Job Description

Emergency Duty Service Coordinator - Part time

Permanent, Part Time

£25,959 to £28,621 per annum (full time equivalent)

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Fixed-base worker

Closing Date: 18th November 2026

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK. This is a part-time opportunity working 18.5 hours per week, Monday 08:00-12:30 Tuesday-Friday 08:00-11:30, with a pro rata salary of up to £14,310 per annum. Here in Essex, we continue to raise the bar about practice and our investment in our workforce is second to none. It’s an exciting time to join us having received our 3rd Outstanding Ofsted rating in a row. Children and Families is recognised as a service in which social work can develop and prosper, with a culture of collaboration, integrity and compassion; promoting the development and wellbeing of children, young people and their families; protecting them from neglect and abuse. Working together with partners delivering a range of early help, family support and effective social work interventions which build resilience, remove barriers and enable children and young people to look forward to a brighter future. The Emergency Duty Service Co-ordinator will contribute to a high performing Social Care Emergency Duty Service, meeting all agreed service standards. Based in Chelmsford, ensuring accurate information is conveyed to daytime services and updating databases and statistics regularly. The ability to use sound personal judgement and a strong working knowledge of business practice is a necessity as is the ability to deliver effective routine and complex administrative tasks. The ability to take telephone calls from the public and partner agencies whilst we are operational. Accountabilities Maintain manual and computerised records, ensuring confidentiality and efficient retrieval of information to produce high quality reports, data and a variety of statistical information. Responsible for maintaining oversight of finance activities within the service, ensuring compliance with Financial Regulations. Responsible for providing data and statistics to stakeholders and external agencies for the purpose of agreeing services required and received from those agencies and to provide evidence of work carried out by the EDS to secure provision for out of hours services across Essex and Southend. Build collaborative relationships with stakeholders, internal and external partners to enable the smooth transfer of information and effective engagement. Skills, Knowledge and Experience Educated to RQF Level 2 (GCSE) or equivalent by experience. Experience of using IT packages with an extensive knowledge of Excel, Word, Outlook and other IT systems. (Training will be provided for our own database systems). Proven effective communication and interpersonal skills with experience of effectively resolving enquiries and escalating as appropriate. Ability to be an effective team member, with evidence of successfully delivering outcomes within a team. Evidence of building strong working relationships with stakeholders, internal and external partners, demonstrating an understanding of their needs and priorities. Ability to share knowledge and good practice with colleagues, highlighting new and more efficient ways of working. Significant experience working within an office environment, working with sensitive and/or personal information, under pressure and to tight timescales. Evidence of working flexibly and independently, open to new and innovative ways of working and responsive to change. To read more about our business area, please visit: Children & Families Please take a look at our ‘No Magic’ Children & Families video Why Essex? As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we are dedicated to making a positive difference for residents, communities and businesses across the county. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you. In March 2026, Greater Essex was accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site. Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying. Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs. At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone. As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email ami.fosker@essex.gov.uk Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Further details can be found on our careers page. Downloads Pay and Reward | Our Ways of Working | About Us | Organisation Behaviours