Kinship Navigator x 4

Context

This is an opportunity to play a pivotal role in a pioneering programme that could reshape how kinship families are supported across England.

Kinship is undertaking a pilot Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of Kinship Connected, a Kinship Navigator programme designed to provide intensive, specialist support to kinship carers and help them navigate complex systems.

This is a multi-partner programme involving funders, independent evaluators, participating local authorities, internal delivery teams and kinship carers with lived experience.

Kinship Navigators are at the heart of delivery. You will work directly with kinship carers in the community and in their homes, providing intensive 1-to-1 support and facilitating local support groups, while working closely with local authority partners and other services.

Because the programme forms part of a pilot RCT, maintaining high-quality case records and accurate data collection is critical. Your work will contribute directly to the evidence base about what works for kinship families.

Each Navigator will support around 40 kinship carers over the delivery year, holding a caseload of approximately 20 families at any one time. Navigators will be based in Blackpool, the London Borough of Newham, Oxfordshire and Rochdale.

You will be part of a wider delivery team including the Programmes Manager, Mobilisation and Delivery Project Manager, research colleagues and other Kinship teams, working together to ensure the programme is delivered ethically, consistently and to a high standard.

Purpose of the role

The Kinship Navigator provides intensive, time-limited support to kinship carers through the Kinship Connected programme, a structured six-month intervention designed to help kinship families stabilise placements and access the support they need.

Working directly with kinship carers, you will build trusting relationships while completing structured assessments, goal setting and reviews to help families strengthen support networks and navigate services such as children's social care, education, health and community support.

This is a community-facing role, working directly with kinship carers in homes, community spaces and through co-location with local authority teams and partner organisations.

The role requires a combination of high-quality relational practice and disciplined case recording. As part of the pilot RCT, accurate documentation of activity, progress and outcomes is essential to ensure the programme can be evaluated and improved.

You will work closely with the Programmes Manager, delivery team, researchers and local authority partners to ensure the programme is delivered consistently, ethically and to a high standard, with a strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion in supporting kinship families from all backgrounds.

Key deadlines and information

We have really short timescales for these roles as they are part of a research project. If you are interested, please read the information below and make sure you can be available all the dates highlighted:

• Closing date: 9am on Monday 16 March 2026
• Interview date (in-person in Greater Manchester or London depending on role): Tuesday 24, Wednesday 25 or Thursday 26 March 2026

Starting in post

If you are successful at recruitment, we will need you to be available to start in role, at the latest by the w/c 27 April 2026, and ideally by w/c 20 April 2026. This will mean all references, contracts and DBS checks are completed. If you do apply for this role, we will ask for some of these details up front.

We will also ask you to attend an overnight in-person residential on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 April at our London office for induction into the role.

How to apply:

Any applications arriving after the closing date will not be considered for shortlisting unless there are exceptional reasons. Please ensure you have read the application timelines and the full job pack, attached.

Please apply for the role of Kinship Navigator by sending a CV and answering the 5 questions on the job listing on our website. Please use actual examples to demonstrate your experience.

1. Why do you want to work for Kinship as a Kinship Navigator, and how does this role align with your values and experience?

2. Describe a time you supported a family or carer facing complex challenges. How did you assess their needs and decide what support was most important? Guidance: Please describe a real example from your work. Tell us what you did personally, the actions you took and what happened as a result.

3. Tell us about a situation where you had to work with professionals from different organisations (for example schools, social workers or community services) to support a family. Guidance: Explain how you built relationships, managed differences of opinion and ensured the family received appropriate support.

4. Give an example of a time you had concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child or their family member. What steps did you take and how did you decide what to do? Guidance: Describe your role in recognising and responding to the concern and any safeguarding processes you followed.

5. Tell us about how you have managed a caseload or multiple families at once. How did you keep accurate records and make sure important information was documented? Guidance: Please describe the systems or processes you used and why accurate recording was important.