Qualified Youth Justice Social Worker

Hertfordshire County Council; Stevenage; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Stevenage is seeking a qualified Youth Justice Social Worker to manage a caseload of children aged 11-18 who have received a Court Order. This role requires experience in Youth Justice, strong communication skills, and the ability to work collaboratively with families and professionals to foster positive change. The ideal candidate will be responsible for assessing risks and developing tailored interventions. A full UK driving licence is essential for this role.

Qualifications

• Experience of Youth Justice work with interventions.
• Understanding of child-first approach and building relationships.
• Ability to engage and communicate with diverse stakeholders.
• Experience in courts and providing sentencing options.
• Strong IT, organisation, and communication skills.
• Self-motivated, able to manage own workload effectively.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and policies.
• Full UK driving licence and access to a car.

Responsibilities

• Manage a complex caseload of children on court Orders.
• Develop and monitor intervention programmes.
• Contribute to Youth Justice services for children and families.
• Participate in operational duties and cover.
• Liaise with families, agencies, and stakeholders.
• Maintain comprehensive case management information.
• Provide high-quality assessment reports.
• Ensure compliance with legal and statutory standards.

Skills

Youth Justice work

Child-focused approach

Effective communication

IT skills

Organisation skills

Education

Qualified social worker with registration

Job description

Overview

You will be able to select your preference on application.

We are seeking a qualified Social Worker to join Hertfordshire's Youth Justice Service to work with children aged 11-18 who have received a Court Order. Hertfordshire Youth Justice Service is undergoing an exciting transition, evolving from its integration within children's social care to becoming a centralised service. We are thrilled to offer an exceptional opportunity for a talented Youth Justice Social Worker to join us. If you are passionate about shaping the future of youth justice and driving positive change, we invite you to be part of our dynamic team. This role provides the opportunity to work with a skilled, motivated and dedicated workforce, who are passionate about supporting children to desist from offending through robust assessment, risk management and delivery of tailored interventions.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of complex children open to Youth Justice on a community court Order, custody and resettlement.
• Through appropriate assessment of risk and risk management to develop, provide, co-ordinate and monitor programmes of intervention for children subject to court Orders in order to prevent further offending in accordance with evidence-based practice.
• Contribute to the delivery of the full range of services for children, their families and victims within Youth Justice Services.
• Participate in wider team activities such as operational duty and court cover, including evenings and weekends of programme operation.
• Work in partnership with staff and managers and with the parents/carers and families of children to ensure consistency with programme arrangements and to maximise the benefits of individual programmes for children.
• Maintain accurate and timely comprehensive case management information on ChildView and comply with deadlines and statutory standards and requirements.
• Provide high quality reports: Pre-Sentence, Referral Order based on an AssetPlus assessment and provide clear, child focused proposals to the Youth or Crown Court.
• Liaise with relevant statutory and voluntary agencies to exchange, provide, gather, collate and evaluate information and data as may be required for monitoring the compliance of children, maintaining the positive benefits of individual intervention programmes.
• Be a qualified social worker with current registration with Social Work England.

Qualifications and experience

• Experience of Youth Justice work including providing interventions and working as part of a child-focused multi-disciplinary team.
• In-depth understanding of the child first approach and proven experience of building positive relationships with children and parent/carers.
• Ability to meaningfully engage and communicate effectively with children as well as a range of individuals including parent/carers, victims, wider professionals and external agencies.
• Experience of court, providing robust sentencing options.
• Strong IT, organisation and communication skills are essential as you will need to record data on a case management information system, produce reports, and correspond with children, parents and partners.
• Self-motivated and able to organise and effectively manage own workload whilst maintaining high quality standards.
• Experience and a sound knowledge of relevant legislation and policies relating to victims, children and their families within the youth justice service and have the ability to manage caseloads and undertake risk assessments and pre-sentence reports with credible proposals.
• Full UK driving licence and regular access to a car.

Additional requirements

• Safeguarding: This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.
• Driving: You'll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.
• English language: The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post. For those whose language is a signed language, the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required.

We are proud to be a and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.