Youth Worker

Job title: Youth Worker

Salary: JNC Points 12-15 (£30,745– £33,869)

Hours: 37

Contract: Permanent

Location: Technorth, 9 Harrogate Road LS7 3NB

As a Youth Worker, you’ll thrive on being part of a team to support and achieve positive outcomes for the most vulnerable young people of Leeds.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

As a Youth worker, you will bring to the role:

• Have a minimum level 3 JNC recognised Youth & Community qualification.
• Effectively record and evaluate Return Interviews, youth work sessions, produce reports within specific timescales.
• Able to undertake a flexible and varied and rota based working pattern i.e. late evenings, weekends, schools holidays.
• You will have a young person-centred approach and have the ability to engage with vulnerable children and young people in a positive and meaningful way.

The successful candidate will be a qualified, experienced Youth Worker that has the skills and experience to enable them to deliver an exemplary service to children and young people.

The role of a youth worker is integral to the Return Interview Service, the team provide a statutory service to young people who have been reported missing to the Police with a return interview. Independent return interviews are therefore an important tool to hear the child or young person’s voice, wishes and feelings regarding their reasons for going missing, whilst also informing assessments, interventions, wider care planning and placement stability.

The issue of children being missing from home or care is a safeguarding concern and although most children return safely or are found quickly, all children who go missing - irrespective of the length of time that they are missing for - are at risk. A return interview is an opportunity for young people to talk about why they were missing, where and who they were with, and to offer support where appropriate.

The team also provide street-based youth work in Leeds City Centre on Friday and Saturday evenings as part of a rota, which is shared amongst the team. Due to the Night Time Economy (NTE) young people in the City Centre can become increasingly vulnerable the later they stay. The team works with a range of partners to identify these young people and works directly with them to help keep themselves safe and ensure they return to a place of safety.

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

• a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
• membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
• flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements.
• a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities.
• a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further.

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