Family Support Worker

Location: Office based in Leeds, with travel across Yorkshire to support events when required.

Address: 8 Woodhouse Square, Leeds, LS3 1AD

Salary: £13,092.85 (FTE £23,500)

Hours: 19.5 hours per week:

• Thursday: 1:00pm – 8:00pm
• Friday: 9:00am – 4:00pm
• Saturday: 10:00am – 5:00pm (Saturday hours may be flexible depending on events)

Responsible to: Events and Memories Lead

Key relationships: The Family Support team and wider charity, families and the Multi-Disciplinary Team over at Leeds Children's Hospital.

Responsible for: Supporting the family support team to run events and groups, support administratively and managing family holidays alongside our Family Support Administrator. Supporting with front of house cover at our family support centre.

Job Summary

As a Family Support Worker, you will play a key role in supporting to deliver a variety of events, support groups and memory making opportunities for families affected by childhood cancer. You will help to create welcoming spaces where families can connect and find support. You will also play a key administrative role in supporting family holidays, maintaining accurate family records and supporting the wider team to deliver high-quality services to families across Yorkshire.

Additional Information

• This role requires a full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle, as travel across Yorkshire is a regular part of the role.

Principal Responsibilities

Main duties and responsibilities:

• Support the planning and delivery of family support groups and events.
• Support the team to deliver on memories for our palliative patients.
• Support the administration of groups and events including ordering, bookings, liaising with suppliers and risk assessments.
• Manage and coordinate the Candlelighters Family Holidays
• Liaise with families to arrange suitable dates and locations
• Working closely with the Finance team to maintain records and manage payments for holiday bookings
• Maintain and update key family communications and support information on our internal systems
• Provide essential cover at The Square our family support centre, acting as a welcoming presence for families
• Answer telephone calls and direct enquiries appropriately
• Offer initial support to visiting families and signpost them to relevant services or team members
• Be an advocate for Candlelighters, promoting our services and signposting families to appropriate support, both via Candlelighters and other organisations. Support families through their fundraising journeys.
• Responsible for reporting all Safeguarding concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Leads.
• Act as a champion for equality, diversity, and inclusion, actively promoting and upholding these values, and challenge poor or inappropriate practices across all areas of Candlelighters
• To undertake any duties as reasonably required

This job description is not intended to be exhaustive, and it remains subject to change at any time to meet the changing needs of the Charity .

What we’re looking for:

Essential:

Skills and Experience

• Experience in planning, organising, and delivering events/activities
• Strong communication skills – clear, empathetic, and professional in person, over the phone, and in writing.
• IT proficiency – confident using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and data management systems.
• Organisational skills – ability to prioritise, multi-task, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Confidentiality awareness – understanding of GDPR and working with sensitive personal information.
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Good administrative and IT skills (e.g., Microsoft Office, databases).
• Ability to remain calm and flexible when plans change or under pressure.
• Creative skills that will be useful in family and children’s events.

Personal Attributes:

• Empathy and sensitivity – able to support families going through distressing situations.
• Reliable and trustworthy – especially when dealing with vulnerable individuals.
• Team player – works well with other staff, volunteers, and professionals.
• Proactive attitude – takes initiative and solves problems independently where appropriate.
• Flexible approach

Knowledge:

• Basic understanding of safeguarding practices – especially in relation to children and vulnerable adults.

Other

• Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle.

Desirable:

Skills & Experience:

• Experience in a charity or healthcare setting – familiarity with how support services operate.
• CRM/database experience
• Minute-taking– for internal meetings

Knowledge:

• Understanding of the impact of childhood cancer on families – or willingness to learn.
• Awareness of local support services – especially in social care, health, and family wellbeing.
• Knowledge of event evaluation and feedback processes.

This particular role is not suitable for family members supported by Candlelighters. This is to ensure they are given the best possible care and support without any potential conflict of interest.

This role is subject to an enhanced criminal record check, which is processed through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

The candidate must hold a UK driving licence and have access to a car to get to events.

Some roles may require a Certificate of Good Standing (CoGS) for individuals who have lived outside the UK for more than 6 months in the past 5 years.

We operate a 3-stage interview due to the sensitive nature of the environment incorporating an interview and a taster session as outlined below:

Stage 1- Telephone Interview: Conducted on a rolling basis while the job post is live.

Successful candidates from stage 1 will then be invited to:.

Stage 2 - Formal interview with our Project and Events Manager and Events and Memories Lead : Date to be confirmed, depending on applications, but expected to take place up to and including the week commencing 22nd September 2025.

Successful candidates from stage 2 will then be invited to:

Stage 3 - Taster day and interview with a family member, including the opportunity to meet our CEO, connect with staff, and spend time at the Family Support Centre - Date TBC.

To apply, please complete our application form via our website: https://www.candlelighters.org.uk/jobs/family-support-events-worker/

Application Feedback

Unfortunately, due to the large number of applications we receive, we are unable to

provide feedback to those applicants who are unsuccessful prior to interview.

At Candlelighters, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and transparent recruitment process to ensure that candidates can make informed decisions before applying. With that in mind, it is important to acknowledge certain physical and logistical limitations within our office environment:

• Our building currently features steep stairs with no lift access, which might pose challenges for individuals with mobility impairments.
• We utilise a hot desking system (meaning that employees do not have fixed desks), which might not be suitable for everyone.
• Our parking facilities are limited. We do operate a rota system for parking places and employees use car parks in the area when they do not have a car parking place at work.

We encourage prospective applicants to carefully consider these factors to determine if our work environment aligns with their needs and preferences before applying.

We believe in creating a supportive environment for all candidates. If you have any special requirements, please let us know in advance of your interview so that we can explore how to best accommodate your needs.

Please note that volunteers must be 18 or over, and we are only able to accept applications from UK residents, due to insurance, safeguarding, and logistical requirements associated with our volunteer programme.

If you have any questions, please contact us via email at Careers@candlelighters.org.uk

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Pay: £13,092.85 per year

Work Location: In person