Youth Offending Team Officer Grade I

34 months contract with a Local Authority

Job Summary:

• The local authority has a statutory responsibility to provide a Youth Offending Service (YOS) in line with the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 which requires each area to have a team of staff seconded from different agencies working together to prevent offending by children and young people.
  
• The YOS aims to prevent crime and the fear of crime by ensuring that services are targeted at children and young people at high risk of offending and meet the needs of victims and communities.
  
• The YOS ensures that young people who do offend are identified and dealt with without delay with punishment proportionate to the seriousness and frequency of offending.
  
• The YOS promotes interventions with young offenders that reduce the risk factors associated with offending increase the protective factors and reinforce the responsibilities of parents.
  
• The purpose of the job is to work as part of a multiagency team preventing offending by children and young people by delivering a range of interventions in line with statutory requirements and national and local priorities for youth justice and children s services.
  

Key Duties/Accountabilities (Sample):

• To supervise the statutory orders that children and young people become subject to that are the responsibility of the Youth Offending Service
  
• To ensure the sentence of the court is delivered by encouraging and facilitating compliance by young people with their court orders and to use enforcement processes in cases where young people do not comply with their court orders.
  
• To prepare presentence referral order reports and other reports according to national standards.
  
• To represent the Youth Offending Service at the Youth Court and other Courts including the Crown Court as required including Saturday Bank Holiday and any other occasional Courts.
  
• In partnership with children s service social work teams to provide support for young people remanded to Local Authority accommodation to enable them to remain in the community and reduce any risk of reoffending.
  
• To work in partnership with the Secure Estate visiting and delivering a service to young people who are remanded or sentenced to custody to address their offending behaviour and related issues in preparation for release and to facilitate their resettlement into the community.
  
• To attend as required as an Appropriate Adult at PACE interviews of young people who are arrested.
  
• To undertake office duty as required.
  
• To manage a caseload and undertake direct work with children young people and their parents/carers including lone working undertaking home visits and meeting young people at other community venues.
  
• To use ASSET/ASSET Plus and other assessment tools to gather and analyse information that leads to an accurate indepth understanding of a young person s offending behaviour.
  
• To make accurate clear assessments of risk in relation to harm to the public dangerousness reoffending and vulnerability and to develop and implement a risk management plan.
  
• To develop and deliver intervention plans with specific measurable achievable realistic and timebound targets which are based on assessed need and which help a young person avoid reoffending; assist a young person to achieve their potential and help to protect victims and communities.
  
• To complete timely referrals to partners and other agencies.
  
• To promote multi agency working through good communication and attendance at case reviews.
  
• To provide a robust structure of supervision and support for those young people on bail and at risk of being remanded in custody.
  
• To advise the line manager Youth Offending Service Manager and/or other appropriate professionals of any concerns relating to the safety welfare and protection of children and young people.
  
• To provide opportunities for restorative justice to victims and offenders.
  
• To represent the Youth Offending Service and promote its work to other agencies and provide reliable accurate and timely information.
  
• To collaborate and work in partnership with other agencies in the public private and voluntary sector to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people.
  
• To ensure equality of access to services provided by the YOS.
  
• To participate in peer gatekeeping arrangements as part of a servicewide approach to quality assurance.
  
• To participate in the supervision of students placed with the Youth Offending Service.
  
• Maintain accurate up to date evidencebased records of all young people in contact with the Service using an electronic case management system (Careworks).
  
• To participate in the collation of statistical data returns for the Youth Justice Board and as required by others.
  
• To keep up to date with changes in legislation and developments in practice relating to the Youth Offending Service and to be able to respond accordingly.
  
• To adhere to health and safety requirements and regulations as appropriate to the post.
  
• To work within the principles of Working together to safeguard children and the Pan London Child Protection Procedures in relation to safeguarding young people.
  
• To participate in regular formal supervision and appraisal according to policy and procedure and carry out necessary action to achieve own development.
  
• To maintain up to date core professional social work training and development (for GSCC registered staff).
  
• To undertake and participate in training and development as agreed with the team manager.
  
• To ensure that sharp customer care focus is maintained to the agreed standards according to the council s values policies and guidance.
  
• To ensure that a high level of confidentiality is maintained in all aspects of work whilst facilitating the storing and sharing of information in line with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
  
• To ensure that the Council is appropriately represented to a high professional standard and its values upheld in public arenas.
  

Skills/Experience:

• Experience of direct work with challenging and hard to engage children and young people.
  
• Experience of direct work with offenders.
  
• Experience of working within a statutory framework.
  
• Planning and Coordinating: Establishes clear targets defines plans and coordinates resources to meet them.
  
• Developing productive relationships: Builds effective working relationships with a diversity of individuals and groups.
  
• Communicating in writing: Produces succinct and wellstructured written work which creates a positive impact on the recipient(s).
  
• Communicating orally: Conveys messages effectively creating a positive impact on the listener(s).
  
• Demonstrating adaptability: Works in a creative way making the most of change opportunities.
  
• Analysing and evaluating: Reflects on information defines the key issues and reaches logical conclusions.
  
• Delivering customer centred services: Achieves customer satisfaction by identifying genuine needs and jointly developing effective solutions.
  
• Delivering results: Embraces responsibility and displays a capacity for driving issues forward.
  
• Negotiating and persuading: Negotiates successfully remaining open to suggestions whilst significantly influencing others.
  
• Making decisions: Resolves problems effectively after exploring options and considering the implications.
  
• Team working: Works effectively with others cooperates with colleagues is sensitive to people s needs and helps the team achieve its goals.
  
• Emotional resilience: Demonstrates the capacity to maintain effective functioning when working under pressure faced with difficult and personally demanding situations and people.
  
• Motivation: Demonstrates understanding of own motivation impact of personal experiences and capacity for insight reflection and development.
  
• Authority power and control: Uses authority power and control to enhance the capacity of others provide direction and build an open trusting environment promoting diversity and challenging discrimination.
  
• Integrity and values: Sets and maintains the highest standards in professional relationships and boundaries with young people families colleagues and other professionals.
  
• Working and detailed knowledge of the causes of crime and effective practice in intervening to reduce offending and antisocial behaviour by young people.
  
• Working and detailed knowledge of safeguarding children s issues Every Child Matters Children Act 2004 and the Pan London Child Protection procedures.
  
• Working and detailed knowledge of the youth justice system Crime and Disorder Act 1998 Youth Justice Board National Standards and the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
  
• Working and detailed knowledge of the assessment and management of risk in terms of dangerousness reoffending and vulnerability.
  

Additional Information:

• Valid driving licence and access to the use of a motor vehicle.
  
• The closing date: 05/01/25 @23:00.