Youth Justice Officer

We are seeking passionate and skilled Youth Justice Officer to join our team and help improve outcomes for children. This is a challenging yet rewarding role within a service committed to Leeds' ambition to be a Child Friendly and Restorative City. You will work directly with children and their families to reduce offending, underpinned by trauma-informed, child-first, and restorative approaches. You will support children to achieve positive change, keeping children, victims and communities safe.

To work with children and their families to reduce their risk of offending or re-offending, in accordance with relevant legislation, National Standards for Youth Justice, YJS values and the Youth Justice Plan for Leeds.

• Manage cases involving statutory court orders and pre-court disposals.
• Undertake assessments and develop intervention plans tailored to individual needs.
• Work collaboratively with multi-agency partners to deliver holistic support.
• Prepare high-quality reports for courts and panels.
• Promote restorative practice and child-first principles in all interactions.
• To positively engage children and their families in order to improve their outcomes, working in an inclusive, restorative and trauma informed manner, with high challenge and high support
• To undertake thorough, effective and analytical assessments of children, with particular regard to the risk of offending, level of harm posed to the public and risk to the child's own safety and wellbeing, in accordance with YJS risk management and safeguarding procedures. This will include completion of the appropriate specialist risk assessment tools and working closely with other agencies.
• To work in an anti-oppressive manner, promoting equality and ensuring that diversity issues are addressed
• To sequence, plan, develop, co-ordinate, deliver and review programmes of focused work to children on a group and individual basis, including those subject to intensive supervision, demonstrating an understanding and application of the theories and methods of effective youth justice practice and evidence based practice research
• To take account of the views and interests of victims and issues of public safety and public confidence
• To work with the families of children who offend to improve outcomes for the family
• To prepare timely and analytical pre-sentence and other reports to a high quality
• To encourage and enable children's participation in all aspects of service delivery, helping them make informed decisions and enabling them to clarify and express their needs and contribute to service planning
• To take an active role in Court as required, including the participation of Court duty office rota, and other liaison services
• To maintain effective, accurate and timely administrative systems and provide all information necessary for accountability, case management, statistical and monitoring purposes, taking full account of information sharing protocols
• To actively contribute to a culture of innovation, restorative practice, new ideas and learning within the team and wider Service. This includes making proactive and positive use of management oversight and support, team meetings, Service briefings, training and written communication to reflect critically on practice and exploring different approaches to effective working and implementing change as appropriate
• To work flexibly, including evening and weekend work as required, to meet the needs of children
• To undertake other duties appropriate to the post as required by the Service
• To comply with the requirements of all Leeds Youth Justice Service, Leeds City Council and Departmental policies, procedures and staff instructions, including responsibilities under the Health and Safety policies and procedures
• Ability to engage and establish constructive relationships with children and their families to work to bring about positive change in their behaviour.
• Ability to work restoratively with children and their families with high challenge and high support in order to improve their outcomes
• Ability to prepare high quality and well informed, analytical pre-sentence reports and other reports within National Standards.
• Self-motivation, initiative, enthusiasm, creativity, responsiveness and an ability to work to deadlines.

• Professional social work qualification, Diploma in Probation Studies, Youth and Community Work qualification or Foundation Degree in Youth Justice.
• This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.
• If the post holder is eligible for registration with Social Work England they will be required to maintain this registration whilst in post.
• Ability to engage to and establish constructive relationships with children and their families to work to bring about positive change in…