This is an exciting opportunity to develop Southampton Youth Justice reparation offer, by working with partners across the city to create opportunities for children to give back to their communities. This role requires an energetic and enthusiastic person who can engage both partners and children, who can work collaboratively across the team and to successfully and creatively engage children to participate in community reparation project and other Youth Justice community-based activities. The post holder will have a good knowledge of restorative justice and how these principles apply to reparation. The role will include working with young people both one to one and on a group basis. Community reparation is a vital component to contributing towards the youth offending teams’ interventions to reducing re-offending and Southampton Youth Justice are keen to establish and embed this offer locally. The post holder will be responsible for running projects in which young people that are required to undertake reparation hours, can take part in to benefit their community. Along with the effective supervision of young people, your role will be to motivate and engage them in the successful completion of their hours. The post holder will be able to effectively engage children in other activities to enhance their connections to local communities.
The post holder would benefit from having an ability to manage a project as this will be starting this offer from scratch, and work with people right across the city to set up and maintain reparation opportunities. The post holder will have carried a caseload, worked with children and been able to manage and work with children with a range of risks to themselves and others. An understanding of youth justice would also be of benefit and experience of working in a trauma informed organisation, as Southampton Youth Justice Service is working to Child First principles.
This role also includes a wider remit of creating and engaging children in positive activities and creating opportunities for the wider team to refer into. In addition, the role will require the post holder to support and promote children’s participation with service user feedback to help develop and drive the agenda of the Youth Justice Service.
The post will sit within the Youth Justice team and work closely with Restorative Justice Officers as part of the restorative service offer, working with children 10-18 who are working with the Youth Justice Service.
Purpose Of The Job:
To manage, coordinate and facilitate reparation across the service and contribute to the Restorative Justice and Reparation planning. To manage reparation projects, as required by legislation and in accordance with national standards and effective practice guidance. The postholder will be expected to contribute to ensuring restorative justice principles and the needs of victims are embedded across the service and into wider stakeholders.
This role will also be focused on engaging children to participate in structured and positive activities and creating opportunities to link children into projects that enhance their experience and increase use of life skills and confidence.
This role will also promote participation of young people, in seeking feedback to support the Youth Justice agenda/ plan and drive organisational change and development within the service.
The post holder will have experience and understanding of working with children with trauma and understand Child First principles of working with children who have offended.
Principle Accountabilities:
- Support and develop reparation projects across the police, Community Safety Partnership and other agencies, including community representatives.
- To manage the facilitation and delivery of Reparation interventions, in line with legislation, across the service in order to ensure the provision of an effective and comprehensive service to young people and their families, communities and victims of crime.
- Risk-assess work placements and young people in accordance with health and safety guidance.
- To build up and develop partnerships with relevant community-based projects, to ensure indirect reparation activities have a restorative element and are beneficial to local communities.
- To establish appropriate systems for monitoring and evaluating the role of the work.
- To contribute to and deliver training packages for YJS staff and volunteers around reparation interventions.
- To ensure that administrative, financial and record-keeping systems are developed and fully implemented and provide necessary data/reports as required.
- To ensure the users voice is represented within the service and facilitate opportunities for their involvement with the service and user forums.
- Write high quality and timely reports and provide peer quality oversight of reports which are informed by evidence-based assessments.
- Actively participate in team meetings, supervision, staff development programmes and training, both mandatory and developmental. To be aware of and act in accordance with the Council’s Equalities Policy. To be aware of and act in accordance with the Council’s Health & Safety Policy and agreed Codes of Practice.
Essential Skills:
Communication - Listening and responding to young people and their needs is an essential part of this role. In addition, you will need to work alongside colleagues in the youth justice service, keeping them updated on the progress of a case and championing the positive work young people have taken part in. It is essential that you forge and maintain positive relationships with our partners, ensuring that they are always kept updated and informed.
Flexibility - Working with young people requires a flexible approach; this will involve working on weekends as well as evenings, will be expected to manage your diary effectively and be prepared to travel to different placements around Southampton to meet the needs of the young people you are working with.
Motivation – Many of the young people we work with require an individual approach to secure engagement. You will need to provide encouragement, support and work in a pro social manner with young people at all times in order to achieve the best possible outcome. You will have to work from your own initiative and make judgements that take into account the needs of the people you are working with, your own workload and the specific contract requirements. You will be able to call upon the youth justice managers for advice and guidance and colleagues within the Restorative Justice team.
IT Capable – There is however, a responsibility to record information accurately and promptly. As a result, it is essential that you are proficient in using:
- Email
- Electronic calendar
- Word
- Excel
Recording is vital in showcasing the great work you will be doing and is often a contract requirement. You will need to produce accurate written reports in a professional manner about the young person/s progress following each session and submit these in a timely fashion. You will also need to ensure that information regarding young people who fail to attend their organised reparation hours is submitted to their case manager in a timely fashion and follow enforcement processes, including providing supporting evidence.
Safe - We want you to work safely in all aspects of your role. This will mean following our own internal policies and procedures (and the youth offending team policy on safeguarding and data protection) and will require you to consider safety in relation to the following aspects:
- Safeguarding
- Lone Working
- Data Protection
- Confidentiality
You will be responsible for the safe supervision of young people referred via the youth justice service who are required to undertake reparation activity in various settings. You will be required to attend home visits with our service users in the community.
You will need to always ensure the safety of young people and ensure requested tasks are suitable. This will require you to undertake ongoing health and safety and risk assessment checks of placements before.
Your duties will be as set out in the above job description but please note that the Council reserves the right to update your job description, from time to time, to reflect changes in, or to, your job. There will be other duties and requirements associated with your job and, in addition, as a term of your employment you may be required to undertake various other duties as may reasonably be required. The list of duties in the job description should not be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive.
- Educated to degree level
- Knowledge and understanding of restorative justice theory, guidance and practice and of National Standards and principles of effective practice
- Knowledge of all relevant childcare and youth justice legislation and guidance and of child protection policies, procedures and practices experience
- Relevant experience in this field and of direct work with children and their families and experience of working to restorative justice and safeguarding principles
- Experience of project development and management Skills & Abilities
- Ability to communicate clearly and to provide intelligible verbal and written reports
- Proven ability to complete succinct, effective and comprehensive records.
- Good Microsoft office skills and able to access, retrieve and input data using databases
- Ability to use evidence and research to inform practice and decision making and to integrate theory into practice
- Ability to be self-motivated and to prioritise own workload and that of others
- An ability to work constructively and collaboratively with colleagues, partners and agencies and identify and maintain purposeful networks
- Ability to work effectively in complex situations, problem solve, seek solutions and use professional discretion to exercise power and responsibility and manage risk
- Ability to measure performance against outcomes Equalities
- To be able to demonstrate a commitment to the principles of Equalities and to be able to carry out duties in accordance with the Council’s Equalities Policy. Other Requirements
- A commitment to ongoing professional development.
Additional information:
- This post requires an Enhanced DBS check.
- For any posts that require a DBS check, if you have lived outside the UK within the last 5 years, you will be required to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct or a police certificate from the country/countries you have resided in. Kindly note that this is at the expense of the candidate, as well as any costs involved for translating into English.
- Please note the salary quoted is based on full time hours (37 hours).
- The working hours are 37 hours per week.
The supporting statement section of the application form must be completed unless there are specific criteria questions for you to evidence against. Applications are shortlisted against the essential and desirable criteria found within the job description for the post. Please refer to the job description when completing your application form and evidence how you meet the required criteria/questions. A CV on its own will not be considered.
Unfortunately we are not able to accept applications that are made through a third party agency. We cannot guarantee that any correspondence sent from third party agencies will be responded to.
Recruitment contact details: recruitment@southampton.gov.uk (023) 8083 4033
As a Corporate Parent we are actively aiming to support all our Looked After Children (LAC) and Care Leavers. Any Applicants who are care leavers or in a LAC position and who meet the essential criteria for the post applied for will be guaranteed an interview.