
  • Outreach, recruiting for and getting people involved in groups and programmes
  • Building relationships with local people, groups, organisation and agencies
  • Applying an empathic understanding of the effects of discrimination, poverty and marginalisation
  • Examples if using your resilience & capabilities to meet the demands of the job
  • Excellent interpersonal, communication and group facilitation skills
  • Knowledge and experience of Tulsa’s area-based approach to family support
  • Knowledge and understanding of Community Development Principles
  • Ability to design and deliver creative programmes in response to children, young people, family and community priorities and needs with a focus on social inclusion
  • Experience and ability to manage delivering centre based, place based and outreach initiatives
  • Experience of outreaching, initiating, developing & delivering community-based initiatives in partnership with local people such as family support, education and support groups
  • Ability to maintain high quality of records, excellent report writing and digital competence skills including making promotional materials and using social media

DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE

Knowledge of and experience working with people on:

• Research, writing applications and managing grants
• Interagency responses and collaboration
• Welfare payments & system including the appeals process
• Disability services and how to access them
• Housing application forms
• Citizenship paperwork for new arrivals

The Community Development & Family Support Worker will:

• Deliver evidence-based parenting programmes
• Devise, deliver and evaluate Community Development initiatives informed by the All-Ireland standards of Community Work and values of participation, empowerment and collective decision-making.
• Devise, deliver and evaluate Family Support solutions in partnership with families, to increase their coping skills and support informed autonomous decision making.
• Assist the local community to identify and respond to the needs of children, young people, parents, families and older people paying particular attention to the needs of those who are unattached and/or isolated.
• Recruit, select, train and support a team of local volunteers to engage, build relationships and work with the people involved in the Centre.
• Promote capacity building and encourage active participation and leadership of local people in the Centre and in their community.
• Design, initiate and develop programmes and responses to meet the needs of the specific groups engaged or targeted.
• Work with people in groups as a core community work approach.
• Liaise and link with where appropriate other voluntary, community and statutory agencies working in the area.
• Undertake a comprehensive needs assessment for the area and develop a work plan focussing on strategies to address the identified needs.
• Integrate evaluation as an ongoing process in the delivery of programmes and the overall development of the Centre.
• Prepare and present current and future work plans, specifying objectives, performance indicators and outcomes, at the request of Raheen Community Development Group and the Management.
• Make recommendations to Raheen Community Development Group in relation to proposed new programmes, approaches and policies to be adopted by the Centre.
• Provide regular progress reports to Raheen Community Development Group and the Management.
• Document and assist in monitoring and evaluation of activities and programmes.
• Avail of and participate in training and development opportunities.
• Work as part of the wider staff team of Raheen Community Development Group. This will involve participating in planning sessions, meetings, reviews and contributing to building a strong team at local levels in the areas we work.
• Contribute to the maintenance of and provision of a clean and safe environment in our Centres and outreach venues.

Note: This Job Description will be reviewed and updated in line with the needs of the work.

Details of the post:

Salary: Will be based on experience, the first point of the scale is €37,145.00 Gross full time (35hrs) Hours: Flexible hours (full-time or part-time) available based on the suitability of the candidate.

Days: To be agreed. Evening and occasional weekend work is a requirement of this role. 

Contract: 1-year fixed term with a view to being permanent. All ARC FRC contracts are subject to continuous funding. The contract is subject to a probation period of 11 months with review at 3- and 6-month intervals. 

Closing date: The closing date for applications is 5pm Friday 17th January 2025.

Other: Your own car is required and holding a full clean driving licence.

This post holder will be required to complete our Garda vetting process. 

To Apply: 

Please email your cover letter and CV to Debbie @ manager@arcfrc.ie outlining your experience to date and why you feel that you are the right person for the role. Please use the above email for any queries in relation to the role.

Interviews will be scheduled to take place on the week beginning Jan 27th. Ref: Community Development & Family Support Worker

ARC FRC is an equal opportunities employer.
This Post is funded by TUSLA – National FRC Programme for 2025