Return Home Interviewer

Lambeth-Council; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 34,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Lambeth Council is seeking a Return Home Interviewer to join the Missing Team within Children’s Services. This full-time, permanent post requires a proactive, child-centred approach to understanding why a child has gone missing and to support families and partner agencies.

You will attend multi‑agency meetings, provide the child’s voice, contribute to safety planning, and advocate for vulnerable children. The role is hybrid, with in-office presence required two days per week.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children and young people.
• Ability to build positive trusting relationships quickly.
• Ability to attend meetings and advocate for children.

Responsibilities

• Engage children and families to understand why a child has gone missing.
• Explore push/pull factors and complete safety planning to reduce missing episodes.
• Attend professionals meetings and Missing Panel to provide the child’s voice.
• Build positive relationships with children and demonstrate professional curiosity.
• Work hybrid role with in-office presence two days a week.

Job description

Return Home Interviewer

Full time/Permanent

Scale5: £34,359pa rising in annual increments to £35,892pa incl. LW

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 dedicatedOne Lambeth Values and Behaviours page.

About the Team:

Lambeth’s Missing Team sits within the Contextual Safeguarding Team in Children’s Services.As a service we work with our multi agency partners to support those children, young people and their families where there is risk outside of the home. We offer intensive support and specialist interventions, and work with the wider partnerships to disrupt those who seek to exploit children in Lambeth.

We are very aware that early missing episodes are a potential indicator of exploitation and therefore the role of the Missing Team is key within this service. You will be joining a committed service, with good partnership links and a creative approach to engaging children and young people across the borough.

About the Role:

The Return Home Interviewer holds a key role within the Council. Through your tenacious and creative approach you will engage children, young people and their families and look to understand why a child has gone missing. You will explore with the children and young people the push pull factors in their lives and complete safety planning with them to hopefully reduce further missing episodes.

You will attend professionals meetings in relation to children you are supporting and provide their voice in this space. You will also attend the weekly multi agency Missing Panel and provide the child’s voice based on information you have gained through meeting with them.

You will have experience of working with children and young people and a track record of building positive trusting relationships over short periods of time. You will be a confident advocate for your children and show professional curiosity throughout your work. You will be able to work flexibility, to meet the needs of the children and the service and be a strong advocate for the children you meet.

This is a hybrid role with the expectation of being in the office 2 days a week.

How to Apply:

To be considered for interview, your CV and supporting statement will clearly evidence how you meet the shortlisting criteria on the personal specification marked “A” for application:

JD and Person Specification

We operate an anonymised application process, so be sure to remove personal details when uploading your CV or personal statement.

Recruitment Timelines:

Advert closing date: 11:59pm on 30^th August 2026

Interviews: 9^th and 11^th September 2026 in person.

Please click here to view:Lambeth Staff Benefits

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

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

Contact Information:

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Anna Atkins Team Manager (Missing Team) via email - [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 clickhere.