Youth Justice Service Case Manager (Career Graded) in Knowsley

We are looking for driven and passionate people to work with us to deliver real benefits for our residents and businesses and become part of the Knowsley Journey.

Location: Nutgrove Villa, Westmorland Road, Huyton, Knowsley, L36 6GA, Hybrid Working

Contract: Permanent

Working Pattern: Full Time Hours: 36 hours per week.

Closing Date: 06/09/2026 at 23:59

Reference: CVP 0668

Knowsley Youth Justice Service are currently looking for two highly skilled full time Case Managers. Knowsley Council is an award-winning Local Authority, named Local Authority of the Year in the Municipal Journal Awards 2024. We are an Accredited employer under the Liverpool City Region Fair Employment Charter, demonstrating that we are committed to the principle of fair employment and we are dedicated to providing a healthy, fair, inclusive and just workplace.

The Team: Knowsley Youth Justice Service [YJS] is a skilled and exciting multi-agency team who wish to appoint two qualified and knowledgeable Case Managers. Knowsley YJS offers you the chance to make real changes to children and families lives in a dynamic and creative way. This role offers you an opportunity to work in a specialist field whilst being part of a committed and experienced team. We are a high-quality service that strives to support the complex needs of children, to create sustainable outcomes, and to help children go on to live crime free lives. We put children first.

Within the team are a wide range of professionals including specialist practitioners in health, mental health, education, substance misuse, police, probation, victim intervention and family intervention. This multi-disciplinary team allows Knowsley YJS to provide wrap around support for the children, families and harmed people we work with.

The role: As a Case Manager you will be responsible for ensuring the safeguarding of children and families through completing comprehensive assessments, reports and plans. You will work alongside the child and family to build strength-based plans and interventions to support them to make lasting positive change. You will be responsible for managing risk of harm to others, re-offending and the safety and well-being of the child. You will need to be creative in the way that you work with families, engaging them to build on the positives whilst having a strong understanding of the impact of exploitation, trauma and adverse childhood experiences.

We work under the Youth Justice Board Case Management Guidelines including performance measures, local & national standards and Inspectorate frameworks. We ensure we are flexible in meeting the needs of the children and families we work with, focusing on building positive professional working relationships to help facilitate and maintain change. The role will require you to balance a ‘Child First’ approach with public protection and understand restorative practice and contextual safeguarding.

You will need to have knowledge of current children’s and youth justice legislation. Applicants must also demonstrate experience of working with partner agencies to support vulnerable children and their families, preferably in a statutory setting, to achieve positive outcomes for children, families and harmed people. A key aspect to the job is being confident in your communication skills and being able to understand your audience, whether that be in a Court setting or to children. You will be required to engage with children in a variety of ways from support to enforcement so the ability to develop positive trusting relationships is essential to affect change.

Career progression and support: We support Case Managers in their professional development, affording opportunities to grow skill sets and progress on their career path. There are three experience levels to the case manager role. Progression through these is dependent on level of qualification, experience, and an ability to prove (via attendance at professional panels) skills and competencies in line with the Knowsley YJS Progression Policy or the Knowsley Council Social Work Progression Policy. Staff have regular supervision with their line manager, frequent professional development sessions and access to group or specialist supervisions for those complex cases discussions and reflection.

Qualifications: Professional qualification in Social Work (DipSW/BA/MA) or Probation Studies (Diploma) or equivalent degree level qualification in Psychology, Criminology, Youth Justice, Youth Work, Community Justice, Education, Health is essential. Youth Justice Effective Practice Certificate is desirable. If Social Work qualified, registration with Social Work England.

What the team say: “I enjoy working for YJS because young people are at the heart of all the work we do. It is rewarding and I feel like I make a positive difference to the future of young people by helping them to understand their previous behaviours.” Rachel – Youth Justice Officer “Knowsley YJS is a highly skilled, welcoming and supportive service to work within. It provides an opportunity for social workers to widen their skillset, and gain experience in completing specialised assessments and interventions using trauma informed approaches.” Jordan – Social Work Case Manager “Knowsley YJS have created a great multi-agency environment to work in. As a seconded police officer and someone from an ‘outside’ agency I have felt part of the YJS team from day one.” Tony – Police Officer “Knowsley YJS have been a wonderful team to work with, as the staff are so friendly, motivated, and dedicated to improving the lives of our local children and community!” Bryony – Educational Psychologist.

May 23 HMIP inspection of Knowsley YJS says: Knowsley are a ‘Good’ rated YJS with outstanding features. “Staff and volunteers feel valued by managers and their peers, and we saw that the service promotes a culture of care and compassion both for its staff and for the children and families that it works with.”

All applicants must fully evidence how they meet each essential criteria to progress to the interview stage. It is really important that you are aware that applicants will not be selected for interview if they do not meet all required criteria. At Knowsley Council we will consider requests for flexible working. For most roles, the following types of flexibility are usually possible: flexible hours, working from home, compressed hours, part-time. We welcome applications from residents and beyond, regardless of background, belief, or identity, recognising the value that diversity brings to our organisation. We particularly welcome applications from individuals from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and candidates with disabilities as we acknowledge their underrepresentation in our workforce. We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applicants. At Knowsley we value our applicants and want them to feel well-informed and welcomed. If you have any questions about this specific job role or what it is like to work at Knowsley, please contact: Jordan Reilly – Operational Manager, 07384 455 377.