Priority Candidates will be considered in the first instance

Salary: Grade 6, £30,515 - £33,673 per annum.

37 hours per week

4x positions

Permanent

We're on a journey to build a workforce reflective of our Borough.

We are committed to fostering diverse teams where everybody can bring their authentic selves to work and feel that they belong. If you want to work for a Council where everybody is encouraged to meet their full potential and make a difference in our neighbourhoods, we would love to hear from you!

Your role:

Are you passionate about making a real difference in the lives of children, young people and their families?

We are looking for a skilled and compassionate support worker to join our high performing Staying Together Team.

As an Intensive Adolescent Support Worker, you will work intensively with adolescents and families across the borough that have an allocated social worker and are experiencing family breakdown and complex harms that are impacting on their safety and wellbeing and leaving them vulnerable to entering care.

You will provide an immediate, highly flexible and responsive range of interventions, incorporating tailored direct work packages for young people and their families based on trauma informed and trusted relationship evidence-based approaches.

You will build relationships quickly, provide calm and purposeful support, strengthen parenting capacity and develop practical strategies that support positive change.

If you are resilient, relational, creative and confident working in complex family situations, we would love to hear from you.

This will be delivered from family homes, within the local community and workplaces to improve the quality of family life and prevent family breakdown.

About you:

We are seeking enthusiastic applicants for the Staying Together Team as part of our wider REACH adolescent safeguarding service who have excellent communication and engagement skills with adolescents and families. You will have flexibility in your working week including being part of a team shift pattern rota, around mornings, evening and weekend working.

You will have the essential skills in working with children, young people and adults who may present as resistant or challenging and be able to maintain a resilient, calm and ‘can do’ approach.

Have a good understanding of contextual safeguarding, adolescent development and the potential impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences on adolescent safety, wellbeing and family functioning.

Be able to produce accurate written reports and attend professional multi-agency meetings. Be able to travel across the borough and transport children and young people when required, including having your own car and a full driving licence.

About us:

This is a unique opportunity to work with a skilled, motivated and dedicated workforce, who are passionate about getting it right and ensuring that adolescents have every opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential.

The Reach service is part of Children Services, it aims to improve the lives of young people and their families particularly where there are extra familial safeguarding concerns, risk of/or offending behaviour and risk of entering the care system.


Our culture is inclusive, where people are encouraged to be curious, creative and bring their own ideas. We learn from each other and are committed to making a meaningful difference to families.

You will benefit from quality training, regular supervision and opportunities to develop your practice.

The Progress with Unity plan is a place movement for change for the next decade, bringing a new era for Wigan Borough. It draws on the strengths of our individual organisations, recognising that together we can achieve much more for our communities by delivering on our 2 place missions; create fair opportunities for all children, families, residents and businesses and make our towns and neighbourhoods flourish for those who live and work in them.

Here at Wigan, we are proud to support flexible working patterns, when the service can accommodate this. We also take a blended approach to where we work, depending on the work we do. This may include working from home, the office, or the community. We like to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits click here to find out more about working for #TeamWigan.

Wigan Council prides itself on equality, inclusion and promoting diversity within the borough and aims to recruit a workforce that reflects our diverse communities. We invest in training and developing our staff, in a positive learning environment, and aim to be a consciously inclusive employer. We welcome applications from everybody in the community and would particularly encourage applicants from our underrepresented groups to apply. At Wigan, it is really important to us that applicants demonstrate our Team Wigan behaviours, and we do all we can to make sure that everyone feels like they belong. We have guidance in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.

To be appointed to this role you must be able to prove your right to work in the UK, and you must maintain a valid (active) right to work. Please note, at present we are not a licenced sponsor. Please visit the link below to check you qualify to apply. Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Prove your right to work to an employer

Wigan Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. As part of this commitment, Wigan Council operates robust Safer Recruitment procedures

For further information, please contact Cathy Morley at c.morley@wigan.gov.uk or on 07917 263925

Interview dates: 20th and 21st October 2026

This position is subject to Enhanced Disclosure Procedures plus child barred list check

The employer is committed to safeguarding

To view the details relating to this position, please click the links below:

Supporting Documents

Job Specification
DBS Applicant Information
Privacy Notice
Applying Authentically With AI: Our Greater Manchester Approach
Safer Recruitment at Wigan Council

Ready to apply?

Location

Wigan Life Centre South, College Avenue, Wigan, WN1 1NJ, United Kingdom

Job ID

3462

Supporting You Through Every Step of Your Journey

We want every candidate to feel welcomed, informed and confident when applying for a role with us.

This section brings together everything you need to succeed - from guidance on writing an authentic application to understanding how to use AI responsibly.

You’ll also find information about our Greater Manchester commitments, including our inclusive employment schemes and standards, as well as tools to help you explore your potential pay, benefits and entitlements. We’re here to ensure you have the support you need at every stage.

Working for a local authority in Greater Manchester

Local authorities across Greater Manchester are proud to be part of a shared commitment to widening access to employment and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

These commitments span a number of long‑standing schemes and initiatives designed to open doors, remove barriers and ensure all applicants feel valued and respected throughout their employment journey.

Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter

People in an urban setting with a car, buildings, and recycling bin.

Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter

Find out more

Our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme

Cityscape with people, aircraft and military vehicles.

Our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme

Find out more

Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment

People, buildings, and a van in a purple cityscape.

Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment

Find out more

Greater Manchester People Inclusion Standards

People with disabilities and different backgrounds in a community

Greater Manchester People Inclusion Standards

Find out more

Your Pay, Your Benefits, Your Future

Explore easy‑to‑use tools that help you understand your take‑home pay and how different employment situations may affect the financial support available to you and your household.

  1. Calculate Your Take‑Home Pay

    Use this salary calculator to estimate your net pay after tax, National Insurance, and pension contributions.

    Estimate your Income Tax for the current year (Gov.uk)

  2. Check Your Benefits Entitlement

    See how changes in employment, hours or salary may affect your benefits and household income.

    Turn2us Benefits Calculator

Applying Authentically With AI: Our Greater Manchester Approach

Across Greater Manchester’s local authorities, we want to hear your genuine experiences, skills and motivations, expressed in your own words.

To keep our recruitment process fair and inclusive, please complete your application personally and follow the instructions carefully. AI can be used to support you - for example, to help structure your answers or as a reasonable adjustment - but your application should still reflect your authentic voice.

Applications that depend too heavily on AI‑generated content may not progress to shortlisting.

This guidance outlines acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI, along with suggestions for using it in a way that supports you while keeping your application true to you.

  1. What Is AI and How Do We Use It Across Greater Manchester?

    AI refers to technology that can create or refine content, such as text, ideas, summaries, or planning. It can help improve productivity, problem-solving, and creativity.

    We’re open to using innovative digital tools where they can help us work smarter and deliver better services for our residents. However, every use of AI is carefully considered to make sure it is ethical, responsible, and aligned with public-sector values.

    When it comes to recruitment, we take a human-centred approach.

    This means:

    • A trained hiring manager reads every application

    • Shortlisting is based on objective criteria required for the job

    • Interviews are conducted in person or via teams by the hiring manager for the role

    • All hiring decisions are made by hiring managers, not algorithms

    AI does not make decisions in our recruitment process and our managers are being upskilled to spot AI in applications, particularly when this might have been used in a way that doesn’t feel genuine. If something in an application raises a question or concern, we will test this out with assessments or at the interview stage to confirm authenticity.

    Our aim isn’t to catch anyone out but to make sure we’re getting to know the real you, giving every candidate a fair chance and finding the right person for the role.

  2. Using AI in Your Application

    When it comes to job applications, what matters most to us is you. We want to see your personality, your experience, and what excites you about joining our team. 

    We recognise that AI can be a helpful tool to support accessibility during the application process. If you choose to use AI for support, please read the instructions carefully and make sure your application is written in your own words, reflecting your genuine skills, knowledge, experience and enthusiasm.

    We’re looking forward to hearing your story.

  3. How to use AI Effectively and Responsibly

    Your application is your chance to show us:

    • Who you are

    • What you can bring

    • The values you hold

    • Why you want to make a difference

    AI can help you organise your thoughts or improve clarity but it cannot express your unique voice, experiences, or motivations.

    AI is most helpful when used to:

    • Help you structure the information you are providing to evidence the criteria

    • Give examples of how to use STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result)

    • Proof-read to highlight grammar or spelling errors

    • Provide inspiration if you're finding it difficult to find the right words to explain something

    But remember: your honesty, lived experience, and motivations are irreplaceable.

  4. Do’s and Don’ts for Using AI in the Recruitment Process

    Do:

    • Use AI as a supportive tool, not a replacement

    • Ask AI to help tidy up your writing or clarify structure

    • Use it to brainstorm examples, then rewrite them in your own voice

    • Reflect on AI suggestions and adapt them to match your experience

    • Use AI to help with research, but express your understanding yourself

    Don’t:

    • Copy and paste AI-generated content directly into your application

    • Let AI exaggerate or invent experience you do not have

    • Rely on generic statements that don’t reflect the specific role requirements

    • Remove your individuality, we want to hear your voice

Stay Safe When Applying

To protect yourself from recruitment scams, please only apply for roles through the official greater.jobs website and associated recruitment systems. We will never ask for your personal information outside of this process.