Service: Open Front Door (OFD)
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 21 hours per week
Reporting to: Advice and Triage Service Manager
Interviews: Afternoon Thursday 23rd April, 2026
About the Role
The Open Front Door is Norwood’s single point of access for children, families, adults and professionals seeking advice, guidance and routes into support.
As an Advice and Triage Advisor, you are often the first voice people hear at a moment of uncertainty. You will listen carefully, ask the right questions, assess urgency and risk, and ensure every contact ends with clear advice, signposting, referral, or a well-communicated next step.
This is a triage and advice role, not ongoing casework. Your impact comes from making good decisions early, helping people feel heard, and connecting them to the right support without delay or duplication.
You will work across both Open Front Door pathways:
- Community Advice & Triage (We Connect Families), where community or statutory partners are best placed to help
- Norwood Specialist Pathway, where Norwood’s own services provide direct support
About the Open Front Door
The Open Front Door is a coordinated access model designed to reduce confusion, improve safeguarding, and create a better experience for Jewish families and professionals.
Every enquiry is triaged once, safely and consistently, then routed to the most appropriate support. The service is values-led, neurodiversity-affirming, culturally informed, and grounded in professional judgment.
Our offer includes:
- Parenting programmes and skills-based workshops
- Social work and advocacy
- Counselling and psychotherapy
- Short Breaks, inclusive clubs and holiday schemes
- Peer support for parents and siblings
- Transition support into adulthood
Support is available with or without diagnosis, filling the gap where statutory systems often cannot. Everything we do is shaped around the individual, their strengths, and their potential.
Your Day to Day
You will:
- Respond to enquiries across phone, email, web and in person, within service standards
- Use active listening, curiosity and professional judgment to understand need, risk and intent
- Prioritise contacts based on urgency, safeguarding risk and service thresholds
- Route enquiries appropriately to Community OFD partners, Norwood services, or internal corporate teams
- Provide clear, accurate information on systems such as SEND, EHCPs, CAMHS, safeguarding thresholds and Care Act routes
- Maintain a strong safeguarding mindset, escalating concerns in line with policy
- Explain consent, confidentiality and information sharing clearly and confidently
- Record accurate CRM notes on the same working day using agreed workflows
- Complete follow-ups where required and flag repeat or escalating needs
- Contribute insight, data and reflective learning to support service improvement
About You
You are calm, compassionate and confident handling sensitive or complex conversations. You know how to support people without overstepping professional boundaries, and you are comfortable holding uncertainty while decisions are made.
You bring good judgment, clear communication and a genuine commitment to person-centred, values-led work.
Qualifications, Experience & Training
Essential
- GCSEs or equivalent including English and Maths
- Experience in an advice, triage, helpline, reception or customer-facing role handling complex or sensitive enquiries
- Ability to record information accurately using a CRM or database
- Understanding of safeguarding children and when to escalate concerns
- Strong listening, communication and prioritisation skills
Desirable
- Relevant qualification or accredited training in advice work, health or social care, youth work or customer services
- Experience in either children’s social care, adult social care, neurodiversity or learning disability services
- Knowledge of safeguarding adults and Care Act context
- Understanding of the Jewish community context or voluntary sector landscape
- Second language skills such as Hebrew or Yiddish
Reward & Benefits
We believe great support starts with great staff. We offer:
- Fully funded induction and ongoing training
- 21 days annual leave plus 8 Bank Holidays + Jewish Festival & Holy Days (pro rata for part time)
- Enhanced parental pay
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Health cash plan covering dental, optical and therapy treatments, plus virtual GP access via My Medicash
- Blue Light Card access
- Cycle to Work scheme
- £300 refer-a-friend bonus
- Career development pathway
- Free on-site parking
- A supportive, experienced team and management culture
A bit more information: Norwood’s Children and Family Services support neurodivergent children and young people and those with neurodevelopmental disabilities, and their families to live happy, confident and connected lives.
We provide a range of therapeutic, practical and emotional support, including short breaks for young people, parent educational courses, workshops and peer support groups.
Everything we do is shaped around the individual: their interests, needs and potential. Whether it’s through play, support or learning, we believe every child and their families should have the chance to be themselves, have fun, and thrive as individuals and as a unit.
Safe Recruitment: Norwood is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children, and young people we support. This role is subject to safer recruitment checks in line with OFSTED, and appointment is conditional upon satisfactory pre-employment checks, including Right to Work in the UK and a DBS check appropriate to the role.
Email: careers@norwood.org.uk
Disclaimer: At Norwood, we welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates. At this time, Norwood is not a UK Home Office licensed sponsor and is unable to offer visa sponsorship.
