Careers at
Childhood Matters

Childhood Matters delivers a highly regarded and effective, trauma-informed services for children, young people and families in Cork and beyond.

Childhood Matters’ Director of Services position is a senior strategic leadership role within Childhood Matters. The successful candidate will work as part of a dynamic executive team including CEO, Clinical Director, Director of Operations and Finance Director to further develop and implement Childhood Matters’s clinical, practice and governance frameworks across a range of mental health, parenting, family support and childcare services.

The role is suited to experienced managers having demonstrated a track record of working effectively with/in partnership with the statutory or voluntary sector.

This is a full-time, or minimum 4 days per week, permanent position based in Cork City.

Who we are:
Childhood Matters is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at improving developmental and life outcomes for children 0-18 years old. We also work directly with parents and foster carers to support and develop parenting in challenging contexts. As an organisation we strive to positive impact the wider professional network we operate within through external training, research and professional development opportunities.

We are committed to embedding an evidence-based culture of trauma-informed care and therapeutic practice and hold ourselves to high standards in all engagement with service users, colleagues and stakeholders alike. We are committed to research and evaluation and continually assess the effectiveness of our service through independent research and partnership with third level institutions. We strive to be a positive place to work, providing staff with reflective practice, regular supervision and a training budget.

With offices and services in Blackrock, Blackpool, Clonakilty and Farranree we employ 130 staff across all departments. We offer competitive salary packages as well as benefits including enhanced maternity leave; pension contribution scheme; health care plans; flexible working hours; internal and externally provided training opportunities, and competitive annual leave entitlement.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Reporting directly to the CEO, the successful candidate will play a lead role in ensuring effective and high-quality standards of service delivery in line with Childhood Matters’s Strategic Plan 2023- 2026.

 

• The successful candidate will play an active role as a member of the Childhood Matters Executive Team in contributing to the continued evolution of the Childhood Matters model, including implementation of new approaches and initiatives throughout Childhood Matters.

 

• Working directly in a line management capacity with service managers, they will ensure that all services and projects comply with contract, funding and service level agreement requirements. They will also have an innovation and service development mindset to ensure services are effective, maintain competitive advantage and positioned to engage with expansion initiatives.

 

• They will manage the designated staff resources, ensuring that staff levels and skill mix are appropriate and within agreed resources allocation. They will also actively work towards ensuring that staff are supported and empowered to fulfil their roles and responsibilities

 

• They will be actively involved in service narrative building and promoting services among wider stakeholder groups through actively monitoring outcome and impact.

 

• They will act as a strategic leader in ensuring seamless collaboration between the clinical and operational aspects of the Childhood Matters model and the implementation of Childhood Matters’s Polices, Procedures & Guidelines.

 

• They will demonstrate a positive and proactive approach to change, actively managing the changes required and ensuring all actions required to introduce, embed, and maintain change are taken by relevant staff.

 

• Fulfill obligations as per The Children First Act 2015, including oversight of the implementation of Childhood Matters’s Child Protection and Welfare Policy. Comply with responsibilities under the Data Protection Acts 1988, 2003 & 2018 (GDPR).

 

• Undertake any other duties as determined by Childhood Matters.

Essential Requirements:

• At least three years’ experience in a senior management position

• An undergraduate degree and demonstrated continued learning and professional development in the area of management and leadership 

Desirable Criteria:

• Proven ability to work on own initiative within a flexible, co-operative, multidisciplinary / transdisciplinary team structure.

• Proven ability to lead by example and influence teams and individuals to attain high performance levels.

• Excellent team management, interpersonal and motivational skills.

• Ability to provide leadership and sensitively and effectively manage and negotiate difficult situations that may arise.

• Experience of using data to inform decision making and continuous quality improvement.

• Experience of leading mental health/social care projects from inception through to implementation and review.

• Ability to reflect on practice in order to facilitate personal learning, professional development and service improvement.

• Effective presentation and facilitation skills including the ability to present information in a clear and concise manner.

• Ability to organise a complex and varied workload and prioritise competing demands.

• Competent in Information Technology tools and applications, i.e. MS office, Office 365, Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

• Ability to manage and be adaptable in a complex and evolving work context, including managing change.

 

Personal Attributes 

• Strong team player with proven track record of same

• Self-aware and calm

• Positive, consistent and ability to contain whilst remaining task focused

• Highly motivated with a commitment to deliver quality services to children and families.

• Committed, self-motivated and hard working.

• Flexible and adaptable.

• Ability to prioritise competing demands and to meet deadlines.

• Excellent problem-solving ability.

• Excellent communicator with a variety of stakeholders.

 

Benefits

Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. Factors taken into account in determining an appropriate scale include the candidate’s knowledge, skills, experience and qualifications relevant to the job. The salary scale for this role is as follows €76,551, €77,238, €80,259, €83,292, €86,302, €89,325, €92,329.

Childhood Matters operates the following benefits for its employees

• Defined contribution pension scheme.

• Enhanced maternity and paternity benefit

• Annual leave 25 days.

• Comprehensive annual CPD schedule

• Financial support for further education

Please note

To apply please send your CV and a cover letter to hr@childhood-matters.ie. The closing date for applications is 5pm on Tuesday 3^rd June 2025. First round interviews are scheduled to take place on 10th June 2025.

 

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to them from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

 

The successful candidate will be required to obtain Garda vetting as a condition of their initial and continued employment.

 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, disability, age, gender expression or sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnic or national origin, marital or civil partnership status or culture. Childhood Matters is committed, where possible, to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities.

 

To discuss the requirements of the role, the location of the role or any reasonable accommodation you might require, please contact a member of the HR team by email at hr@Childhood-Matters.ie.

All documentation received by Childhood Matters will be processed in accordance with the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR; 2018). The information will only be used by Childhood Matters in the processing of job applications and for ongoing administrative purposes with job candidates.

Childhood Matters delivers highly regarded and effective, trauma-informed services for children, young people and families in Cork and beyond.

The successful candidate will work closely with the CEO and wider executive team including CEO, Clinical Director, Operations Manager and Finance Director to ensure and implement robust corporate and governance systems at an executive and board level.

The role is suited to experienced administrator having demonstrated a track record of working effectively with/in partnership with the statutory or voluntary sector.

This is a permanent part-time position, 3 or 4 days per week, based in Blackpool, Cork City.

Who we are:
Childhood Matters is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at improving developmental and life outcomes for children 0-18 years old. We also work directly with parents and foster carers to support and develop parenting in challenging contexts. As an organisation we strive to positive impact the wider professional network we operate within through external training, research and professional development opportunities.

We are committed to embedding an evidence-based culture of trauma-informed care and therapeutic practice and hold ourselves to high standards in all engagement with service users, colleagues and stakeholders alike. We are committed to research and evaluation and continually assess the effectiveness of our service through independent research and partnership with third level institutions. We strive to be a positive place to work, providing staff with reflective practice, regular supervision and a training budget.

With offices and services in Blackrock, Blackpool, Clonakilty and Farranree we employ 130 staff across all departments. We offer competitive salary packages as well as benefits including enhanced maternity leave; pension contribution scheme; health care plans; flexible working hours; internal and externally provided training opportunities, and competitive annual leave entitlement.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Reporting directly to the CEO, the successful candidate will play a lead role in ensuring effective and high-quality standards of corporate and governance related administration

• Coordinate and attend key meetings, take accurate minutes, and ensure follow-up actions are tracked and completed through communication with internal and external stakeholders.

• Comply with and contribute to the development of policies, procedures, guidelines and safe professional practice and adhere to relevant legislation, regulations and standards. ensure that an effective register of policies and procedures are maintained and centrally accessible by all colleagues within Childhood Matters.

• To support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service

• Engage proficiently with computer applications including Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Publisher and Excel. Demonstrate a keen eye for design and feel comfortable bringing corporate/policy documents to a professionally finished

• Undertake any other duties as determined by Childhood Matters.

Essential Requirements:

• At least three years’ experience in a secretarial or administrative position for a medium sized organisation

• An undergraduate degree or Level 8 qualification

• Excellent organisation skills and ability to establish and maintain information collection and reporting systems, including seeing opportunities for improvements and innovations in corporate recording systems where they may not exist already.

• Excellent interpersonal and motivational skills.

• Effective presentation and facilitation skills including the ability to present information in a clear and concise manner.

• Ability to organise a varied workload and prioritise competing demands.

 

Desirable Criteria:

• Previous experience providing project management or project support, ideally within a healthcare or public sector setting (preferred but not essential)

• Have a working knowledge of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards as they apply to the service for example National Standards for Child Protection and Care and comply with associated Tusla – Child and Family Agency protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role.

 

Renumeration

The annual salary scale for this role is as follows:

€48,085, €49,560, €51,038, €52,538, €54,048, €55,809, €57,573

Benefits

Childhood Matters operates the following benefits for its employees

Defined contribution pension scheme

Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Leave

Health Payment Scheme

Annual leave 25 days.

Comprehensive annual CPD schedule

Financial support for further education

Please note

To apply please send your CV and a cover letter to hr@childhood-matters.ie. The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 30^th May 2025. First round interviews are scheduled to take place on 6th June 2025.

It is intended to form a panel as a result of this competition, from which permanent and specified purpose vacancies, on a full or part time basis may be filled.

 

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to them from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

 

The successful candidate will be required to obtain Garda vetting as a condition of their initial and continued employment.

 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, disability, age, gender expression or sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnic or national origin, marital or civil partnership status or culture. Childhood Matters is committed, where possible, to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities.

 

To discuss the requirements of the role, the location of the role or any reasonable accommodation you might require, please contact a member of the HR team by email at hr@Childhood-Matters.ie.

All documentation received by Childhood Matters will be processed in accordance with the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR; 2018). The information will only be used by Childhood Matters in the processing of job applications and for ongoing administrative purposes with job candidates.

Limetree Responsibilities will Include;

 

• Engage with families to create tailored support as directed by the referring Social Work Department
• Conduct home visits at varying times including some early mornings, evenings and weekends
• Carry out an assessment through home visiting and interagency collaboration
• Compile an evidence-based summary on the observations and interventions required during each visit
• Compile and submit reports to the Social Work Department or for the purpose of Child Protection Case Conferencing and/or Court proceedings
• Liaise regularly with the allocated Social Worker to monitor and review the case
• Attend meetings such as Child Protection Case Conferences, Children in Care Reviews or Court proceedings as required;
• Support families to feel comfortable to engage in the service irrespective of their religion ethnicity, gender, race, ability or sexual orientation;
• Provide support to parents to create positive change where possible and to work collaboratively with families to achieve this
• Put in place boundaries and safety measures in a sensitive and respectful manner, having regard for the individual needs of each service user
• Provide general feedback to the families on how the visit went with a view to supporting the progress.
• Working directly with children and young people in order to gain an understanding of their experience of living within their family.
• Supporting children/young people in terms of personal development and referring them to other services to meet their needs
• Supervise access between parents and children both on-site and in the community
• Provide written reports on observations of access sessions for court and to attend court when required
• Facilitate/Co-facilitate delivery of parenting programmes

Essential Requirements

• Social Care Qualification
• Ideally have 3 years post Qualification experience of working with vulnerable young people/families.
• Knowledge of relevant policies and issues facing young parents and their families.
• A working knowledge of TUSLA, Children First Guidelines.
• Hold a full Driving Licence & have a car at their disposal.

Person Specification

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Highly motivated, proactive and flexible.
• Empathetic and approachable personality.
• Ability to work as a team member/own initiative.

This job description indicates the main functions and responsibilities of the post and is subject to review and amendment in the light of service developments and changing circumstances and may include other duties and responsibilities as may be determined from time to time by Childhood Matters Management.

 

Social Care Worker –Limetree

Person Specification:

	Essential	Desirable
Experience	·  Three years experience in child/ family support/social work	·  Group work with children and families
	·  Experience in conflict resolution and mediation	·  Experience of working therapeutically with clients
	·  Experienced in record keeping and report writing	·  Experience of legal responsibilities with regard to child protection and child care
Skills, knowledge and abilities	·  Ability to work in a people centered and needs led manner
	·  Knowledge of child development and family dynamics
	·  Understanding of the relevant legislation, best practice and issues relevant to the area of Children’s services and Family Support
	·  Ability to network and develop links and engage with statutory sector and local community
	·  Excellent communication, IT and report writing skills
	·  Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team
	·  Adaptable and flexible with regard to service developments and working hours
Qualifications	·  Recognised qualification in Social Care, Social Work, Social Science, (Level 7)	·  Post-graduate qualification in , Social Care, Social Work,
	·  Verification of Garda Clearance
	·  A full current driver’s license

 

To apply please email your CV and a brief cover letter to hr@childhood-matters.ie, subject title “Limetree Full-time” by 5pm Friday 2^nd May, 2025.

Childhood Matters is seeking to recruit a Clinical/Counselling/Educational Psychologist to join our MDT and work across our Tusla-funded specialist teams.

Interventions across all services are attachment and trauma focused, and incorporate dyadic and systemic ways of working with the child, carers and team around them. We use a relational approach and draw on models such as Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP); Theraplay; Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT); Sensory Attachment Intervention (SAI) among others. Our Multidisciplinary Teams are currently comprised of clinical psychologists, occupational psychologists, play therapists, child art psychotherapists, social workers and social care workers.

The successful candidate/s will play a key role in contributing to MDT discussions of each child or family’s needs as well as those of the system around them, formulating the presenting difficulties and considering appropriate intervention. The clinician/s joining our organisation will provide both direct and indirect therapeutic input. They will liaise with partner agencies to endeavour to achieve positive outcomes for children in care, or on the edge of care, and their carers, working to build/restore placement stability and enhance key relationships in the child’s family/support network.

 

Childhood Matters is a trauma-informed and equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to embedding an evidence-based culture of trauma-informed care and therapeutic practice and therefore keen to continually assess the effectiveness of our service. We strive to be a positive place to work, providing staff with reflective practice, regular supervision and a training budget. We offer competitive salary packages as well as benefits including enhanced maternity leave; pension contribution scheme; health care plans; flexible working hours; internal and externally provided training opportunities, and competitive annual leave entitlement.

 

Job Description:

• To work as a member of multi-disciplinary teams, providing high-quality, psychological input to children in care and/or their carers.
• To support psychological practice within the team through consultation, supervision, formulation and training/education
• To be responsible for holding and managing a clinical caseload and exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the planning and prioritising of own workload and the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients within the bounds of the service’s operational policies
• To engage with service development opportunities, developing leadership capacity and autonomous responsibility where appropriate
• To operate as lead clinician on complex cases in interagency contexts when required
• To compile comprehensive assessment and treatment reports and any other reports as required in connection to the children and their parents with whom they are working.
• To use analytical and judgment skills and be responsible for taking clinical management decisions in complex clinical issues (with support of senior colleagues)
• To provide consultation, mentorship, supervision and advice about psychological issues to other members of the team/service and other professionals working with service users, across a range of agencies/ settings as appropriate.
• Promote an effective and productive team ethos, fostering our Childhood Matters trauma-informed and trauma-responsive approach at all times
• Promote equality, diversity and human rights, and treat others with dignity and respect ensuring services are developed, managed and delivered to meet specific needs linked to protected characteristics.
• Promote equality, diversity and Human Rights in working practices by developing and maintaining positive working relationships, ensuring that colleagues are treated fairly and contributing to developing equality of opportunity and outcomes in working practices
• Contribute to developing and maintaining equality of opportunity in working practices by complying with legislation and organisational policies. Advise colleagues about equality, diversity and human rights policies and procedures and ensure they are followed
• To attend court, if required, as an expert witness.

 

Person Specification

Qualifications:

• Doctorate in Clinical Clinical/Counselling/Educational Psychology (or equivalent if training was pre-doctorate accreditation)
• Qualification recognised by an accrediting body i.e. PSI, BPS

 

Experience:

• Experience of providing attachment-based psychological interventions to children who have experienced developmental trauma is important.
• At least two years post qualification experience working as a clinical psychologist is required to be considered for the senior position.

 

Essential Skills & Knowledge

• An ability to offer attachment-focused, evidence-based psychological interventions tailored to meet the individual needs of children/young people and their carers referred to CHIPPS
• An ability to work dyadically with carers and children as well as systemically with the network around the child
• Familiarity with key legislation relating to children in the care of the state and awareness of partner agencies involved in working with children in care
• Experience in conducting cognitive assessments and using psychometric tests and routine outcome measures in child mental health services
• Skills in the provision of supervision and consultation to both external and internal professionals and teams (where appropriate and dependent on level of experience)
• Excellent communication skills (oral and written) and an ability to explain psychological concepts to non-clinical professionals/colleagues as well as to children/young people and carers
• Excellent time management skills and an ability to meet deadlines and prioritise workload
• Exceptional organisational skills and a capacity to balance clinical tasks and administrative workload including clinical note-writing, letter/report writing, updating of services databases etc.
• High level of knowledge of developmental trauma, attachment, child development and neurodiversity, and child and adolescent mental health issues
• Awareness of the complexities and challenges of working therapeutically with children who have experienced developmental trauma as well as their carers and the system around the child
• Knowledge of psychological theory and research in the field of developmental trauma, attachment and therapeutic models and frameworks relevant to this population
• An understanding of the use creative, non-directive approaches in therapy for children who have experienced developmental trauma
• An excellent understanding of safeguarding children issues as well as an understanding of care and control, notification procedures and equal opportunities, data protection and general good practice
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Outlook; Power Point, and Excel

 

Desirable Skills & Knowledge

• CPD/training completed in any of our core therapeutic models including Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP); Theraplay; Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT) approaches; Sensory Attachment Intervention (SAI), Therapeutic Life Story Work (TLSW) or other attachment-focussed interventions and systemic approaches to working with developmental trauma
• Experience of consulting to/liaising with social care teams and professional groups such as teachers, court-appointed guardians and other professionals in the justice system
• Post-qualification experience as a Psychologist in a child mental health setting
• Experience of using digital clinical record systems

 

To Apply

To apply submit your CV and covering letter to hr@childhood-matters.ie by 5pm on Thursday 22nd May. Interviews are planned to take place w/c May and June 2025.

For further information or to discuss the role in more detail, please contact Dr Rachel Falk, Clinical Director, via email on  rfalk@childhood-matters.ie or call 021-4357730 or visit www.childhood-matters.ie