Social Work Assistant - Close Support Team

Proposed Interview Date: Week Commencing 7 December 2026

Closing Date: Sunday 29 November 2026

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary: FC6 £31,761.26 - £34,914.86

Working Pattern: 36 hours per week, including evenings and weekends

Location: Glenrothes but working throughout Fife

Supporting Statement

As part of your application, you must provide us with a Supporting Statement which outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy. For more information, check out the How to Apply section of our Career Site. Without a Supporting Statement, your application will not be progressed. Please upload your Supporting Statement at the section marked ‘upload resumé’. Your Supporting Statement must not be a CV. More information is available on our Career site at www.fife.gov.uk/jobs/supportingstatement.

When completing your Supporting Statement, we would encourage you to demonstrate your experience of:

• Working with children, young people and families in crisis.
• Assessing and managing risk in complex situations.
• Delivering direct interventions and achieving positive outcomes.
• Working independently and using your initiative to respond to changing circumstances.
• Building effective relationships with children, families, carers and partner agencies.
• Working collaboratively as part of a multi-agency team.
• Applying strengths-based and solution-focused approaches in practice.

Job Details

The Close Support Team (CST) is a Fife-wide team which provides assessment, intensive short-term support and intervention to children, young people, families and carers experiencing crisis, where there is a significant risk of family or placement breakdown.

As part of Fife's commitment to The Promise and GIRFEC, the team delivers focused, responsive support at the point families need it most. Working alongside our Early Help and Support, Enhanced and Specialist Services, who retain case responsibility throughout involvement, CST provides intensive interventions to help stabilise situations, reduce immediate risks and support positive change.

The team's involvement is time-limited and purposeful, with a focus on helping families and young people navigate periods of crisis, strengthen existing support networks and identify sustainable solutions. Where ongoing support is required, CST works collaboratively with colleagues and partner agencies to support planned transitions to longer-term services.

The team also works with young people living in residential care and those preparing for independence, providing practical and relationship-based support to help them develop confidence, resilience and the skills required for independent or semi-independent living.

As part of a wider integrated service, there may be occasions where Close Support Team staff are required to support colleagues within the Out of Hours Social Work Service. This may involve contributing to crisis responses, urgent assessments and supporting effective service delivery across the wider service.

This is a varied and rewarding role where no two days are the same.

You will undertake direct work with children, young people, families and carers, helping them through periods of significant challenge while working as part of a wider team around the child.

This post operates on a 3-week rota incorporating daytime, evening, weekend and public holiday working. Staff currently work a variety of shifts including:

• 9.00am - 5.00pm
• 12.00pm - 8.00pm
• 2.00pm - 10.00pm

The Close Support Team operates:

• Weekdays: 9.00am - 8.00pm
• Weekends: 9.00am - 10.00pm

You will receive every third weekend off. Enhanced payments are payable for weekend, public holiday and unsocial hours working.

You will:

• Undertake assessments and provide intensive short-term interventions to stabilise crisis situations.
• Deliver focused support to children, young people, families and carers where there is a risk of family or placement breakdown.
• Work alongside colleagues within our Early Help and Support, Enhanced and Specialist Services, who retain overall case responsibility throughout CST involvement.
• Build positive and purposeful relationships with children, young people, families and carers.
• Use strengths-based and solution-focused approaches consistent with The Promise and GIRFEC.
• Support families to identify solutions, strengthen support networks and develop practical support and safety plans.
• Work closely with social work teams, residential staff and partner agencies to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people.
• Support young people living in residential care and those preparing for independent or semi-independent living.
• Contribute to transition planning and future support arrangements where required.
• Assess, manage and respond to risk, ensuring children's wellbeing and safety remain central to all interventions.
• Attend at, and present information to, meetings regarding families you support. This information could be presented verbally or in written format.
• Provide support to the Out of Hours Social Work Service when required, contributing to urgent assessments and crisis responses.

A link to the role profile is included below. You will find further information about the job and the type of person we are looking for.

The Person

Ability to travel throughout Fife within a limited timescale.

Further Information

• Role Profile - When preparing your supporting statement, review the role profile and think about how you meet the essential criteria Role Profile
• How We Work Matters - Our employees are expected to display and promote certain behaviours in the workplace.See our How We Work Matters behaviour framework for more information.
• Employee Benefits - Employees have access to a benefits package that offers discounts on a wide range of products and services.
• Directorate Information - Council Department information
• Social Media - Search for more 'Fife Council Jobs' on Facebook or follow us on X @FCJobsOfficial.
• Alternative Formats- Job information can be made available in alternative formats, to make a request please e-mail [email protected].
• AI - We recognise that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used by many people when they are applying for jobs and preparing for interview. Candidate guidance on the use of AI in the recruitment process is available here.

For further information please contact: Michael Hunter - [email protected] or Jean Diamond - [email protected]