Caseworker - Youth Justice Programmes

Are you passionate about working with children involved in the Criminal Justice System? Do you want to help and support children to achieve their full potential? Are you able to communicate and engage effectively with children and their families? Look no further, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council has the perfect opportunity for you!

To ensure we fulfil our grant obligations we are looking to recruit a Caseworker - Youth Justice Programmes on a Fixed Term Contract until 31 March 2026 to work with children who meet the Turnaround criteria. Stockton Youth Justice Team (YJT) gained an ‘Outstanding’ inspection rating from HMI Probation in 2021. The report clearly recognised the effective relationships our staff have with the children and families we work with.

As a Youth Justice Officer, you will need to ensure all your work is underpinned by the Youth Justice Board Child First principles where we support children to build positive futures on their strengths and abilities with appropriate, personalised, and effective support. The overall aim of the programme is to achieve positive outcomes for children on the cusp of offending, or to prevent them reoffending.

You will assist in the delivering of direct work to children aged 10-17 who meet the eligibility criteria for the programme, undertaking robust needs-led assessments to plan interventions, working with internal teams and external partners in achieving successful outcomes. This is an exciting opportunity as we continue to hold children at the centre of everything that we do and reinforce our commitment to embedding relationship-based practice.

We will promote the best outcomes for children using a child-centred approach and building meaningful relationships with and within families, and with each other as a staff team and with our multi-agency partners. You will need to understand current legislation and procedures relating to Youth Justice and Children Services as well as understanding contextual safeguarding, diversity, and the needs of working with vulnerable groups.

As this is a fixed-term post, secondment opportunities will be considered for internal employees. Please obtain prior approval from your current line manager before completing the application. For further information, please refer to the council’s secondment policy.

For more detailed information about the role, please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification included in the Supporting Documents section. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council prides itself on being a great place to work where staff are trusted, valued and supported to make a positive contribution at work.

We offer an excellent total reward package, including:

• A competitive salary of up to £32,654
• 27 days annual leave per year rising to 32 with 5 years service (plus bank holidays). Ability to purchase additional leave is also available.
• Generous Pension Scheme through the LGPS with ability to pay extra and plan for retirement.
• Access to a number of other employee benefits including learning & development opportunities, a car lease scheme, discounts at high street and online retailers, an employee assistance programme and physiotherapy services.
• Flexible working where you can work part of your week at home.

For more information about working for Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, please visit the Careers section on our website: https://www.stockton.gov.uk/careers

If you would like an informal discussion about the post, please contact Rachel Meadley, Team Manager – Youth Justice by email on Rachel.Meadley@stockton.gov.uk or telephone 01642 527588. We look forward to reading your application!

Guidance for applicants: You must ensure that anything submitted in your application is factually accurate. Plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. Whilst we accept candidates may use AI tools within job applications; submissions must be truthful and relevant to your own experience.

Please note that all communication regarding your application for this post will be sent to the email address that you have registered with North East Jobs, including your invite to interview if you are short-listed. Please check your email after the closing date for notification from ‘DONOTREPLY@NORTHEASTJOBS.ORG.UK’. All communication will also appear in the ‘My Messages’ section of your North East Jobs account.