Children in Hospital Ireland is seeking a highly competent, compassionate individual to join our team for a new full-time Family Support Service Manager role following a successful pilot programme. The ideal candidate will understand the needs of families with a child in hospital through personal or professional experience and will have excellent communication skills and a good level of computer literacy. 

Key roles: 

1 To generate awareness of the CIH Parent/Carer InformationHub and other appropriate sources of information. 

2  To build and maintain connections with relevant hospital staff and community based healthcare professionals. 

3 To answer parent/carer queries relating to a child’s hospital care and to develop webinars and training on relevant issues which have arisen 

4 To lead the family support service in CIH and grow its reach nationally. 

5 To manage a half time Family Support Service Information Officer who will support the information collection, analysis and updating requirements of the CIH Information Hub. 

ROLE 

The Family Support Service Manager will be responsible for delivering, a Family Support Service providing information and practical, social or emotional support to families from anywhere in Ireland with a child needing hospital care. This includes but is not limited to the following key activities: 

• Building awareness and understanding of supports and services available. • Providing a digital and in-person information service including an in-hospital information service at designated times in the main children’s hospitals. 

• Providing social and emotional support to families while supporting their information requests. and directing them to relevant support services 

• Tracking family queries, reporting on a regular basis, and providing recommendations for future improvements. 

• Facilitating a forum of parents, who provide insight and recommendations to CIH on the development and improvement of services for children and families requiring hospital care 

• Managing the development and delivery of approximately 4-6 webinar or training events for parents on topics of relevance • Ensuring adherence to data protection/GDPR requirements at all times, in line with CIH policies and procedures. 

• Managing the Family Support Service Information Officer and ensuring that the Information Hub is kept up to date and that relevant information for parents is widely disseminated

• Supporting the wider CIH team as required, including volunteer recruitment campaigns and advocacy and education work.

• Promoting the profile and work of Children in Hospital Ireland generally and in particular this new service. • Complying with all CIH and relevant hospital policies, procedures and guidelines.

• Performing other duties as may be required from time to time. 3 Reporting to the CEO, the post holder will develop and maintain positive professional relationships particularly with colleagues, the Board, volunteers and representatives of the hospitals and other outside agencies.

REQUIREMENTS

Professional 

• Relevant third level qualification 

• Minimum three years experience of working in a relevant field such as children’s health, family support or similar

• At least one year’s experience of managing staff or volunteers 

• Confidence in and knowledge of (or willingness to learn) the hospital/health care/community care environment, systems and supports- this may include personal or professional experience. 

• The ideal candidate will have prior experience supporting other parents/family carers either in a formal/professional or voluntary capacity. 

• Excellent administrative, communication, written skills and interpersonal skills with excellent attention to detail. Computer literacy is essential (Microsoft Office suite). 

• Proven time management skills and ability to prioritise, work to deadlines and manage a busy workload. 

• Experience of building relationships with diverse stakeholders. 

• Experience of working with confidentiality and maintaining professional boundaries in sensitive working environments. 

• Candidates must have a valid work permit for permission to work in Ireland 

Personal 

• Full valid driver’s license and own car required. 

• Commitment to the highest ethical standards. 

• A demonstrated empathetic and compassionate approach. • Ability to maintain personal boundaries is vital to this role. 

• Self-starter with an ability to work on own initiative. 

• Flexibility to occasionally work outside of normal working hours required. 

• Team player 4 

This position is subject to Garda Vetting. Police clearance is also required from any country where the candidate has spent more than 6 consecutive months since the age of 16 years.

CONDITIONS 

A 6 month probationary period will apply. 

Salary: 36,500 per annum, based on a 37.5 hour week. Payable monthly in arrears 

Hours: Regular office hours will apply but some flexibility is required for occasional evening or weekend work. A time in lieu system operates. 

Annual Leave: 22 days pro rata. 

In addition, CIH provides a flexible work environment, bike-to-work scheme and a number of additional company-given leave days. 

Travel: This role is based in Sandyford and will involve travel to all Children's Health Ireland hospitals in Dublin. It may also involve a small amount of occasional travel outside of Dublin. A complete list of terms and conditions will be made available to the candidate offered the role through the Staff Handbook. 

Children in Hospital Ireland is an equal opportunities employer.