Senior Residential Children and Young People's Worker

Senior Residential Children and Young People Worker – Join us at the start of something special

Changing Childhoods. Changing Lives. 

We're working in partnership with London Borough of Bromley we're opening a brand-new children's home and we're looking for compassionate and skilled Senior Children and Young People Workers to help bring it to life. 

This is a unique opportunity to be part of something special: a nurturing, trauma-informed home where children feel safe, respected, and empowered. Our practice is grounded in the PACE model (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy), which underpins our relationships, routines, and responses.

If you're passionate about relational care and ready to help shape a home where children feel safe and valued, we'd love to hear from you.

What Young People Say About the Home

• “I really like it here.” – Young person, age 17
  “Homely.” – Young person, age 17
  “Spacious.” – Young person, age 17

These first impressions matter. As a Senior Residential Worker, you'll help turn this beautiful new house into a home, one where children feel they belong.

These voices guide our practice. You'll help ensure children's views shape the daily life and culture of the home.

What You'll Do

• Lead shifts and provide guidance to the residential team
• Build strong, trusting relationships with children and young people
• Model and embed PACE principles in everyday practice
• Support the development of a reflective, trauma-informed team
• Contribute to care planning, safeguarding, and quality improvement
• Act as a key worker and advocate for children's needs and rights
• Step up in the absence of management to ensure continuity of care

What We're Looking For

• Experience in residential childcare (Level 3 Diploma minimum desirable)
• A relational, trauma-informed approach to care
• Strong safeguarding knowledge
• Emotional resilience
• Ability to lead shifts and support colleagues
• Commitment to listening to and empowering children
• To meet a genuine occupational requirement, candidates must be a minimum age of 22. 

What We Offer

• Training in PACE and trauma-informed practice, enrolment onto Level 4 Diploma after probation period
• Opportunities for progression and leadership development
• Access to clinical supervision and wellbeing support
• A values-driven organisation focused on excellence
• A chance to make a lasting difference in children's lives

Apply Now

If you're ready to support with purpose and help shape an environment where young people can thrive, we'd love to hear from you.

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values.  We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people. 

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay. 

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours.  More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application. 

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Cycle2work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.  

Our basis and values