About The Role

Job Title: STEPS Team Leader

Hours: 37

Salary: HC8 GBP33,945 - GBP38,223 per annum

Contract: Fixed Term

Contract end: 31/01/2025

Closing date: 10/01/2024

Interview date: 17/01/2024

The Role

An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Virtual School to lead a team that helps vulnerable children and young people in Herefordshire make the most out of their education.

We are looking to recruit a STEPS team leader to head up our recently expanded STEPS team. STEPS is a mentoring service that helps vulnerable children overcome barriers to education. You will be part of the friendly and welcoming Virtual School team and will liaise with a variety of professionals to ensure that the vulnerable young people you work with achieve their potential. You will have a small caseload to maintain alongside managing the day to day activities of the STEPS workers and contributing to the development of the STEPS service within the Virtual school.

We are seeking a motivated and organised individual who is passionate about making a difference in the lives of care experienced and vulnerable children and young people.

The role requires good communication and interpersonal skills to engage with children and young people and other professionals. You will need a keen eye for detail, good organisational and project management skills and a proven track record of service development.

The ideal candidate will have a degree in a relevant field and experience of managing staff who work with children and young people in an education or social care setting. You should be confident at organising trips and activities and comfortable with both lone and team working. The attached job description and person specification give further details of the role and attention should be paid to these when completing your application. There is an ongoing programme of training and professional development within the Virtual School that the candidate will be able to access.

The job requires travel around Herefordshire so access to a car is essential. The role requires a flexible working pattern and frequently involves working with children and young people outside school and office hours. The post is initially on a one year fixed term contract, with the possibility of further extension.

If you have any queries please contact the Virtual School Head at

Benefits of working for Herefordshire Council:

A competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:

Pension Scheme Enrolment in the Local Government (LGPS) Generous Annual Leave: 26 days' annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays. After five years' continuous service, this increases to 31 days (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum Flexible working: flexi-time, job-share, part-time hours and, in some instances, home working Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling Payment of professional membership fees Pick your perks - our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts. About Us

Herefordshire is a beautiful, historic county located in the heart of the Marches on the border with Wales. We are one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England with a wealth of unspoilt countryside, distinctive heritage, and lively and attractive market towns.

Our priority in Herefordshire is to keep children safe and give them a great start in life. It's the priority for the council, our partners and for all of us who work with Children & Young People.

How do we do this? By having dynamic, dedicated, passionate and professional staff who work in a culture that focuses on what we can achieve with children, what they can achieve themselves, and the relationship we build with families and partners to enable this. We have invested heavily in training and developing staff in our relational practice approach with our improvement partner Leeds City Council, so it's an exciting time to join Herefordshire - we believe in investing in you so you can be the best you can be!

Herefordshire has a really strong team ethos. Our teams are passionate about the work they do and the positive difference they and the teams they are in make to people's lives. This is all underpinned by the focus and support from their managers and the council as a whole.

We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond.

Come to Herefordshire and join the journey.

We welcome applicants whatever their personal characteristics or social identity. All requests for flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments will be considered.

The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:

Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the "Disability Confident" scheme; Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant; and Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care. Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for more details of this role.

To apply, please submit your CV and complete the supporting statement within the application form, referring to the job description & person specification, detailing how you meet the specific requirements of the role.