Working at CANW

Role Overview
To support young people and vulnerable adults who have been detained by the police at one of the named police custody suites above, ensuring we are acting in the best interests of the detainee.

• Do you want a flexible role supporting children and young people in Police Custody?

• Can you arrive at Hereford Custody Suite within 20/30 minutes?

​If the answer is Yes to either of these questions, then this could be the role for you.

About the role

Our Appropriate Adults come from all walks of life and we are always looking for more to join our team. We are looking for people who are caring and compassionate with excellent communication skills whilst supporting the most vulnerable within a custody environment.

Salary

Sessional – hourly paid

6am – 9pm – £14.12 per hour (including holiday pay)

9pm – 6am – £16.50 per hour  (including holiday pay)

About the organisation

Child Action Northwest is an award winning charity providing a range of innovative and creative services that support children, families and vulnerable adults.  Our values of caring, empowerment, and never giving up are present in all we do and underpin our work.  We believe in the power of the individual and communities to grow, develop and change.

To apply

Please review the job description and spec before applying:

Application Form

 Appropriate Adult Job Description

Appropriate Adult Person Spec

Submit a CV, a cover letter and this application form: Application Form 2025

Apply to: cjr@canw.org.uk

Please note:

You must live within 30 minutes of:

• Hereford Police station, Bath Street, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR1 2HT

All roles within CANW have a responsibility for the safeguarding of children and adults. This role will be subject to an enhanced DBS check checked against the Children’s Barred List.

Role Overview:To provide day-to-day care for young people aged 8 to 17 with social and emotional mental health difficulties.

About the role

We have a new and exciting opportunity within CANW for both full-time and part-time Residential Support Workers for our upcoming Residential Children’s Home. At this exciting point in growth for our charity, you will be responsible for providing day-to-day care for young people aged 8 to 17 with social and emotional mental health difficulties.

Purpose of the job

• Promote a safe and secure environment for children/young people and ensures that others adhere to policies, procedures, and working practices.
• To provide day-to-day care for young people aged 8 to 17 with social and emotional mental health difficulties.
• To establish a clear transition plan to rehabilitation to birth families, fostering or independent living. Responsible for ensuring that young people are prepared for and supported to reach independence.
• To foster a safe, secure, and accepting environment encouraging positive behaviour in all aspects of the young person’s life.
• Ensure that the wishes and feelings of children/young people are considered in all aspects of their daily care and in accordance with their age and understanding. Ensure children and young people have forums to contribute to decisions about their lives.
• Provides opportunities for children/young people to learn, develop, and reach their full potential through regular and consistent access to education and wider experiences that will enrich their life.
• Support children/young people to maintain a good level of health and well-being whilst developing their awareness of areas that can negatively impact their well-being.
• Promotes the needs of each child/young person arising from their racial, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Enable children/young people to establish their own identity within their home environment.
• Responsible for the development, monitoring, and review of care plans with the young person, including risk assessments, ensuring that appropriate others are aware of the child/young person’s individual needs & requirements.
• Supports children/young people to maintain meaningful relationships with those important to them. Where appropriate. Supports children/young people to establish, develop, and maintain relationships and social networks outside of the home.
• Promote a safe, secure, and accepting environment for children/young people where positive behaviour is encouraged and praised.
• Provide appropriate and meaningful boundaries which support children/young people’s understanding of the benefits of positive behaviour on their own and others health, safety, and well-being. Responds consistently on a day-to-day basis to incidents of challenging behaviour and supports others to develop consistency in their own practice.

​Principal Duties

• Promotes open and effective relationships with children/young people where they can share concerns about their health, well-being and relationships. Promote health and well-being raising awareness of factors that can impact on it.
• Recognises signs and symptoms of abuse and harm and ensures that respectful observations are made of children/young people to ensure their safety is paramount.
• Ensure that disclosures of danger, harm, or abuse made by children/young people are responded to in a calm and sensitive manner and are accurately recorded and reported. Ensures that children/young people are openly and honestly informed of who will need to be contacted if a disclosure of danger, harm, or abuse is disclosed.
• Ensure that the wishes, feelings, and preferences of children/young people are listened to and considered whilst maintaining safeguarding practice. Support the young person to respectfully challenge decisions where the best interests of the child/young person are not being fully considered.
• Support children//young people in establishing their identity and ensuring their wishes are considered.
• To work in partnership with other agencies/professionals and seek to understand their individual roles and responsibilities. To collaborate with parents, carers, and other professionals to benefit the young person.
• To work in partnership with other agencies/professionals to devise, monitor and review care plans that promote the health, well-being, and protection of children/young people. Ensuring all significant information is shared with relevant professionals in the best interests of the child/young person whilst adhering to recognized confidentiality procedures.
• Support children/young people to actively engage in programs of support that are available through other agencies/professionals and ensure that they understand your responsibility to liaise with those professionals where appropriate.
• Support children/young people to pursue appropriate interests of their choice whilst ensuring their safety and well-being.
• In line with Data Protection Act 2018 maintain accurate, up-to-date records and reports for each child/young person and in line with Information Governance procedures for CANW.
• To identify and complete all appropriate documentation relevant to any given situation in all aspects of the role and supports others in this completion/task.
• To share information with children/young people in a manner that is appropriate to their age and understanding whilst remaining sensitive, respectful, and non-judgmental always.
• Provide appropriate and useful boundaries in relation to social media and internet safety and responding to areas of concern. Actively listening to what children/young people are saying about their experiences, respectfully enquire about areas that may be presenting concerns.
• To present in a professional manner and provide leadership and support in your role across the Residential Service and CANW.

​Organisational responsibilities

• ​Represent CANW at meetings, conferences and exhibitions as required.
• ​Provide a non-discriminatory service in line with best practice and legislative guidance and treat all who access CANW services fairly and equally.
• ​Be aware of the Health and Safety requirements in the workplace, and in particular, as it relates to own service area and/or department.
• ​Work within allocated budgets and agreed expenditure levels.
• ​Keep accurate records and provide written reports as required.
• ​Contribute to CANW’s operational and strategic development, including any organisation objectives identified through designated quality standards, such as Trusted Charity and Investors in People.
• ​Participate fully in personal supervision meetings and the annual appraisal process and undertake any training deemed necessary for the role.
• ​​Review own delivery performance against agreed annual KPIs (key performance indicators), aiming to meet or exceed personal targets/performance levels.
• ​Undertake additional duties, training and/or hours of work as may be reasonably required which are deemed appropriate to the levels of responsibility within the role.
• ​Be aware of the safeguarding policy and procedure for children and vulnerable adults and ensure that the safeguarding of children, young people and adults is given the highest priority in the work undertaken.
• ​Have a personal responsibility to ensure that person identifiable, confidential or sensitive information is processed in line with GDPR and complies with any other relevant data protection legislation, organisational polices and best practice when processing information.
• ​​Work outside of normal office hours (ie. evenings and weekends) as and when required to meet the needs of service users as appropriate.
• ​​Undertake other appropriate tasks as may be required of the post holder from time to time and provide cover for tasks during periods of sickness or holiday.

Benefits

Alongside working for a charity like CANW that provides you with a sense of reward, fulfilment and passion, who go above and beyond to support the lives of children and young people, you will also receive a suite of benefits including;

• Company Sick Pay after probation period
• Enhanced Maternity / Paternity.
• Volunteering programme allowing 2 days to employees to get involved, fundraise and give back to CANW.
• Discounted BUPA medical insurance paid through salary.
• Enhanced annual leave starting from 25 days, plus bank holidays, increasing by 1 day every year up to 30 days holiday.
• Holiday purchase scheme allowing an additional 5 days per year.
• Electric vehicle lease scheme
• A range of learning and development opportunities including our in house LMS System.
• Medicash Scheme, providing money back for medical prescriptions, optical and dental appointments and physio.
• Employee Assistance Programme allowing 24/7 access to external support and advice when needed.
• Benefits hub with exclusive retail, food and beverage discounts
• Reward, recognition and long service awards

Additional training

Applicants that are not qualified to Diploma level 3 in Children and young people in residential care will have the opportunity to work towards there qualification with an expected completion date within two years of starting. The salary whilst the qualification is being undertaken is £24,699.76 with enhancements.

Salary

• Full Time – 37hrs per week, 148hrs in a 4 week period – £28,486 – £30,091
• Part Time – 25hrs per week 100hrs in a 4 week period – £28,486 – £30,091 Pro rata

About the organisation

Child Action Northwest (CANW) is an award-winning charity providing a range of innovative and creative services across the North of England that support children, families and vulnerable adults. CANW has been supporting children and young people for 130 years since the founding of the organisation in 1886. Our mission is to inspire lives and change futures. Our values of caring, empowerment, and never giving up are present in all we do and underpin our work. We believe in the power of the individual and communities to grow, develop and change.

To apply:

Please review the job description and spec before applying:

Residential Support Worker Job Description

Residential Support Worker Person Spec

Submit a CV, a cover letter and this application form: Application Form 2025

Apply to: recruitment@canw.org.uk

Please note:

All roles within CANW have a responsibility for the safeguarding of children and adults. This role will be subject to an enhanced DBS check checked against the Children’s Barred List.

Role Overview:

At CANW we are extremely proud of our innovative portfolio of services designed to support children and young people, families and communities. We passionately believe that every individual has the right to achieve their full potential whatever their background or circumstance.

The role of the Marketing and Communications Lead will be to support CANW and its services to achieve key objectives, through developing engaging content for marketing materials, social media posts, newsletters and flyers to effectively communicate CANW’s message.

The role will contribute to and execute an innovative communications strategy to ensure continuous and consistent online and offline presence.

The role is responsible for creating, coordinating, and managing all marketing and content activity across CANW – from planning social campaigns to producing newsletters, flyers and website content.

You will work closely with members of the Wider Senior Leadership Team to understand marketing and communication needs across the different services and translate these into social posts, newsletters and website content.

Principal Duties:

Social Media & Content Planning

• Creating and managing a content calendar for all CANW services
• Planning and posting daily content across Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
• Developing a Tik Tok channel for the charity.
• Engaging with comments, DMs and tagged content.
• Creating and editing reels to bring the story of CANW to life.
• Managing all paid advertising, in conjunction with Heads of Service.

Campaigns & Advertising

• Write, edit and coordinate copy and produce visuals for digital and print campaigns, using Canva or similar.
• Support in the communication and promotion of fundraising events.
• Ensure all literature is kept up to date at all times.

Newsletters, Flyers and Emails

• In conjunction with the Fundraising and Events Lead, writing and designing email campaigns
• Create regular internal newsletters.
• Produce quarterly external newsletters and the annual impact report.
• Ensure that all services receive and have access to high quality marketing, digital and promotional materials in readiness to promote the ‘public face of CANW’ to all relevant stakeholders at events, exhibitions, presentations, online web content and campaigns.

Website & SEO

• Updating website copy and images regularly, in conjunction with Heads of Service
• Ensuring consistency of messaging, tone, and visual identity.
• Uploading blogs and news stories
• Monitoring Google Analytics and keyword performance.

Reporting & Review

• Creating a monthly marketing report summarising activity and engagement.

Brand

• Understand brand guidelines and consistently implement these and the brand voice across all channels and collateral.

• Police and oversee the use of CANW’s brand identity both internal and with external partners ensuring deployment is in line with CANWs brand guidance.

• Undertake copywriting, proofing, image collation and final proofing for print and online content.

Organisational Responsibilities:

• Represent CANW at meetings, conferences and exhibitions as required.
• Provide a non-discriminatory service in line with best practice and legislative guidance and treat all who access CANW services fairly and equally.
• Be aware of the Health and Safety requirements in the workplace, and in particular, as it relates to own service area and/or department.
• Work within allocated budgets and agreed expenditure levels.
• Keep accurate records and provide written reports as required.
• Contribute to CANW’s operational and strategic development, including any organisation objectives identified through designated quality standards, such as Investors in People.
• Participate fully in personal supervision meetings and the annual appraisal process and undertake any training deemed necessary for the role.
• Review own delivery performance against agreed annual KPIs (key performance indicators), aiming to meet or exceed personal targets/performance levels.
• Undertake additional duties, training and/or hours of work as may be reasonably required which are deemed appropriate to the levels of responsibility within the role.
• Be aware of the safeguarding policy and procedure for children and vulnerable adults and ensure that the safeguarding of children, young people and adults is given the highest priority in the work undertaken.
• Have a personal responsibility to ensure that person identifiable, confidential or sensitive information is processed in line with GDPR and complies with any other relevant data protection legislation, organisational polices and best practice when processing information.
• Work outside of normal office hours (i.e. evenings and weekends) as and when required to meet the needs of service users as appropriate.
• Undertake other appropriate tasks as may be required of the post holder from time to time and provide cover for tasks during periods of sickness or holiday.

Benefits

Alongside working for a charity like CANW that provides you with a sense of reward, fulfilment and passion, who go above and beyond to support the lives of children and young people, you will also receive a suite of benefits including;

• Company Sick Pay after probation period
• Enhanced Maternity / Paternity.
• Volunteering programme allowing 2 days to employees to get involved, fundraise and give back to CANW.
• Discounted BUPA medical insurance paid through salary.
• Enhanced annual leave starting from 25 days, plus bank holidays, increasing by 1 day every year up to 30 days holiday.
• Holiday purchase scheme allowing an additional 5 days per year.
• Electric vehicle lease scheme
• A range of learning and development opportunities including our in house LMS System.
• Medicash Scheme, providing money back for medical prescriptions, optical and dental appointments and physio.
• Employee Assistance Programme allowing 24/7 access to external support and advice when needed.
• Benefits hub with exclusive retail, food and beverage discounts
• Reward, recognition and long service awards

About the organisation

Child Action Northwest (CANW) is an award-winning charity providing a range of innovative and creative services across the North of England that support children, families and vulnerable adults. CANW has been supporting children and young people for 130 years since the founding of the organisation in 1886. Our mission is to inspire lives and change futures. Our values of caring, empowerment, and never giving up are present in all we do and underpin our work. We believe in the power of the individual and communities to grow, develop and change.

To apply:

Please review the job description and spec before applying:

Marketing and Communications Lead Job Description

Marketing and Communications Lead Person Spec

Submit a CV, a cover letter and this application form: Application Form 2025

Apply to: recruitment@canw.org.uk

Closing Date:

Thursday 26^th March 2026

Interview Date:

Wednesday 8^th April 2026

Please note:

All roles within CANW have a responsibility for the safeguarding of children and adults. This role will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Hybrid role – 50% based at our Buckshaw Parkway office

Child Action Northwest is seeking a highly organised and proactive Business Support Officer to join our IT & Estates Team. This important role manages inbound contacts and provides key administrative support to help coordinate maintenance, compliance and IT/estates activities across the organisation, ensuring our systems, records and communication channels operate efficiently and effectively.

This position is advertised at 30 hours per week, but we are committed to recruiting the right person. We welcome applications from individuals seeking alternative hours—please state your preferred working pattern clearly on your application form.

Role overview

As a valued member of the IT & Estates Team, you will:

• Provide high‑quality administrative support to the IT & Estates Manager and the Senior Leadership Team
• Manage records, take minutes and handle enquiries received via the shared Outlook mailbox and incoming telephone calls
• Act as the first point of contact for colleagues and service users reporting IT or Estates‑related issues, owning these to resolution
• Log and process requests, ensuring information is captured accurately and assigned appropriate priorities
• Monitor shared inboxes, escalate matters when needed and ensure inbound calls are directed to the correct departments
• Maintain accurate documentation and record‑keeping systems
• Keep colleagues updated on the progress of their requests, delivering excellent customer service throughout
• Assist in scheduling inspections, maintenance tasks and compliance activities.
• Liaise with contractors and internal teams to support the smooth operation of estates services
• Contribute to continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to refine, improve and streamline business processes
• Support our Finance team as and when required
• Own each task from start to finish, ensuring high‑quality outcomes
• Communicate professionally with clients, visitors, contractors, senior managers and colleagues from across the organisation
• Conduct yourself professionally at all times, handling sensitive information with discretion
• Complete daily, weekly and monthly compliance testing including but not limited to water temperature checks and fire alarm testing
• Support with fire evacuations and take a lead role as a Fire Marshall when on site

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver high quality administrative support to the IT & Estates Team.
• Manage the charity’s inbound contacts via telephone and shared mailbox, redirecting enquiries and responding to routine requests
• Ensure all assigned requests are resolved effectively and in a timely manner
• Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date records, documentation and tracking systems
• Support the coordination of maintenance, inspection and compliance schedules, and schedule contractor appointments as necessary
• Liaise with colleagues, volunteers, contractors and service providers to meet corporate and operational requirements
• Carry out any other duties as required to support colleagues and the wider team

About You

The ideal candidate will:

• Be highly organised and detail‑focused
• Be proactive and able to anticipate needs and challenges
• Be professional, trustworthy and capable of handling confidential information
• Hold GCSEs in English and Maths (or equivalent)
• Demonstrate strong organisational and communication skills
• Have experience working in a customer‑focused environment
• Be proficient in Microsoft Office applications
• Have access to a vehicle and full driving licence

Salary

£25,087.32 pro rata

To apply:

Please review the job description applying:

CANW Estates Officer Mat Cover LL

Submit a CV, a cover letter and this application form: Application Form 2025

Apply to: recruitment@canw.org.uk

Closing date:

5^th April 2026, with interviews week commencing 13^th April

Salary: £26,300.00-£28,032.00 per year

Locations:

East Lancashire based: Blackburn, Burnley, Pendle, Ribble Valley and Rossendale

North Lancashire: Lancaster, Wyre, Flyde

Central Lancashire: Preston, Chorley, West Lancashire, South Ribble

Job Overview

Fixed term until March 2027 – Term time plus 5 days in the summer break

Salary range: £26,300-£28,032 Per annum pro-rata for part time posts

Working Pattern: – Monday – Friday between 9am and 5pm

Job Description:

for this role you should be able…..

• To work with children and young people on a one to one and/or group work basis to identify, assess and explore any emotional/mental health and well-being issues
• To offer a range of time limited, therapeutic interventions to young people to enable and empower them to become fully capable of fulfilling their own potential for growth
• To identify appropriate intervention / support strategies for children and young people based on their assessed emotional/mental health and well-being needs
• To work in partnership with others, to support and enable young people to achieve emotional health and well-being
• To work in partnership with families, other statutory and voluntary services to support Mental Health outcomes

Job Role:

• To develop and explore new and innovative ways of working with young people and their parents/carers to address emotional/mental health issues
• Using Cognitive behavioural approaches, solution focused, creative and imaginative strategies, to work with young people and their parents/carers to improve their emotional health and wellbeing
• To work as part of the Emotional Health and Well-being Service to encourage young people and their parents/carers to actively participate in services that are identified as part of their assessed needs
• To liaise and work in partnership with statutory and voluntary agencies in the interests of the Service and needs of young people
• To liaise with statutory mental health services to promote CANW, providing a collaborative approach to Pro-contact services for children, young people and families, whilst increasing partner knowledge of CANW referral pathways and projects
• To undertake direct work with young people as referred by the commissioning agencies to prevent statutory intervention (wherever possible)
• To ensure that the service provided meets the needs of young people and balances emotional health and family well-being with that of safeguarding (child protection)
• With the Team Manager, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Service in partnership with young people who access the Service and produce an annual report
• To assist in the ongoing development of the Service and in the identification and securing of future funding for the work of the Service
• To work in partnership with all CANW’s services (projects)
• To work within CANW’s Quality Assurance Framework (Trusted Charity) and work within best practice guidelines and National Occupational Standards for Working with Parents

The ideal candidate for this role would be someone who..

• Has a counselling qualification
• Has therapeutic background
• Drives own car
• Passionate about making a difference

Qualifications needed: Level 4 Counselling

Job Type: Fixed term contract

Contract length: 12 months

Work Location: In person

To apply:

Submit a CV, a cover letter and this application form: Application Form 2025

Apply to: recruitment@canw.org.uk

Closing date: 30th March 2026