Missing Prevention Worker (AES)

Lambeth Council; London Borough of Lambeth; Hybrid; GBP 43,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Living Wage Employer

Stonewall Diversity Champion

Job summary

Lambeth Council is seeking a Missing Prevention Worker to help reduce missing episodes and address risk factors for vulnerable adolescents. This is a fixed-term 12-month position with full-time hybrid working in London.

The role focuses on prevention and early support for young people aged 11-18, using assertive outreach and relationship-based practice to reconnect them with education and positive pathways.

Responsibilities

• Work directly with young people who go missing or are at risk of going missing
• Build trusted relationships to identify underlying causes and vulnerabilities
• Deliver prevention and safety planning interventions
• Support return home conversations and follow‑up work
• Work closely with families, schools and partner agencies
• Help reduce exploitation and contextual risks

Job description

Missing Prevention Worker

PO1: £43,308pa rising in annual increments to £45,852 pa incl. LW

Fixed Term / Secondment Opportunity for 12 months

Full Time / Hybrid Working

About Us

Located in the heart of South London, Lambeth Borough is a vibrant community of over 317,600 residents. Stretching from the dynamic neighbourhood of Streatham in the South to the iconic landmarks of Waterloo in the North, we are proud to be the 9th largest borough in London. Our diversity is our strength, with more than 130 languages spoken, making Lambeth the home of the Windrush generation, London's largest LGBTQ+ community, and a thriving Portuguese-speaking community.

It is an exciting time to join Lambeth Council, we have bold ambitions for the future of Lambeth’s communities and residents through our Lambeth 2030 Plan ‘Our Future, Our Lambeth.

With exceptional schools, lush green spaces including Brockwell Park, cultural gems like the Black Cultural Archives, and world-renowned institutions such as St Thomas's Hospital, Lambeth offers an enriching and dynamic environment.

Please have a look at our dedicated One Lambeth Values and Behaviours page.

About the Team

Join the Adolescent Early Support Team (a 12 months pilot)

Help Us Change the Story for Adolescents

Some young people face increasing challenges long before they meet the threshold for statutory intervention.

They may be disengaging from education, experiencing family conflict, becoming vulnerable to exploitation, going missing, associating with risky peer groups, struggling with emotional wellbeing, or becoming involved in low-level offending behaviour. Too often, support comes only after risks have become entrenched.

The Adolescent Early Support Team is a prevention and engagement service for young people aged 11-18, designed to intervene at the point of emerging risk and prevent escalation into crisis or statutory services. Through assertive outreach, trusted relationships and adolescent‑centred practice, we support young people to reconnect with education, strengthen family relationships and access positive pathways.

The team will operate as Lambeth's adolescent prevention, early support and engagement service, providing intensive, relationship‑based support to adolescents who may not engage with traditional services. The team may offer some services out of hours and during weekends.

Our work is trauma‑informed, culturally responsive, strengths‑based and rooted in contextual safeguarding principles. Crucially for this team, we are also investing in a researcher role to help us understand how we shape the improvements and how we can locally arrange our adolescent services offer in ways that prevent crisis intervention.

Why Join Us

• Help shape an innovative new service from the outset
• Work within a research‑led, adolescent‑focused model
• Deliver meaningful early intervention and prevention
• Be part of a multi‑disciplinary team
• Influence system changes and improve outcomes for young people
• Contribute to a service that aims to reduce harm, inequality and escalation into higher‑level services

About the Role

Helping Young People Stay Safe and Connected.

The Missing Prevention Worker will play a crucial role in reducing missing episodes and addressing the factors that place young people at risk.

You will

• Work directly with young people who go missing or are at risk of going missing
• Build trusted relationships to identify underlying causes and vulnerabilities
• Deliver prevention and safety planning interventions
• Support return home conversations and follow‑up work
• Work closely with families, schools and partner agencies
• Help reduce exploitation and contextual risks

About You

• Have experience working with vulnerable adolescents
• Understand exploitation, contextual safeguarding and missing vulnerabilities
• Be skilled at engaging hard‑to‑reach young people
• Be resilient, proactive and solution‑focused
• Be committed to improving safety and outcomes

The Adolescent Early Support Team is more than a new service. It is an opportunity to redesign how we support young people at the point where timely intervention can make the greatest difference.

If you believe in the power of relationships, early intervention and adolescent‑focused practice, we would love to hear from you.

Join us in helping young people stay safe, stay connected and realise their potential.

Contact Information

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Manyara Walker [e-mail]

At Lambeth, we are dedicated to providing quality services and equal opportunities for all. We are committed to safer recruitment and are proud to be a Stonewall diversity champion, a Living Wage Employer, and to guarantee interviews for all disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria of the role. For a full list of our accreditations, please click here.

Successful candidates will be asked to apply for an Enhanced/Standard/Basic Certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). Further information about the DBS can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/dbs

You will be required to undertake a Cifas check. Further information about Cifas can be found here Cifas