Job Vacancy – Group Facilitator

A vacancy has arisen within the staff team at Home-Start Butser for a part time Group Facilitator.

The successful applicant will support the Group Co-ordinator to plan, resource and lead group support for Home-Start families in Petersfield, Clanfield and Horndean and help manage teams of local volunteers.

Click on the titles in the panels below to find out more about the position. The application form and guidance documents can be downloaded at the bottom of this news item.

Group Facilitator Job Advert

10 hours per week

Salary: £6,578 per annum

Home-Start Butser is a local family support charity helping families from all backgrounds through their most challenging times. Volunteers are trained to provide practical and emotional support to families with young children through one-to-one home visiting and in Home-Start Butser’s Family Groups.

We are looking for an enthusiastic person to join our small, friendly team which is based at Winton House, Petersfield, GU32 3JL.

The ideal candidate will:

Have early years’ experience
Have a good understanding of the needs of children and families
Have experience of working with volunteers
Have the ability to work on their own initiative and respond to challenging circumstances
Have excellent interpersonal skills

If you are interested in applying for this role an application form can be downloaded from our website www.homestart-butser.org.uk or contact the Home-Start Butser office: lucia.smith@homestart-butser.org.uk, 01730 233755.

Closing date for applications: Monday 7 July at 5pm

Interviews are planned to be held on 15 / 17 July 2025

We will invite all shortlisted candidates to attend one of our groups on the 10/11 or 15 July

Home-Start Butser is committed to safer recruitment practice as an important part of safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults.

Any offer of employment will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service.

Group Facilitator Job Description

Job Title: Group Facilitator

Location: At Family Group venues (currently Petersfield, Clanfield, Horndean) and the Home-Start Butser office in Petersfield

Hours of work: 10 hours per week (3 hours on Tuesday, 4 hours on Thursday and 3 hours on Friday)

Responsible to: Community Development Coordinator

Responsible for: Group volunteers

Purposes of the job

To assist the Group Co-ordinator to plan, resource and deliver the Little Steps Family Groups
To help manage a team of group volunteers
To widen the reach and impact of Home-Start Butser

Main Responsibilities

Supporting children’s development

To support the Group Co-ordinator to organise and run family groups and to act as the lead for one group each week. To prepare the room and ensure it is left clean and tidy with equipment stored away safely at the end of the session
To work with the Group Co-ordinator to plan and deliver safe and stimulating play and craft for pre-school children during term time, together with school age children during holidays
To promote the use of age and stage appropriate toys, books and activities
To provide healthy snacks and drinks with awareness of food allergies and intolerances

Supporting parents

To welcome all parents/carers to the Group and provide a safe, nurturing space for families
To encourage the active participation of parents/carers in play and other activities as appropriate
To offer a listening ear and understand the importance of confidentiality
To respond sensitively and appropriately to safeguarding issues, ensuring compliance with Home-Start and local safeguarding policies and procedures
To inform all families of the services and opportunities provided by Home-Start Butser and to be able to signpost families to other organisations as and when needed
To ensure that the group guidelines are adhered to and to monitor the families in Group to promote an inclusive and non-judgemental ethos
To be involved with the ongoing evaluation and review of our groups

Managing Volunteers

To support the Group Co-ordinator with the volunteer rota ensuring that any changes and updates are communicated in a timely manner
To ensure volunteers feel valued and part of a team by creating opportunities to thank them and review the group together

Administration

To work with the Group Co-ordinator to ensure accurate record-keeping for those attending group
To contribute to Home-Start Butser team meetings/events and the general running of the scheme

Health and Safety

To ensure adherence to the Home-Start Butser Health and Safety Policy
To record any accidents or incidents and report as appropriate
To ensure that all toys and other equipment are cleaned as appropriate and regularly checked for wear, tear and safety

Professional Development

To attend regular support/supervision sessions with the Community Development Coordinator
To be willing to undertake further training as appropriate

Person Specification for part time Group Facilitator

These are the essential and desirable skills, abilities, experience, knowledge, and special requirements for the post of Home-Start Butser’s Group Facilitator.

This form also indicates how the different requirements may be assessed during the selection process:

A = Application Form, I = Interview, E = Exercise

ESSENTIAL	Method of Assessment
ESSENTIAL	A	I	E
Education and Qualifications
Hold or willing to work towards a First Aid Certificate	•
Employment History
Relevant previous or current employment or voluntary work	•	•
Relevant Knowledge and Experience
Ability to plan ahead and prioritise tasks	•	•
Experience of running group activities and providing stimulating play for young children	•	•
Experience of working with a range of families including those with complex needs	•	•
Ability to work independently and take responsibility	•	•
Ability to process and collate information using online database	•
Supporting Families
Understanding of the needs of families with young children	•	•
Ability to demonstrate a warm, welcoming approach to all families and to respond appropriately to any issues that may arise	•	•	•
Ability to build relationships with families and promote positive communication	•	•
Managing Others
Ability to manage and retain a team of volunteers and work collaboratively with the Home-Start staff team	•	•
Self-Management/Personal Attributes
Good leadership and interpersonal skills	•	•
A positive and creative approach to tackling tasks	•	•
Knowledge of and commitment to equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice	•	•
Understanding of safeguarding procedures and the importance of confidentiality	•	•
Good written and verbal communication skills	•	•
Special requirements
Able to work flexibly, including occasional evening or week-end work/training	•
Willingness to access training opportunities and support community events	•
Ability to travel independently to group locations	•
Eligibility to work in the UK	•
DESIRABLE	Method of Assessment
DESIRABLE	A	I	E
Parenting experience	•
Hold or willing to work towards a Food Hygiene Certificate	•
Experience of being a volunteer	•	•
Knowledge of current legislation and policies relating to children and families	•	•

Guidance for applicants – completing the application form

Please read these notes carefully before completing the application form. It is important that you take your time to fill in the application form as fully and accurately as possible. The decision whether or not to invite you for interview is based entirely on the information given on the application form.

Note: you can expand the boxes by using the ‘return’ key, or add additional rows in the tables by putting your cursor in the last box on the row and clicking the ‘tab’ key.

General Points

Please complete all parts of the application form and type or use black ink so that when we photocopy the form, it is clear and legible.
Do not send curriculum vitae, as these will not be considered
The application pack contains a job description and person specification. The job description lists the duties/main tasks of the post, the person specification lists the knowledge, skills, experience and qualifications needed and the methods used to assess each of these.

Personal Details

Give your full name, address including post code, telephone numbers and email address.
If this post requires the use of a vehicle, this will be indicated on the application form.
Where a post is suitable for job sharing, applications will be asked to state if they wish to consider a job share.

References

You are asked to provide the names and contact details of two people who can provide a reference for you.
One of the referees must be your current or most recent employer
Home-Start will only request a reference if we make you a conditional offer of the job.
We may also contact your past employers where it seems necessary.

Education / job related and specialised training

In the first box give details of your educational qualifications starting with the most recent.
This first section must include school/college qualifications such as GCSEs, Highers, A’levels etc and should also include any further qualifications you may have such as a degree or management qualification.
In the box headed ‘job related qualifications/specialised training, list any professional or job related qualifications you may have attained, for example in First Aid or child care etc. Start with the most recent.
Please also include any ‘on the job’ training or CPD courses relevant

to the post for which you are applying, for example supervision skills, fundraising courses etc

Please include the grade attained (if applicable)

Present or Most Recent Job

If you are currently employed, please give details about your present job, including your notice period.

If you are not currently employed, please give information about your most recent job.

Previous Employment

Please give details of all your previous jobs since leaving school/college in date order starting with the most recent. Any gaps in your employment history will need to be explained in the section on page 4. Use a separate sheet if necessary – please name and number it.

Voluntary Work

Many people will have developed relevant skills and knowledge through voluntary work and work experience. Think carefully about what you have done in the past, at home, school and leisure, paid or unpaid employment as you may wish to draw on the skills you developed. Do not be put off if you have not worked for a long time, think carefully about any experience that you may have gained and record when and how you gained that experience in this section.

Gaps in employment history

Please list any gaps, and provide brief information explaining each – for example if you had time away from work while bringing up children or for travel etc. The interview panel may ask to clarify any gaps that aren’t clearly explained.

Potential conflict of interest

Please record if you are related to / married to anyone who works for Home-Start Butser. If you are, it does not automatically exclude you from the process, but means that we can ensure a fair process for all concerned by not having your relative taking part in the selection process.

Other employment

Please record if you intend to continue working in any other capacity if you are offered this post with Home-Start, for example if you have another part time job or run a part time business etc.

Relevant Skills, Knowledge and Experience

This is a very important part of your application form as it gives you the opportunity to demonstrate why you are suitable for the post. Before completing it, refer to the job description and person specification. Your answer must demonstrate how you meet each of the essential criteria or you will not be short listed for interview.

Give examples to show how you meet each of the essential criteria, and the desirable where applicable, indicated on the person specification.
Be specific about your skills and specify your own responsibilities, demonstrate a particular skill rather than simply saying you have it.
For example, if the person specification asks you to demonstrate an ability to recruit volunteers, you may want to describe what methods/processes you have used to do this, at what level and how successful or effective you were.
Remember to draw on skills, knowledge and experience gained through any voluntary or unpaid work you have done as well from your previous paid employment.
Please name and number any continuation sheets.
Do not use more than 2 more continuation sheets (2 x A4).

Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act

The law states that you must be entitled to reside and/or work in the United Kingdom. If your application is successful you will be asked to show that you are entitled to work for us.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act / Criminal Convictions

If the vacancy is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders legislation, this will be explained in the application form. If it is, you must indicate ‘yes’ on the application form if you have ever been convicted or cautioned in relation to a criminal offence, even if that is now ‘spent’. If you are short listed you will be asked to provide more information.

If the post is not exempt from the provisions of the legislation, but you have any ‘unspent’ caution, conviction or bindover, you must declare this on the application form. If you are short listed you will be asked to provide more information.

Having a criminal record does not automatically prevent you from being considered for a job and we will take into account all the necessary details and their relevance to the job. If you are shortlisted, this will be discussed with you at interview.

Disability

Please indicate if you consider yourself to have a disability, and if you would require any special arrangements in order to attend for interview.

Declaration

Finally, check that you have answered all the questions, sign and date the application form, making sure that you send the form to us on time. We will not consider any applications that we receive after the closing date.

Application Form

Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

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