Vacant job

Do you want to support and strengthen a family and contribute to children's right to a safe upbringing?

SOS Children's Villages, with the support of the Erling Persson Foundation, runs the project Strong and Safe to support families in Gothenburg and Stockholm where one or more children are placed in some form of round-the-clock care. By supporting the parents and the children who remain in the birth family with preventive and family-oriented support, we aim to create good conditions together to strengthen the family's protective factors.

Our experience shows that families with an increased need for support often lack an individual holistic support, especially the support for children whose siblings are placed. We target families where one or more children are placed, regardless of the form of placement or reason for placement.

About the role of support person

As a support person, you are employed on an hourly basis, and your task involves supporting a family through individual meetings for up to one year. A family has two support persons assigned to them who together address both the children's and the parents' needs for support. One support person focuses on the parents and the youngest children, while another support person focuses on the school-aged children and older. The support involves contributing to ensuring that the children in the family receive enhanced schooling, meaningful leisure activities, and psychosocial support when needed. It also involves supporting and strengthening the parents' ability to ensure their children's upbringing. The project works based on a method that builds on individual goals developed from each family's life situation and support needs. Upon enrollment in the project, an assessment is conducted to understand the family's support needs.

You meet at times and places that suit you, usually after office hours, in the evenings, or on weekends. The goal of Strong and Safe is to provide each family with exactly the support they need based on individual needs. Your task and goal are to create a trusting and respectful relationship with the family.

The employment form as a support person in our national programs is flexible; in other words, you are not guaranteed hours. We match our support persons and families based on the family's needs and your experience. When you are asked about assignments, we check whether you have the opportunity to start and the extent of the assignment. Typically, an assignment involves about 10 hours/month and is performed in addition to your regular employment.

Before starting the assignment, you will undergo training organized by SOS Children's Villages. Each support person assignment includes supervision and competence-enhancing activities. Prior to employment, a check of the police criminal record will be requested, and references will be taken.

We are looking for someone who:

• Has education in social work or is in training, or has acquired equivalent knowledge in another way.

• Has a good understanding of the social services process.

• Has experience working with either parenting support and/or working with children and youth.

• Has good knowledge of society and its structure.

• Has a good ability to express yourself in speech and writing in Swedish.

Meritorious:

• Experience in educational work and the school environment.

• Experience as a contact person in the municipal, private, or non-profit sector.

As a support person at SOS Children's Villages, you have a responsibility to adhere to and follow our Code of Conduct and Child and Youth Safeguarding Policy with associated guidelines. This means that we work from a risk-aware perspective and that the individual worker is responsible for ensuring that their work does not in any way expose children and youth to the risk of harm.

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