Children and Young Person Rights Advocate

West Sussex County Council; England; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority is seeking a Children and Young Person Rights Advocate to support and empower children and young people, particularly those in care. The role requires strong interpersonal and communication skills, as well as a social work qualification. Responsibilities include representing the child's voice, managing a caseload, and maintaining records. This full-time position offers a competitive salary and benefits including flexible working and a robust pension scheme.

Benefits

27 days annual leave

Local government pension scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Experience working with children and young people, particularly those in care.
• Full and valid UK driving licence.
• Knowledge of Advocacy Standards and national policy regarding young people's rights.

Responsibilities

• Act as a representative for children and young people, ensuring their rights are upheld.
• Manage a caseload and prepare reports.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to advocate for youth needs.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Advocacy knowledge

Relationship building

IT skills

Education

Social Work Qualification or relevant professional qualification

Job description

Do you have a proven track record of working with children and young people, including Children We Care For, care leavers and those with complex needs?

Do you have highly developed interpersonal and communication skills to effectively engage and empower a diverse group of children and young people through direct interaction?

If the answer is yes, we want to hear from you!

We are seeking a Children and Young Person Rights Advocate to join our Advocacy Service. This service provides support to young individuals who access it, and it operates with integrity, professionalism, and respect on behalf of the organisation, always prioritising the needs of individuals.

Salary

Salary: £32,597 to £35,412 per annum

Contract Type

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Pattern

Working Pattern: Full-time (37 hours per week)

Location

Location: Your temporary base location will be Tradewinds Business Centre, Heath Place, Heath Pl, Bognor Regis PO22 9SL- with regular travel and hybrid working. Permanent base location will be Durban House, Durban Rd, Bognor Regis PO22 9RE.

Interview Date

Interview Date: Wednesday 10 December 2025

This role will require the successful candidate to travel both within and outside of the county to engage with young people.

You will also need to be able to travel independently around and outside of the county, including to areas that may not be easily accessible by public transport. Pool cars and pool bikes available.

About the Job

As a Children and Young Person Rights Advocate, you will ensure that the Children We Care For, Care Leavers, and Children with Disabilities in West Sussex receive the appropriate advocacy services tailored to their needs, while upholding their rights as defined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

There will be some key responsibilities likely to feature in this role, including:

• Acting as a representative for the child or young person by focusing on delivering appropriate guidance and communicating their wishes. Uphold integrity, professionalism, and respect on behalf of the organization, ensuring that the needs of individuals always remain the top priority.
• Manage a caseload and serve as a key worker for designated individuals, providing guidance and representing their perspectives, preparing reports, and adopting a person-centred approach to the development and oversight of plans.
• Collaborating with individuals and relevant stakeholders to understand their needs and circumstances, and advocate on their behalf to achieve favourable outcomes.
• Maintaining comprehensive and accurate records of all work performed, and preparing case reports and correspondence tailored for various audiences, including meetings, conferences, judicial reviews, panels, and other agencies.
• Successfully facilitating communication and fostering understanding among the young person, staff members, and voluntary agencies.

If you enjoy working in a fast-paced environment and relish being part of a close-knit team, supporting colleagues to deliver better outcomes for the Children and Young People of West Sussex. we want to hear from you!

Required Qualifications and Skills

• A Social Work Qualification or other professional qualification with evidence of experience relevant to the role.
• A Full and Valid UK Driving Licence
• Knowledge and experience of the Advocacy Standards and national policy developments regarding young peoples' rights and implications for practice.
• Strong communication skills, with the capacity to confident build relationships with stakeholders at all levels and provide a high-quality service.
• The ability to prioritise and manage workloads with competing deadlines while aligning with performance indicators and targets.
• Demonstrated proficiency in literacy, numeracy, and IT skills to effectively manage records and generate reports and presentations.

For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

Rewards and Benefits

From flexible working (where possible) to access to our Employee Assistance Programme, we aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 27 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 5 years' service plus the opportunity to buy additional leave and an excellent local government pension scheme.

A range of discounts give our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform.

For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CPP01251.

Does this sound like the opportunity for you? Click apply below, upload your CV and cover letter.

Your cover letter should:

• Outline your motivations for applying.
• Explain the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills in the attached job description).

Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to right to work within the UK, enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, HCPC/Social Work England Registration, satisfactory references, and a health check.

Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.

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